EDITORIAL: Millions for smart meters - Opinion

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Oct. 29, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: Millions for smart meters

As usual, Uncle Sam cries 'Charge it!'

NV Energy -- the local monopoly which until recently was known as "Nevada Power" -- was awarded $138 million in federal tax money Tuesday to launch a three-year, $298 million project to replace every electric meter in Nevada with a "smart meter."

Executives say the change will give consumers more say over how much electricity they use and how much they pay for it.

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NV Energy's grant was part of $3.4 billion in government "stimulus" funds given to 100 projects aimed at modernizing the nation's power grid.

The plan is for smart meters to allow the company to send detailed consumption numbers to consumers via a small display inside the home. Included would be how much you owe so far this month, what the cost of that power was per kilowatt hour, what it will be in the next hour, and perhaps even what you could save if you unplugged your plasma-screen TV and read a book, instead.

Ratepayers who notice a cheaper cost per kilowatt coming up in two hours might wait till then to run the dishwasher.

Unfortunately, Nevada regulations currently prohibit charging residential customers based on hourly costs, instead requiring blended averages. But NV Energy president and chief executive officer Michael Yackira said he expects the Public Utilities Commission to sign on to the hourly rate modification.

Allowing consumers to enjoy savings by running their washing machines at night (for example) would make sense for everyone. Of course, taxpayers will have to foot that $138 million subsidy, as well as the broader $3.4 billion federal expenditure, long before they see any benefits.

And ratepayers -- who are often the same people as taxpayers -- will also end up covering the additional $160 million NV Energy expects to plow into the project.

If the new meters are really guaranteed to save consumers money, why wouldn't the private utility simply offer to sell them to willing buyers, the same way willing buyers pay "up front" for an oil change designed to prolong the life of an engine? How did this become the responsibility of the already cash-strapped federal government?

"I'm always leery of things that require federal money," warns Ben Lieberman, senior policy analyst for energy and the environment at the Heritage Foundation. "My feeling is that the fact that these things require federal money is a red flag they might not make much sense."

Even more worrisome to Mr. Lieberman are high-tech energy systems that might let utilities stem consumers' energy use against their will -- perhaps under government orders.

"Anything that interferes with consumers' ability to use energy as they see fit could hurt in ways that don't show up in dollars and cents," Mr. Lieberman warns. "I could save you a lot of gas if I stole your car, but that wouldn't help you in the long run."

Giving the consumer more control, and allowing prices to flex based on the real, shifting costs of power at given hours? That's all to the good.

But anyone who says, "Oh, the government would never order the company to use these new meters to limit the amount of power you can buy each month," is referred (for starters) to past guarantees that the personal income tax would fall only on millionaires; that the Pure Food and Drug Act was only about truth in labeling and would never be used to tell us which drugs we can and cannot buy; and the federal promise that Daylight Savings Time was a temporary measure necessary to save coal for the war effort, guaranteed to be suspended as soon as we defeated the Hun -- not in 1945, mind you, but in 1918.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Casino Porter wrote on October 29, 2009 06:37 PM: If I had a tip job I could get a stated income loan and buy a smart home in mountains edge. Daniel wrote on October 29, 2009 02:10 PM: Lets see, If my home is 1200 sq ft and jimbob has a has at 3500 sq ft, will the 3500 sq ft be requested to use the same amount as my 1200 sq ft home or will there be different standards for different households???? We all should share the same amount of energy per house hold not by sq ft. If this Government is so concern about energy use do ya think the rich should be in line with me?? No matter how big your home is all homes should have the same usage of energy. Betcha they don't. meh wrote on October 29, 2009 01:19 PM: "The new generation of homes coming..." I just had to chuckle there! Maybe after a cash-for-tract-house or cash-for-trailer program? Fully funded by... Smart homes wrote on October 29, 2009 12:49 PM: The new generation of homes coming will be producing power during peak energy times and buying it back later at the reduced rate, if they even have to buy any! Gas Passer wrote on October 29, 2009 09:57 AM: If everyone is saving on their electric bill, NV Energy will on raise rates. S. Summerlin wrote on October 29, 2009 09:56 AM: Let's all be paranoid about government controlling power... you think all it takes is technology to do this? They can control our consumption far better through our pocket books than they can with this device. I think the most telling part of this article is here: "If the new meters are really guaranteed to save consumers money, why wouldn't the private utility simply offer to sell them to willing buyers, the same way willing buyers pay "up front" for an oil change designed to prolong the life of an engine? How did this become the responsibility of the already cash-strapped federal government?" These devices should be at a cost to consumers who want to "save money"... the fact that the government will subsidize these is government intervention gone wrong. hmm wrote on October 29, 2009 09:56 AM: To John Dough: Ooops...yes, that was incorrect... millions in profits? Billions are being thrown around so much, I guess that 'b' just stuck in my head. I really was not trying to exaggerate. winston smith wrote on October 29, 2009 09:40 AM: Once the smart grid is online, smart appliances that integrate with it will be the only ones available. This will lead to the government controlling your power usage down to the appliance level. Our increasingly intrusive surveillance society will depend on smart grid to function. That's why the feds are financing this. Your taxes are paying for your eventual enslavement. http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/20081106/index3.shtml John Dough wrote on October 29, 2009 09:14 AM: ...."With their billions in profit".... can we say exaggeration, hmm Virga wrote on October 29, 2009 09:14 AM: This is America, "Two cars in every garage and a chicken in every pot". Leave us alone we can do it. Do not be confused by twopenny politicians crying the end is near. Read All Comments