The technology is there for utility companies to provide to customers that will give them better ability in monitoring their energy consumption.  Power providers are enthusiastically supporting these technologies and test projects are popping up throughout America and the world.

However, some efforts will take longer to implement than others.  Utilities are often subject to regulations that require the passage of legislation in order to alter.  Utilities and regulators must work together to bring energy efficient technologies to the public as quickly as possible, said a deputy secretary of the Energy Department at the Mid-America Regulatory Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on June 19. 
Especially considering the ever-spiraling costs associated with providing power, utilities and regulators must act quickly before more consumers are faced with the choice of paying their electric bill or buying groceries.  Oklahoma utility American Electric Power – Public Service Oklahoma (AEP-PSO), which provides power to the Tulsa area, recently added $17.50 to the average monthly bill due to a 40% spike in the price of natural gas.  AEP-PSO has some power plants that use natural gas to generate power.

Federal officials expect demand for electricity to grow by 30 percent by the year 2030, according to Kevin Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability.  The more electricity demanded by the public, the more power the power suppliers have to generate.  Once a plant reaches its generating capacity, a new plant must be built.  Federal regulations in America state that power companies must meet the demand of their consumers – no matter what.

This ever-increasing demand for electricity creates some considerable hurdles for the future energy industry.  According to Kolevar, proposals to bring renewable energy sources such as wind and solar or other clean methods of power generation such as nuclear, clean-coal, and natural gas to consumers all must meet regulatory requirements before they can be introduced.  Any type of power plant construction is likely to have some opposition also.

“As policymakers and regulators, we need to do what we can today to address these issues now,” said Kolevar.  “We must work together to make progress in this environment.”  American Electric Power Chairman and CEO Mike Morris had a similar comment: “I think we can get it done if you, as the regulators, and we, as the regulated, can work together.”  American Electric Power is the parent company to AEP-PSO.

Kolevar expects that consumers will have more transparency into their power consumption within the next five years.  Smart meters will allow consumers to know exactly how much energy they are using at any point in time.  Consumers, for the first time will know how much energy they are saving when they turn a light off, for example.

“We really are at the cusp of a major transformation in energy usage,” said Kolevar.  “Smart grids are a great example of this.”

Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E), a regional energy supplier to about 755,000 customers in a service area covering 30,000 square miles, is beginning a test on its brand new smart grid.  OG&E’s smart grid works with a smart meter installed at the home and networking technology connection the smart meter to the power station.  The OG&E test project also includes a programmable thermostat and touch screen display panels.

Smart meters could come in particularly handy in this part of the country where the temperature often soars above 100 degrees in the summertime and air conditioning is cranked up to keep homes cool.  If OG&E customers had a way to cycle on their air conditioning in time to have the home cool by the time they returned from work, they could save a considerable about of energy during those hottest days of the year.  This considerable power savings translates into considerable monetary savings and considerably fewer emissions released into the atmosphere.

Around 6,600 residents in the northwestern Oklahoma City will get the new smart meters and a portion of them will get the programmable thermostat with the touch-screen information panels.  Kolevar said that OG&E’s effort marks a new era for the provider-customer relationship, “that so far has not existed.”

Ken Grant, Managing Director of Marketing at OG&E said, “Similar smart grid technologies are being implemented by several other utilities, but OG&E will be first to test the in-home programmable thermostats and touch-screen information panels in customers’ homes.  This research period will give us a pulse of how our customers can use the technology to benefit them.”

American Electric Power
1 Riverside Plaza
Columbus, Ohio, USA 43215-2372
http://www.aep.com

Oklahoma Gas & Electric
P.O. Box 321
Oklahoma City, OK 73101-0321
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