1. Smart Grid/Smart Home/Smart Customer – will it create a significant resource strategy?
Presented by:
Harvey Michaels
Strategic Consultant
Nexus Energy Software
Wellesley, MA    02481
Presented to:
Restructuring Roundtable
Boston, MA
February 29, 2008

2. A key efficiency/DR Option: Providing customers with advanced diagnostics and feedback
Gridpoint customer portal

3. Smart Meter Viewpoints today
Vision:
“Enable responsive, smart energy environments that are gracefully integrated with people.” *
Economics:
Costs $150-$200 per home for smart meters
60-100% covered by operating benefits: remote/frequent reads, monitoring, control.
$25-$50 annual resource benefit from hourly pricing.
Potential 2x to 4x benefits with analysis, home controls.
Typically exceeds all renewable potential.
*6/26/ meeting on Industry standard HAN development PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E – presented to CPUC and CEC
Adapted from Texas PUC Smart meter Ruling - May 2007

4. Some Energy Efficiency/AMI Planning Issues
Do customers really pay attention to diagnostics?
Do we want a Smart Grid, or Smarter Customers?
How will Smart meter and home network technology make it easier to be a smart consumer?
How large an impact can we expect, and what information supports might maximize that?
Aclara TWACS solution
Bell Canada EE in a box solution

5. The Dashboard Concept– proving to be a low-cost way to improve the cost-responsiveness of energy consumer behavior.
Why is my bill different than before?
How much do I owe? How do I view and pay my bill?
What do my appliances cost to run?
How can I control my costs?
How does my bill compare to last year?
When do I use energy? Am I on the right rate?
How does my home compare?
What programs does the utility have for me?
At some utilities, over 30% of all customers are regularly visiting Utility-provided Web customer dashboards, today.

6. Strong evidence that Diagnostic support can work…
The methods for creating diagnostic bill analyses are well understood and tested. 
Multiple studies show conclusively that customers want this information and find it useful.
Incremental customer response remains to be proven, but meta indicators are a minimum 3-5% direct energy impact.
Reductions in billing and customer service costs offset most or all of the marginal costs of diagnostic support on the bill.
BUT –
there is much to be learned about how to be most effective.

7. The Customer Side of AMI: 2 strategies
1: Smarter Customer Strategy
Price-based demand response, using time-differentiated rates, which requires Fixed Network AMI.
Vision: Customers view data, make choices, in time automatic response by customers thermostat and other devices.
2: Smart Grid Strategy
Push-button Control-based demand response – The Utility monitors and controls end use equipment.
Vision:
Generation, transmission, distribution, and end use equipment as part of a single system.
Interval meter reads not essential.

8. Smart Grid – Private Network Approach – utility provides meter-to-devices communication
Utility-network devices in home
Customer
MDM/Head-end
Utility-side

9. Do we want “Smart Grid” Control?
End use equipment is visible and controllable by utility–
“Smart Grid” is more dispatchable (perhaps) and therefore can replace spinning reserve ….but some find it kind of scary.
Resistance is Futile
Prepare to be Assimilated

10. Smarter Customer: AMI/Price option
Theoretically, the same result occurs with price as a boundary providing some privacy.
Time-based rates are more fair, and some would argue inevitable.
But, will customers respond? Or are Time-based rates just too complicated?
Will customers, or their devices, respond?

11. As the results of each new pricing pilot become available, a common story is developing: Customers respond to dynamic price signals
Price Ratio: :1 4: : :1

12. Challenge – How to achieve the really big impacts without buying the customer displays and controls…
Time of Use TOU
Critical Peak Impacts By Rate Treatment 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Peak Load Reduction
Critical Peak Fixed
CPP-F
TOU
4.1%
Critical Peak Variable With
Automated Controls
CPP-V
34.5%
12.5%
Critical Peak Variable With Automated Controls
47.4%
Average Critical Peak Day – Year 1
Hottest Critical Peak Day *
Source: Statewide Pricing Pilot Summer 2003 Impact Analysis, Charles Rivers Associates, Table 1-3, 1-4, August 9, 2004.

13. 2004-2005 CA Internet Dashboard Results
46% stated that they took actions to reduce peak usage.
Statistical reduction in usage during the peak period in both years.

14. Next Step – Web Workspace connects to network-enabled thermostats, water heater, pool pump, on request

15. Home/Public IP Network Approaches – hourly meters sufficient – all home network equipment owned by the customer.
Customer-side
Utility’s Web Workspace
MDM
CRM
Utility-side

16. Home/Public IP Network Approaches – hourly meters sufficient – all home network equipment owned by the customer.
Device Workspace
Customer-side
Utility’s Web Workspace
MDM
CRM
Utility-side

17. Applications for the Smart Consumer
Utility, thermostat, appliance, Google, etc. make app.
View on home PC, work PC, TV, cell phone (at least until next year).
Application ideas:
Make my AC, water heater, pool pump, refrigerator use pattern smarter.
Find out what anything costs to run.
Choose the best rate for me.
Choose a theme – understand the consequences.
Sell a DR option.

18. What I think *
We urgently need meter systems to be hourly cash registers
it costs little beyond operating benefits ($2-$3meter/year) and only time-based pricing makes economic sense ($25-$100 resource benefit per year).
We can anticipate that the customer’s display of choice will connect with the Internet.
Web systems are low cost, flexible, easily upgraded, promoting OPEN, Non-obsolescent customer connectivity.
We can count on the market to develop and promote Internet-addressable displays, controls, and home networks.
However utility time-based rates, Web-based customer workspaces, and communicating meters will encourage the market to move faster.