Smart Meter Has Arrived. Hydro Hasn't.

We've been talking about smart meters for a long long time. We've watched eagerly as Google has unveiled its Power Meter plan to give homeowners the ability to measure electricity use in real time. Inspired, we put our Energy Circle House's electricity use on the web in a live feed and an annotated Twitter stream to demonstrate (and feel) the power of precise usage information in the hands of the user. The public response was tremendous, and the visualization of electricity use has already made a huge difference in the way that the (frankly pretty efficiency-minded) family views routine household activities.

We have understood that one of the few hurdles to scale before household knowledge of electricity usage can be widespread is the installation of Smart Meters on houses. So you can imagine how I felt when I opened what I expected to be a bill from my local utility up north, Hydro One, and read this: "In the coming weeks, we'll be installing smart meters in your community between 8a.m. and 8p.m."

I called the office. I sent chats.  I bragged. I boasted. "I'm getting a Smart Meter!" I said. And, tactfully unsaid, "I win!"

And then I read the pamphlet accompanying the letter, and started to get confused. "A SMART METER can automatically record when electricity is used." The booklet read (emphasis theirs).
"So in the future, your SMART METER will record your total electricity consumption hour by hour." (emphasis still theirs, and by now I'm thinking "Yes! Alright!") "And it will send that information to your local utility through either a wireless or another form of technology." (Emphasis mine, accompanied by "Wait. mistake. You mean. ME and my local utility. You mean... Maybe it's in here somewhere else, the bit about how I get the information...)

I stopped sending emails. I used words I don't use in blogs. Unbe...lievable. Hydro One isn't installing Smart Meters in order to provide me with data on my electricity usage. It's installing Smart Meters to penalize me if I don't play the new time-of-use rates well.

In addition to incurring my rage (and heartbreak,) Hydro One looks to be on the verge of squandering a beautiful opportunity. Here are the big holes in Ontario's current Smart Meter plan as I understand it, with help from Today's Toronto Star and (the largely unhelpful) Smart Meters Ontario site.

1. We don't get the data until the next day. Ultimately, information will flow from my Smart Meter directly to Hydro One. That's a technological advance and money saving improvement in the sense that the meter reader will no longer drive door to door in a big green truck. But it's seriously disappointing that that same data doesn't come to the consumer in real time. We know that consumers who have detailed information about their electricity usage in real-time make excellent energy-saving choices that save them money. I'm not sure why these Smart Meters only provide hourly data, but even that data should come to us.

Despite the pamphlet's helpful list of ways to save, it is a misreading to characterize Smart Meters as providing opportunities for consumers to save. The only data available to consumers to make change are the hourly rates for time-of-use pricing.  You can read about those in the paper. Smart Meters just help Hydro One charge us accurately.

2. We make the change, but reap no financial benefit. Hydro acknowledges that it will recoup its Smart Meter investment through electricity rates, and answers the question, "Will I see lower rates?" with a predictable version of - "Sure, as long as you use less electricity, you'll pay less..." Followed by urging to replace energy hogs and use electricity off-peak. (And by off-peak, by the way, they mean WAY off peak. According to the Toronto Star, most times of day electricity will be more expensive than it is now. That leaves the only savings for consumers in the wee hours - between 10pm and 7am. Honestly Hydro One, this pricing schedule makes Cell phone plans look good. (It's worth noting that their use as punitive devices (in the hands of landlords) lead to the devices being banned in apartment buildings).

This is the proverbial stick at work. No carrot in sight. If this plan is designed to reduce electricity use and save money, some of those savings should accrue to us, the homeowners.

Smart Meter as implemented in Ontario is not going to change behavior, reduce usage, and save consumers money. The new rate structure is designed to change behavior without the benefit of real-time data. This is a short-sighted approach. Smart metering is full of promise. Don't squander it. Give us the data, Hydro One. Let us show you what we can do. For you. For us. For the planet.