Environmental Engineering Reference
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world, in some places these installations have incited power struggles between utilities
and concerned citizen groups. Public concerns related to privacy, health, safety, and costs
have resulted in resistance that has stalled or halted some projects and resulted in legally
mandated moratoriums in others (for example, smart meter moratoriums are in effect in
Santa Cruz, California, and multiple municipalities in British Columbia). Strong public
opposition has also forced some communities and state legislatures to institute opt-out
policies which allow customers to choose whether or not to use a smart meter. This
resistance has been expensive and frustrating for many utilities. Some utilities invested
in smart meters in response to certain societal pressures, only to have their smart meter
projects thwarted by other kinds of societal pressures.
In this chapter, we first explain what makes a meter “smart.” Not all smart meters are
created equally; variations in AMI and different consumer interfaces have developed with
different levels of functionality. We then review the history, current status, and trends of
smart meter deployment, characterizing the extent of households that have smart meters.
Next we present the perceived risks and concerns of smart meters that citizens in some
communities have raised. We then explore in more depth the power struggles involved
in smart meter deployment in several different places, including California (Pacific Gas
and Electric's smart meter rollout and the Sacramento Municipal Utility Department smart
meter program), Massachusetts (National Grid's smart meter pilot in Worcester), and
the national strategy for smart meter deployment in Germany. We end this chapter with
a discussion of the policies and timescales for smart meter deployment and possible
trajectories of future smart meter development.
5.2 What Makes a Meter “Smart”?
Meters are devices that measure electricity usage at each household or business.
Conventionalanalogelectricitymetersmonitoraccumulatedelectricityusagemechanically
withtheturningofadial.Analogmeters,whichhavenotchangedmuchinthepasthundred
years, require utilities to hire meter readers, who travel from house to house to periodically
read the meter and record the electricity usage documented on the meter. Once the meter is
read, the utility generates an electricity bill which reflects the amount and cost of electricity
used by the customer the previous month.
Smart meters include real-time sensors to measure electricity usage at sub-hourly
intervals. Smart meters also monitor the power quality and immediately notify the utility
if the power goes out. With this technological advance, many new electricity management
strategies and technologies become possible. For one, smart meters eliminate the need for
an electric company employee, a meter reader, to physically come and read the meter.
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