Incident in Bakersfield

The complaints from Bakersfield, CA residents have put some of the challenges with Smart Grid deployments into sharper focus. The Utility Reform Network (TURN) is promoting a petition demanding more accountability from the local utility (PG&E) and a moratorium on the installation of some 10 million smart meters across its entire customer base.

As a consumer-centric organization, Smart Grid Citizen is a big supporter of consumer advocacy groups. In fact, we find value in the demands that TURN is seeking, and sympathize with Bakersfield residents in particular. However, we also want to distinguish our endorsements from any movements that seeks to fight the efforts to modernize our nation’s electrical grid. We believe that the long term outlook does require change. We require positive change in our consumption habits, shifts towards cleaner energy production, greater capabilities and efficiency in the distribution of energy, and the integration of intelligence across the entire value chain.

The problem in Bakersfield was an execution problem. The folks in Bakersfield saw their bills go up and rightly pointed their fingers at their newly installed smart meters. No doubt, this was a reasonable conclusion. Unfortunately, PG&E did not do enough to educate their customers before the smart meters were installed. They also did not do enough to manage the complaints. The utility concluded that the higher bills were due to residents’ increased consumption of energy during an unusually hot and prolonged summer. There may be more to it. Even today, PG&E is rolling out over 12,000 meters every day and still doing very little to educate its consumers about the Smart Grid technologies that it’s deploying.

The benefits of installing smart meters and home energy management tools agreeably seem elusive today. This is particularly true considering that consumers will ultimately bare the cost. However, a simple supply and demand curve will clearly indicate that the price of energy can only increase in the years ahead. Cost-benefit analysis must be conducted using forward looking pricing, not today's cost of electricity. In order to maintain access to reliable electrical energy at affordable prices, a multi-faceted investment approach is required.

Consumer advocacy groups such as TURN should also be pressing utilities to employ more effective and prolonged educational programs in conjunction with their Smart Grid deployments. Included in the multi-faceted approach are communities such as Smart Grid Citizen that allow citizens to help one another. Your input can also help shape more effective education programs that utilities can use to prevent more incidents like the one in Bakersfield.

As a parent, I’m not afraid of a few hard lessons learned. Bakersfield residents may too have learned a hard lesson, but that does not mean the education and learning process is over.