Dented Cans Are Half Price

Since I became electrosensitive, maintaining employment has become very difficult. Forgoing positions and job opportunities that are financially or otherwise rewarding in order to protect my health have not been easy decisions to make.

As I've been learning how to modify my standard of living to fit my economic reality, I've found many ways to be more frugal. Mostly that means driving less, giving up purchased entertainment, and spending a lot more time cooking from scratch.

When I grocery shop now, I'm always looking for deals, but I try to keep in mind that getting a good price on something I don't normally eat, or things that are unhealthy or overpriced to begin with isn't a great strategy. In other words, I've been practicing non-impulsive buying.

Examining the past 3 years of Smart Grid developments and policy in Vermont, it isn't clear that rational decisions have always been made.

Take, for example, Vermont Electric Co-op's decision to deploy Smart Meters before any stimulus money was available or offered. VEC and their customers seem to be happy with the technology, so why are other Vermont utilities pursuing a different (wireless) version of AMI than what has already been tested with Vermont's rugged terrain and sparse population density?

From VEC's board meeting (June 28, 2011):

There has been discussion of the need for an opt-out policy for smart meters, although this discussion has been focused mainly on the health effects of Radio Frequency Carrier (or “RFC”) technology. [CEO David] Hallquist noted that VEC uses a different technology, Power Line Carrier which does not pose any health danger.

Then there is Burlington Electric Department, who has publicly stated that Smart Grid would not make financial sense without the matching ARRA funds. From their website:

As the [Public Service] Board is aware from BED's previous filings in Docket 7307, BED's original business case demonstrated that a system-wide deployment of AMI within its service territory was not cost-effective. Subsequently, BED worked with the Department and other Vermont utilities as part of the eEnergy Vermont collaborative to file a statewide grant application with the Department of Energy ("DOE") for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA") Smart Grid Investment Grand ("SGIG"). The statewide application totaled $138 Million, with BED's share being $14.3 Million, a portion of which included costs associated with deployment of AMI. With DOE's award to the eEnergy Vermont collaboarative of fifty percent (50%) matching funds, BED's business case improved to the point where it determined AMI deployment within its service territory is now cost-effective.

The confusing thing is that Tom Evslin, Vermont's former "Stimulus Czar" who was instrumental in bringing all this Smart Meter money to the state has changed his stance, saying that we shouldn't be subsidizing energy projects. To quote him, "subsidies are cheating!"

That's why he's opposed to the Lowell wind project (never mind the environmental destruction), doesn't think PV solar is a good idea, wants to keep Vermont Yankee operating, and power our cars and heat our homes using electricity.

He has plainly stated, "Much of the road to a future with lower total energy costs and less CO2 emission is MORE use of electricity."

Maybe that's why he's such a big fan of Smart Meters, which, unlike the existing analog/electromechanical meters they are replacing, actually consume electricity.