One of the characteristics of the Smart Grid defined by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) is the “provision to consumers of timely information and control options.“ The goals of this characteristic are to give customers the ability to see their energy usage as it happens, rather than some time later when the bill arrives, and to have better control over how they use energy. The idea is to enable greater participation by customers, not enforce it, by giving them options for deferring or reducing their energy usage in ways that help to lower their costs and benefit the environment.
This demand response approach, where customers voluntarily reduce their energy consumption following the communication of a price or other signal during extreme peak usage, is one way of mitigating the cost of installing new transmission and distribution lines with greater capacity and/or resorting to more expensive power generation. This blog seeks to get answers regarding the best way to give customers more choices and control. NIST has created several working groups that are addressing issues of privacy, ensuring the security of energy usage data, and on how best to communicate with the customer.
We welcome all perspectives shared on this blog. Some ideas have been raised about alternatives to the smart meter as a communication gateway to the home. It has been suggested, for example, that alternative pathways (besides the smart meter) should be explored for conveying price signals and demand response signals to the consumer, and for enabling consumers to monitor and control their energy use. Alternative pathways could include a gateway device separate from the meter, direct communication to customer thermostats and appliances (with customer opt-in), a customer website with energy usage information, a consumer-installed meter reader to home area network, and others.
Jerry FitzPatrick , NIST
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