Rising Power Prices: The Metering Industry's Big Break?

 

San Diego Gas & Electric turns vendor heads with its plan to install real-time meters, but the company could face heat from regulators.

This is a landmark event," says Bill Rush, a physicist at the Gas Technology Institute, and a gas industry expert on electric utility metering systems.

"We now have a very large order for real-time metering equipment that is compliant with industry standards. This plan, and the vendor interest we've seen—it's the first clear sign that people in the industry are actually willing to buy this stuff."

Rush was talking about the request for proposals (RFPs) sent out in mid-August by San Diego Gas & Electric Co., asking vendors for bids on the $25 million first phase of its multi-year plan to install real-time (hourly interval) energy meters throughout its service territory. On Sept. 1, as this issue was going to press, SDG&E reportedly was meeting with vendors, answering questions about its RFP and explaining details about equipment specifications and compliance with industry standards. Only a month earlier, in the heat of the summer and under severe political pressure, the utility had outlined its metering plan to the California Public Utilities Commission.