Smart Grid Backlash - Energy Biz
President Barack Obama may be a big backer of smart grid technology, but top officials of his adopted home state, Illinois, put the kibosh on an ambitious program in September when Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed legislation authorizing Commonwealth Edison to change its rate structure as part of a deployment of smart grid technology.
"I want to make it clear to the public that they should not be gouged by something they don't feel is providing better service," Quinn said, in vetoing the legislation. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan called the ComEdison plan "legalized pickpocketing."
ComEd expressed its "disappointment" at the setback and began lobbying efforts to override the governor's veto. But the Illinois example is the latest evidence of a growing consumer backlash in the deployment of smart grid technology.
In California and Texas, two states that have already widely deployed smart meters, there are complaints that the smart meters don't work and that electricity rates have risen, not decreased as promised. Part of the problem, said Colin Rowan at the Pecan Project in Austin, Texas, is that the benefits of smart grid technology have not been well articulated, and consumers see only the costs.
This month, the Naperville City Council voted to renew its $1.45 million contract with West Monroe Partners (WMP) as technical advisors on the city's 57,000 smart meter deployment - even though WMP has no smart meter deployment experience.
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