Major U.S. Utility Says “No Rational Basis” For Smart Meters

Source: smartgridawareness.org

Northeast Utilities (NU) operates New England’s largest utility system serving more than 3.6 million electric and natural gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

In a written submittal filed with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, Northeast Utilities was highly critical of a proposed state plan that would require utilization of “advanced metering” or smart meters within the state of Massachusetts as part of an electrical grid modernization plan. In fact, the comments are quite remarkable in that they appear to reflect reality without undue political spin or bias. Let us hope that other utilities, public utility commissions, and politicians everywhere can soon come to similar unbiased conclusions that are based upon economic realities and reflect consumers’ and societal best interests.

What is presented below is a summary of key points made by Northeast Utilities in its filing of January 17, 2014, with only slight editorial changes, for example, replacing the term “advanced metering infrastructure” with the term “smart meters.”

Overall Perspective – No Rational Basis for Smart Meter Mandate

“There is no rational basis for …mandated implementation of [smart meters].”

Mandating smart meters “comes without due consideration of key issues such as:

- the immense cost attached to the technology choice;
- whether customers are willing and able to pay the price of this technology choice;
- whether the functionality provided by the technology choice will be utilized by customers or is even sought by customers;
- whether the imposition of significant costs … for this technology conflicts with other policies encouraging … increased penetration of distributed resources [like wind and solar];
- whether investment in distribution upgrades needed to accommodate distributed energy resources [would be] a better investment of customer dollars given the relatively small incremental benefit afforded by [smart meters]; and
- whether other issues such as market alternatives, time-varying rates, and cyber-security should be resolved before there can be any rational determination that this technology is a good choice for customers.”

Smart Meters Are Not a Good Choice for Consumers

“The [smart meter] technology choice is made although there is no evidence that this is a good choice for customers. Conversely, there is ample evidence that this technology choice will be unduly costly for customers and that the objectives of grid modernization are achievable with technologies and strategies that rank substantially higher in terms of cost-effectiveness. For customers who will pay the price of this system, there is no rational basis for this technology choice.”

“There is no evidence that customers are willing to pay for the limited incremental functionality gained through implementation of [smart meters]. In fact, there is evidence to the contrary. For example, industry studies show that only 46 percent of customers are aware of the concept of ‘smart metering,’ and of that percentage, 33 percent associate smart metering with complaints of meter inaccuracy, higher customer bills, invasion of privacy and health concerns. Many customers have a deep aversion to technology that links them to the ‘grid’ in a way that they perceive as an invasion of their privacy and/or detrimental to their health.”

“[H]ome energy automation solutions like smart thermostats and appliances are advancing at a rapid pace and, in many cases, are leverage existing communications infrastructure such as broadband internet. Rather than duplicating these expenditures and predetermining that the preferred communication should be enabled through the ill-considered implementation of [smart meters], the Companies should be afforded the flexibility to design [grid modification plans] that leverage the expenditures for the benefit, not to the detriment, of customers.”

Smart Meter Costs Can Not Be Justified

“There is no cost justification that can support the implementation of [smart meters]. As identified by Northeast Utilities, … [a smart meter] roll-out is problematic due to the extraordinary cost associated with, at best, a modest increase in functionality.”

“Northeast Utilities estimates, conservatively, that the price tag for a [smart meter] rollout, including the recovery of existing investment on the Companies’ books would likely approach, and possibly exceed, $1 billion over the course of … implementation – all of which is to be borne by customers who may or may not be interested in interacting with the distribution system at the level implicated by [smart meter] technology.”

Read more of the report, including: Cyber-Security Issues, smart meters Soon Be Rendered Obsolete, and Not an Appropriate Technology Platform. At: smartgridawareness.org