Smart Meters Gain Popularity Among Utilities and Consumers

As the United States continues to examine new ways to conserve energy, especially in light of the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, smart meters are gaining in popularity as a technology that can help homeowners and enterprises reduce energy consumption. In addition, the technology can greatly increase efficiencies inside the utility by improving meter reading accuracy, reducing operational costs and enhancing customer service – all while reducing service calls and shaving carbon footprints.

In an industry that has changed very little since the day Edison invented the light bulb more than 100 years ago, technology is indeed revolutionizing the electric utility sector as the use of smart meters and time-of-use rates result in monumental process changes that revamp the entire industry.

Smart meter and AMI technology can benefit the gas industry in much the same way. While the gas sector is in most cases inclined to sit on the sidelines and act as a fast-follower while the technology is trialed and deployed in the electric industry, there are many examples of smart meter technology already being used by gas utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Co. being prime examples.

PG&E has installed 2.3 million gas and electric meters on its way to deploying 9.8 million (including 4.5 million gas meters) by the end of next year. Southern California Gas won approval this year to roll out smart meters for its customers in 6 million homes.

As with all emerging technologies, challenges exist before smart meters become ubiquitous. Utilities of all kinds must thoroughly educate their customer base on the ins and outs of smart meters, how they can benefit, and what to expect from time-of-use rates that will follow. Customers are demanding transparency when it comes to smart meter rollouts, and PG&E has responded by making public 45 different reports dealing with its smart meter program dating to 2006.

AMI represents tremendous productivity improvements over traditional analog-metering practices. This article examines those benefits as well as some of the well-publicized challenges that utilities and smart- metering vendors are working to overcome.

Benefits
Operational efficiencies: Utilities stand to benefit from massive labor savings by automating the meter-reading process. The meter reader position is a dying breed in the utility sector, as smart meters provide automated usage information, in many cases at 15 minutes intervals. Many utilities with smart metering programs in place are moving displaced employees into new positions such as customer service and call centers.

The trend is also expected to benefit utilities by lessening the blow when their baby boomer employees begin to retire en masse in the next several years. A host of operational benefits exist, including improved leak detection and increased visibility into gas transmission lines and load factors and improved safety. Newly available automatic shutoff features, for example, can better control lost gas and reduce the possibility of a natural gas release due to damaged or faulty equipment.

Conservation efforts: By providing customers with a better picture of their utility bills including electric, gas and water, they attain greater visibility of usage patterns and a better understanding of which appliances use the most energy. Homeowners can closely monitor how much energy their gas appliances use and how much it cost to cook dinner on their gas stoves.