The Defining Issue in Energy Policy Today
Sheri Givens is President and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance.
Years ago, when I served as the Texas utility consumer advocate, I spoke nearly every week with an 80-year-old Dallas-area woman named Ms. Berry.
Ms. Berry had intervened in a utility case before the commission involving a smart meter surcharge. The charge was about three dollars a month. In the broader context of grid modernization, it seemed small. But for Ms. Berry, those three dollars were significant.
She told me plainly that the surcharge could be the difference between buying a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, or paying for medication she needed. When the utility talked about the benefits of smart meters and new insights into electricity usage, she stopped me and said something I have never forgotten.