Some may wince at the term, but let’s not run away.
Patty Durand serves as the executive director of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative.
A prominent thought leader from the power industry told me recently over lunch at a major conference that people "wince" at the term "smart grid."
His point? Perhaps we should give up on those words and replace them with something different.
Why do I mention this?
The perception is that the smart grid has not yet produced results, namely because because people don't have "smart pricing" information to match their smart meters - data that can help them adjust their energy consumption and save money. That said, consumers are enjoying reduced outages and improved utility communications.
In our experience at the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC), and in the research we've conducted, we have found a small but statistically significant uptick in the number of people who express negative views of "smart grid" and "smart meters." Anti-smart meter activists may be gaining some traction, while those with a stake in educating and engaging consumers over smart grid have not.