In 2012, the Department of Public Utilities ordered utilities across the state to file modernization plans, hoping to meet goals to reduce the number and duration of power outages, reduce system and customer costs, and allow customers with renewable energy sources to help with the grid reliability.
The compact was formed in 1997 to buy power in bulk for electric customers on the Cape and Vineyard, provide energy-efficiency programs for local businesses and residents and advocate for ratepayers.
Eversource’s modernization plan for the next five years is estimated to cost $496 million. But, the utility relies heavily on improving the reliability and resiliency of the current grid, and downplays the benefits of giving customers more access to information and pricing transparency, Compact power supply planner Austin Brandt said during the meeting in the Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School.
“Eversource takes a very conservative approach to grid modernization, emphasizing incremental investments,” according to a report produced by the Compact.
Bert Jackson, the president of the Cape Cod Technology Council, also voiced concerns with Eversource’s plans.
“My overall concern is that the plan is essentially hardening what they already have,” Jackson said.
The council would like to see Eversource take advantage of technology being used in other parts of the country, such as smart meters.
Smart meters allow two-way communication between utilities and customers, Brandt said. Customers can monitor real-time prices of electricity, as well as stay informed of outages, he said. Real time prices allow customers to monitor rates that vary depending on the time of day. During peak use times, when electricity would conceivably cost the most, customers could cut back on their use, and lower their bills.
National Grid and Eversource have two different rollout methods for smart meters. Eversource plans to have an opt-in policy, meaning customers would have to ask and pay an extra fee for the meters, while National Grid customers would have to opt-out of the meters. Cape and Vineyard residents, who are in Eversource territory, also need to have their electricity supplied and delivered by the utility to have access to the data necessary for time-varying rates, Brandt said.
Eversource is defending its plan.
It balances customer priorities and costs to customers, Eversource spokeswoman Rhiannon D’Angelo wrote in an email.
“We know that limiting power outages and making it easier to integrate renewable technologies are crucial factors when it comes to modernizing the electric grid,” she wrote. “It's also important to note that a ‘smart grid’ is not just about adding smart meters to customer homes. Eversource is an industry leader when it comes to the deployment of a smart grid already -- mainly the addition of ‘smart switches’ to our system.”
The switches, which allow electricity to be routed around problems, result in fewer and shorter outages, she wrote.
“This technology has already significantly reduced outages on the Cape since we began installing them ten years ago,” D’Angelo wrote.
The company ran pilot programs for smart meters and studied research from around the country that showed it is difficult to get customers to participate in the programs and that the cost was higher than the benefit, she wrote.
Instead, Eversource is giving customers the choice, “while achieving the majority of the benefits of an opt-out program at a fraction of the cost,” according to D’Angelo.
Inside a Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School classroom, Brandt had three different phones on a table. One was a rotary phone, another was a newer landline with a cord, and the third was an iPhone.
The rotary phone was a metaphor for the current grid.
“It’s not very user friendly and it really can only do one thing,” Brandt said.
Eversource’s plan was like the newer landline phone, he said. It’s a bit more modern, but still isn’t all that different from the rotary phone, Brandt said. A smart grid is more like the iPhone, he said.
Cape Light Compact officials handed out surveys to attendees of Tuesday's meeting that are also available online to collect feedback from customers about what they want from their utility. People may not want a smart meter or care if they know the real time electricity prices, Brandt said.
©2016 Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
