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July 31, 2010 By Andy Opsahl
suggest that the caller check his or her breakers or potential circuit shortages.
SMUD has work groups training customer service representatives on the software and developing new job descriptions for the managers.
Stimulus funds are fueling the smart grid's growth, but some industry observers say that without new incentives, activity will stop when those dollars dry up.
One approach is mandating price breaks for consumers with good conservation habits, according to Perry Wong, director of regional economics for the Milken Institute, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based economic think tank. Such a move would motivate residents to use smart-grid tools, which would motivate utilities to provide these tools, he said. The resulting drop in power consumption could reduce the need for costly new power-generation plants.
"You have to place a carrot in front of both the power operator and the household, so we need a policy that can entice both," Wong said.
He also thinks regulations need to encourage businesses and citizens to install renewable energy generators, like solar panels, and sell the excess power to the grid. A fast-growing crop of renewable energy sources among citizens would motivate utilities to connect to those sources with smart grids and buy the power, Wong said.
Power from these sources could save utilities from building new plants, which would be costlier than converting to smart grids and buying power from citizens. To motivate citizens to contribute renewable energy to the grid, however, regulations must stipulate a pricing structure for such transactions, Wong said. Without these regulations, citizens don't know how much they can earn from selling renewable energy back to utilities.
One more obstacle to renewable energy needs to disappear, added Wong. Many areas have zoning laws that make it tough to build renewable energy plants. Streamlining federal and state regulations would make building the facilities easier and less expensive.
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The Left is going to regret the day they gave control over their home electricity to politicians. Now every time the Green Police decides you've used too much power, the wrong kind of power, power for the "wrong" activity, or power at the wrong time... they'll just shut it off. After a few years of this; there will be a vibrant black market for "fixing" the smart home and allowing people to control their own thermostats... which will then lead to millions of people violating state and federal laws just to control the air they breathe. Only a Progressive would think that this is progress.
The Left is going to regret the day they gave control over their home electricity to politicians. Now every time the Green Police decides you've used too much power, the wrong kind of power, power for the "wrong" activity, or power at the wrong time... they'll just shut it off. After a few years of this; there will be a vibrant black market for "fixing" the smart home and allowing people to control their own thermostats... which will then lead to millions of people violating state and federal laws just to control the air they breathe. Only a Progressive would think that this is progress.
The Left is going to regret the day they gave control over their home electricity to politicians. Now every time the Green Police decides you've used too much power, the wrong kind of power, power for the "wrong" activity, or power at the wrong time... they'll just shut it off. After a few years of this; there will be a vibrant black market for "fixing" the smart home and allowing people to control their own thermostats... which will then lead to millions of people violating state and federal laws just to control the air they breathe. Only a Progressive would think that this is progress.