The formation of the Smart Grid Consumer Coalition was prompted in part by the backlashes occurring against smart meter deployment by Pacific Gas & Electric in California and Oncor in Texas after consumers blamed higher bill on faulty meters. The other impetus was a realization that consumers do not fully appreciate the long-term potential benefit smart meters represent. Firstly, smart energy is a boon for the environment because improved energy efficiency means having to build fewer power plants.

It is also a boon for consumers, in terms of enabling residents to use power more effectively through the meters’ advanced features, such as participating in demand-response efficiency programs to lower bills and getting detailed information on usage to save energy. Not all these applications, however, will be rolled out immediately.

Susan Cashen, vice president of marketing at Control4, one of the coalition’s founding member companies, says “Utilities in particular are talking about the great promise of the smart grid and how it can transform our electrical infrastructure and really our economy. And yet, there is definite concern that if consumers don’t embrace the new technologies the smart grid enables, we’re all going to be in a world of hurt.”

While the benefits to consumers may take some time to come to fruition, power companies and other utilities normally benefit in the form of automated meter reading. From a national perspective, bulked-up power lines and a communications infrastructure to manage the flow of electricity will allow the United States to significantly increase solar and wind power.

The non-profit Smart Grid Consumer Coalition, will focus on identifying what issues need to be addressed to improve customer education and acceptance. “It became clear,” Cashen observed, “that nothing was really focused on the consumer.”