Jim Pierobon is Founder and principal writer of The Energy Fix. He is a policy, marketing and social media strategist who has reported on, testified and consulted about smarter grids, cyber-security as it affects the power grid, fossil fuel shortages, price spikes, energy efficiency and the rise and fall -- and the rise again of nuclear and renewable energy sources.Southern California Edison’s smart grid progress provides valuable lessons for utilities
With more U.S. homes receiving smart meters and more utilities deploying their smart grid infrastructures, there are handful of utilities that have made notable progress with valuable lessons to share for the rest of the industry. I’m talking primarily about CenterPoint Energy in Houston, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern [...]
If half of U.S. consumers don’t know what a ‘smart meter’ is, how are they supposed to engage?
That is perhaps the most interesting question raised by the latest “Consumer Pulse” research by the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative. In its third survey by the Collaborative of at least 1,000 consumers throughout the U.S. since 2011 reflecting the U.S. demographics, 54% of Americans who are heads of households and at least 18 years old [...]
Energy ‘datapalooza’ draws more apps; know the cost of that old refrigerator?
The Obama administration threw a its third datathon (my word) this week dubbed the “Energy Datapalooza.” It featured about 150 entrepreneurs, policymakers and software developers, among others, and aspired to offer ways to learn new ways to save energy and lower bills from what is supposed to be free and secure data. Government and private [...]
Are low-income consumers slowing smart grid progress? Hardly . . .
The answer thus far would appear to be that low-income consumers are looking forward to smarter energy offerings based on fresh data from the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative. A recent survey for Collaborative sheds light on the opportunity and the challenge of engaging consumers who have annual family incomes up to $20,000 (for a family [...]
Sprint-ing, not walking, the ‘talk’ to achieve sustainability goals
It’s becoming more clear every day that cleaner energy and environmental sustainability depends on private industry. The expiration of many renewable energy incentives, zero prospects for a U.S. carbon tax or a cap and trade program, restraints on public spending and the low price and growing supplies of natural gas are putting commitments to renewable [...]
Green Button approaching critical mass – 27 million households now getting access to their energy data
NOW, we’re getting somewhere with the Green Button Initiative. Nine investor-owned utilities from across the country have jumped on board enabling an updated total of about 27 million households to access their electricity usage data. This is a huge step forward for motivated consumers to better understand how they can save on their energy bills [...]
Consumer energy data from the ‘Green Button’: how long before adoptions match the hype?
The White House wants it. Some California utilities get it. But will more than a few U.S. utilities sign on to help ratepayers better understand how they use electricity with one-click access to their data? One year after the Obama Administration began talking about the idea, and in the roughly six months since it formally [...]
State of the utility consumer shows smart grid potential will go untapped without a new energy service model
There is progress but there is also a long way to go to engage consumers in Smart Grid apps and their benefits. In the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative’s 2012 “State of the Consumer Report,” released today, four fresh themes emerge. Each one, and the recurring themes, continue to wrestle with the reality that virtually all [...]
Smart grid apps poised to score energy savings on top of more-successful-than-expected efficiency programs
Early lessons from utilities deploying proactive smart grid programs with their customers point to potentially significant energy savings if consumers are engaged with targeted communications they find relevant to their values and lifestyles. When matched with stronger-than-expected gains being achieved through more traditional efficiency programs found in a report out this month by the Consortium [...]
Best Buy aiming to demystify home energy with services launching today in Chicago, SF and Houston
Striving to become U.S. consumers’ “home energy department” store with a “Geek Squad” for energy appliances and software applications, Best Buy Senior Vice President Neil McPhail kicked off the company’s move to become the go-to resource for understanding, controlling and reducing consumption while “maximizing” their lifestyle. Stores in Chicago, Houston and San Francisco are in [...]