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Improving Power Distribution with Voltage Optimization
March 27, 2012
Can you please explain power distribution optimization? What is it, how is it implemented, who’s using it, and what are the typical costs and benefits?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-41 | Author: Bryan Jungers, Leland Keller
To Have or Have Not? A Review of Wireless Meter Opt-Out Policies
March 22, 2012
Consumers are demanding alternatives to wireless meters, and state regulatory commissions and energy providers are issuing policies that allow customers to opt out. It's likely that any utility deploying wireless meters will need an opt-out policy regardless of the size of the population projected to ...
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-14 | Author: Melanie Wemple
Can Smart Meters Make Prepaid Work for You?
How AMI Breaks Down Barriers to Prepaid Programs
January 23, 2012
Prepaid metering with advanced metering infrastructure is a win-win situation: Customers get convenience and control and utilities get increased customer satisfaction and decreased collection costs. This report explores the prepaid programs of four U.S. utilities.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-12 | Author: Sarah Fiebiger
Don’t Let Fairness Concerns Derail Your Smart Grid Business Case
December 27, 2011
Utilities lack sound intelligence on pricing-program implications for verified hardship customers—those whose households meet some poverty level measure and qualify for bill assistance. Regulators' fairness concerns about pricing programs can be addressed with the strategies outlined in this report. ...
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-10 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins
More Than Just a Pretty Picture
Selecting a Smart Grid–Enabled Web Portal Vendor
April 5, 2010 | Updated: December 1, 2011
Many utilities deploying smart grid technologies are considering providing customers with a web portal display of near-real-time energy use to help those customers manage consumption in their homes. We’ve developed a guide to aide you in selecting the right solution for your utility.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: IGS-F-6 | Author: Carol Stimmel, Sarah Weldon
Customers Will Care About Smart Meter Data Privacy
November 15, 2011
Our customers have expressed concerns about the privacy of their smart meter data. What can we learn from other industries about the realities of managing and protecting customer data?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-29 | Author: Justin Rickard
Smart Grid Choice and Control
An Enticing Proposition, but Can It Deliver?
October 11, 2011
Is "choice and control" really the best message we can deliver to customers regarding the benefits of smart meters and grid modernization?
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-7 | Author: Jonathan Nelson, Carol Stimmel
Abandonment in the Residential Home Energy Management Space: Do Customers Care?
August 25, 2011
With the demise of the two major players in the residential home energy management space, industry watchers are left to wonder if customers just don’t care about their home energy use.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-11 | Author: Carol Stimmel
Electric Vehicle Energy-Use Feedback
April 19, 2011
Deployment of smart grid and electric vehicle technologies will enable unprecedented integration of stationary and mobile energy use, allowing customers to monitor and manage the two simultaneously.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-6 | Author: Bryan Jungers
The Virtual Power Plant: An Introduction
March 24, 2011
What is a virtual power plant? Can you summarize its characteristics?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-28 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins
One Communications Technology to Rule Them All?
March 17, 2011
A white paper from a major manufacturer claims that ZigBee is the best wireless communications technology for smart grid–enabled home area networks. With so many factors to consider, however, is it even necessary to choose a single technology?
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: TAS-RB-25 | Author: Essie Snell
Radio Frequency Emissions from Smart Meters
March 4, 2011
Is there evidence that radio frequency waves from smart meters present a health hazard?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskE-37 | Author: Katie Elliott
How Smart Can Gas Meters Get?
February 3, 2011
As smart grid becomes more prevalent, what sorts of smart features and services will advanced meters provide to gas utility customers?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: TAS-AskES-45 | Author: Bryan Jungers
The Next Wave of Smart Meter Resistance
February 2, 2011
In 2010, E Source wrote about organized resistance to smart grid. Have people’s concerns changed since that report was published? Can you identify new issues that have come up in the popular media?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-25 | Author: Melanie Wemple
Is Smart Grid 3.0 Almost Here?
January 24, 2011
Smart Grid 3.0 promises to allow bidirectional communication with all grid-connected devices directly across the power lines. Is the enabling technology just around the corner?
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-8 | Author: Bryan Jungers
Geek Speak Takes a Back Seat
PEV Messaging for Mass Markets
January 14, 2011
Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are now arriving in showrooms across the U.S. How are utilities in early roll-out regions identifying early-adopters and communicating on critical issues? This brief addresses these questions with profiles of three utilities operating in PEV-ready regions.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: UCS-RB-10 | Author: Bryan Jungers
Smart Devices and Smart Grid
January 6, 2011
I see a lot of “smart” devices on the market, such as smart power strips, smart outlets, and others. Are they all compatible with smart meters? Can they work together in a home area network environment?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-38 | Author: Ira Krepchin
The Smart Grid Is Not About Residential Energy Efficiency—Yet
An E Source White Paper
December 6, 2010
References to the energy-efficiency benefits expected to flow from smart grid deployments are commonplace. Not all actions that reduce the energy bill, however, constitute energy efficiency in the strict meaning of the term; many are properly classified as conservation or load shifting, neither of which ...
Content type: White Paper | Document ID: ES-WP-10 | Author: Michael Reid
Smart Meter Messaging Comes of Age
December 2, 2010
The messaging that utilities use to educate customers, address questions and concerns, and manage expectations about smart meters influences the overall success of the system deployment. We examine the key messages that utilities are using to effectively convey information about smart meters.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: UCS-RB-9 | Author: Kim Burke
Can Meter Replacement Affect Home Protection Systems?
November 29, 2010
We’ve recently had calls from customers who are concerned that their home protection systems will be affected when we exchange their old meter with a new one. Is there any basis for this concern?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: TAS-AskES-29 | Author: Essie Snell
Crimestoppers: Advanced Meters and Revenue Protection
November 4, 2010
How are utilities using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) projects for revenue protection? Are there any special challenges other utilities should be aware of?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-18 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins and Carol Stimmel
Smart Channels for Communicating Smart Grid to Consumers
October 29, 2010
Communicating about smart grid and smart meters isn’t just about the message—but if the customer doesn’t see the message, it is the equivalent of not having one. We examine the channels that utilities have found successful for communicating smart meters and smart grid to their customers.
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Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: UCS-RB-5 | Author: Florence Connally
Disaggregating Whole-House Data
October 28, 2010
In the smart meter environment, what methods are available to disaggregate appliance and other end uses from whole-house data?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-24 | Author: Ira Krepchin
Consumer Sentiment About Smart Grid
October 18, 2010
Why should utilities care about customers’ opinions regarding smart grid? What direction are those opinions moving, and why?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-23 | Author: Carol Stimmel and Maggie Boys
Customer Preferences in Online Energy-Use Information
August 2, 2010
What features of online energy-use feedback information do residential customers like?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: EBiz-AskES-37 | Author: Sarah Weldon
Vehicle-to-Grid Implementation: Halfway There?
July 12, 2010
Has anyone come up with a way to avoid some of the problems that come from draining a customer’s electric car battery for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) implementation?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: TAS-AskES-20 | Author: Essie Snell and Micah Allen
Selecting the Right Tool for the Job: Designing Customer Surveys to Reveal In-Home EUD Preferences
July 1, 2010
We’re developing a user questionnaire about feedback, including in-home energy-use displays (EUDs). Can you recommend any questions that we should include to help us understand our customers’ knowledge of feedback devices and options and their attitudes toward them?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-13 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins
Start-Up Smart Grid Vendors—A Risk Worth Taking?
June 9, 2010
Our utility is considering working with a small start-up vendor that’s offering an innovative product for our smart grid program. The product looks great but we’re afraid of getting burned if the vendor can’t deliver. Do you have any guidelines for effectively managing this type of relationship? ...
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-16 | Author: Mary Horsey
Reaping the Benefits of Smart Grid Through the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative
June 8, 2010
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative was recently created in response to concerns that customers are rejecting smart grid technology. Will this effort help my utility prepare to meet the needs of our customers as we roll out smart technologies?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-19 | Author: Carol Stimmel
Addressing the Equity of Your Smart Meter–Enabled Pricing Program
April 21, 2010
Our utility is preparing to offer dynamic pricing to customers with smart meters. We’re concerned that our program may be disrupted by worries about equity—for example, that low-income or elderly customers may be unfairly affected by high peak-time prices. How can we allay these concerns? ...
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-15 | Author: Carol Stimmel
