Most utilities expect that meters will have at least a fifteen year service life, yet many consumer electronics products have a life of only one to three years. The capabilities and demands of consumer electronics continue to grow and expand. (Think about the cell phone of three years ago relative to today's.) Building a meter today that will include all of the resources that consumer electronics may want far into the future is at best uneconomical, and likely to be impossible.
Simultaneously, utilities have a commitment to service all customers in their service territory. Assuming a broadband connection to the home, or that the utility will have access to it, isn't an option -- at least not today.
The meter is ubiquitous. It is not the ideal platform to serve as the residential gateway in the long term, but it provides a mechanism to jump start market, providing access to every home regardless of income. Meters can prime the market, providing a guaranteed mechanism for obtaining price and usage information. If future needs outstrip the meter's capability, other technologies can be used. The meter can continue to provide local usage information for its entire service life, even if other consumer communications become more and more complicated, requiring additional resources that may not be available at the meter.
No comments:
Post a Comment