Comments (6) | Add a comment
Maryland smart-meter rejection draws local interest
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Maryland's Public Service Commission on Monday killed a utility's plan to install millions of smart electric and natural-gas meters, according to online energy publication ClimateWire.
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. wanted to spend $835 million, including $200 million in federal stimulus money, to install 1.4 million electric meters and 730,000 gas meters that would allow back-and-forth communication between the company and ratepayers. The meters would enable programs that encourage consumers to conserve power by cutting appliance use in peak-demand periods, ClimateWire said.
The Maryland commission's decision caught the attention of consumer advocates in Nevada, where electric utility NV Energy has its own plan to install 1.45 million smart meters. The utility would use $138 million in federal stimulus funds for its $301 million smart-meter initiative. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada is considering NV Energy's proposal now, and will issue a decision in the case by the end of July.
Smart meters have proven controversial in states including California, Texas and Connecticut.
The city of San Francisco petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission on June 18 to halt a 9.7 million-meter installation that Pacific Gas & Electric is conducting. The initiative is a little more than half complete.
NV Energy officials have said they're watching smart-meter rollouts elsewhere and have crafted plans to avoid other companies' missteps.
Before the company deploys a single meter, it plans to install heavy firewalls and test communications systems for security and privacy. The company will test its devices beyond the quality-control checks performed at the meters' manufacturing plants, and it will give sample meters to a third party for independent analysis.
Through a 10,000-meter pilot program, NV Energy will study how its back-office and communications systems work with the new devices. Meters won't be united with billing functions until tests are complete.
Once the 10,000-meter pilot program checks out, NV Energy would proceed to yet another pilot with 120,000 additional customers in Southern Nevada. It'll be the same testing, conducted to make sure the company's safeguards work on a larger scale. The test meters would go live by April. In fall 2011, NV Energy would begin seeking customers to participate in optional peak-pricing trials.
Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison @reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Johnny Bob . . . I don’t want to have our government save any of them. If a corporation is to be viewed as a person, I want that person to be treated exactly like any other private sector citizen in this country, with regards to contract, liability and taxes. I want to defang both big business and big government by eliminating any advantage that either has over any of the rest of us. It is time to level the playing field.
Oh, Jon H. Let's run into the streets shouting "Save the CEOs! "Save the CEOs!". And while we're at it, "Save the drug companies! Save the insurance companies! Save BP!". Lack of regulation got us into the Great Recession and Republican intransience will keep us there. By the way, turning off the A/C in the summer here is not an option so the higher prices will be paid by you and me under this Smart Meter fiasco. That poor old CEO will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Let’s make something clear, it is not Nevada Energy that is pushing Smart Meters, Cap & Trade and Green Energy, it is our government. And when the electorate finally cries in pain about the increased costs that will come with all these Federal and State mandates, our government officials will use Nevada Energy as one of many the scapegoats. Just you wait! Some government commission will have the CEO of Nevada Energy on the ropes asking why power must cost so much. And the Liberal media will start the chant and mantra of – evil Big Business – Good Big Government over an over again in some Zen like chant. And the Nevada Energy CEO will be the goat, as he does know better than to speak the truth.
I get nervous when I hear the word "safeguards".
Yeah, right.
Smart meters. Big brother anyone? Monitor your energy usage by the minute?
Maybe get your foot in the door to actually CONTROL the appliances? Oh no! That would never happen.
Remember when car manufacturers were first mandated to install seat belts? Oh no! You would certainly NEVER be required to actually use them. Never!
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAVING YOU MONEY........
HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH UTILITY PROFITS......
ITS JUST ONE BIG SALES PITCH...................
Nevada Energy truly has been railroaded in so many areas. Smart meters, which are part of nation wide Federal DOE plan, are being put in to force energy conservation through rate hikes. I expect that the executives at Nevada Energy already know they have a scripted part and they already know how to play the goat.
A few days ago Mitchell spoke of the green energy requirements that mandate that 25% of the energy that Nevada Energy sells to the public come from expensive GREEN energy by 2025. In the recent past we learned how the Federal Government prohibited Nevada Energy from going forward to build new efficient low cost coal fired power plants. And the Federal trade and cap bill currently in Congress will double and triple the cost of energy to each and every one of us, ultimately, after it is passed.
So all of these job killing and standard of living economic poisons are all the work of our greedy government, looking to force social change and make a mint out of the process.
So, when the time comes that the power company executives are sitting in front of some government panel demanding to know why the power rates must go up, and that we must be charge based on the time of the day we use energy . . . that power company executive will not dare speak the truth . . . he will simply play out his pre-written scripted part to sate the anger of the duped citizens of this state. We will be obligated to listen to the Government mantra . . . Big Business is evil, Government is good . . . Big Business is evil, Government is good . . . 1984 is upon us all.