Will the PSC slow down BGE's smart meters?
Given the Public Service Commission's extensions of looking into EDF Group's attempt to buy half of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear-power business, one wonders how long it will take the PSC to consider Baltimore Gas & Electric's request to install smart meters and get electricity customers to partly pay for them. And how will the PSC rule? Smart meters are essential for energy conservation and will save BGE customers money over the long run.
But that doesn't mean the PSC will say yes. And there are important items for the PSC to examine. At the top of the list is making sure people who are aggressive about cutting energy use and reaping rebates with smart meters aren't gaining at the expense of passive consumers who conduct business as usual and pay the higher peak rates BGE wants to charge. The PSC needs to make sure premiums earned by energy misers come from systemwide savings. BGE says this will be the case, but the PSC needs to make sure.
I queried BGE about this. Mark Case, the utility's senior vice president for strategy and regulation, says BGE had asked the commission to decide by Oct. 1. They couldn't do that, which makes sense given that the EDF stuff is on their plate -- plus everything else they regulate. Even so, the PSC has committed to making a decision by the end of the year, which for the commission is pretty quick. Says Case:
We and Pepco had both asked for a PSC decision by October 1 to give us the greatest chance for DOE funding, knowing how intensely competitive the stimulus grant process would be, and knowing that some state Commissions had already come out in support of Smart Grid and AMI. The PSC put together what they felt was as aggressive a schedule as they could support that would still allow them to do an intensive and comprehensive review.
They committed to a decision by year-end and their scheduling order and commitment was submitted as part of our DOE application package. Ultimately DOE decided the merits of our application were strong enough to warrant funding, even without the certainty of the Maryland regulatory review.
Comments
I hope the PSC turns down BGE's smart meters. BGE Time of Use plan is just a way to overcharge their customers. Their weekday peak times (when rates are about 50% more than off-peak) just happen to coincide with the evening hours when most working people are home and would be doing laundry, dishes, etc.
I had been on their Time of Use plan for years and finally decided to compare what I had been paying to my cost using the non-TOU rate.
Guess what? I would have saved money each month using the non-TOU plan.
BGE's Smart Meter Plan would not only force residential customers to switch to TOU while paying for the new meters but also to then pay higher net monthly electricity costs. All in the name of being Green!
Haven't we learned from the deregulation fiasco?
And I am highly irked to have to continue to fund BGE's supposed subsidy of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. Come on, how may CFLs does an average house need? Are we actually subsidizing McMansions and industry?
Posted by: Ted | October 28, 2009 12:32 PM
Here's an important question for the PSC & BGE to answer: who pays for the smart meters if you rent a house (not an apartment)? Why should I pay for equipment that is attached to property I do not own? Yet, it is my name on the BGE account, not my landlord's. How will they work that out?
Posted by: Gunpowder Chronicle | October 28, 2009 2:35 PM
Hi Gunpowder: Whoever pays the utility bill on the rental house will pay for the smart meter. Which is to say, you buy electricity from BGE, you'll pay (over time) for the meters. Property owners will never hold title to the meters -- they'll remain BGE's property. The meters will be part of the wires, pipes and other stuff on the grid, all of which BGE owns. Customers always contributed to utilities' capital costs.
Posted by: Jay Hancock | October 28, 2009 2:40 PM
The reason that electricity prices are higher during weekday peak times (2-7PM) is precisely because of what you state. Businesses are still open and people are coming home. Electricity use soars during those times and generation plants must keep up with the usage. Other plants (peakers) run only during those times. Electricity cannot be stored like other energy sources, so electricity must be produced when it is needed.
The goal of time-of-use pricing is to get consumers to move some of their usage to non-peak times. If the price for consumers is right, it will work (BGE is demonstrating this with recent pilots). This will result in the peaker plants not needing to run.
Posted by: MS | October 29, 2009 9:10 AM