Comments on: Energy information devices start to go mass market

By: john personna

john personna — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:55:46 +0000

It matters a lot more what refrigerator and TV you choose every 10 years than what you do in the next 10 minutes. I wonder if these things will have the impact to influence major purchases, or if by then they will have become background noise.

By: D.O.U.G.

D.O.U.G. — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:39:54 +0000

It’s interesting how some associate the marginal price with only the marginal consumption. If the power price is high enough that I need to be concerned about using the toaster (What, a kW-minute? Please, I just want my breakfast.) then perhaps I’d better start thinking about what else in the house is already consuming, like maybe the AC or strip heat. If the TOU rate isn’t tiered, then all consumption in the house is paying the same marginal rate.

Even at VOLL, a piece of toasted bread is pocket change.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:30:25 +0000

I think we’re conflating three market failures here.

1) Customer awareness of energy usage
2) Marginal pricing
3) lack of customer choice between products.

Tim’s advocacy of real time metering addresses #1, and lets people know how much power any activity is drawing. This can lead to energy savings because appliances that are drawing too much electricity due to lack of maintenance are likely to be maintained sooner and electronics with power hungry standby modes are turned off with power strips.

TOU Pricing addresses #2, and requires real time metering as a prerequisite.

#3 seems to be the improved efficiency that Lynne is addressing.

Any of these would increase the efficiency of the electric market, although I doubt even all of them would make the market truly efficient, because there are other barriers against true efficiency such as lack of consistent and informative labeling for electronics and appliances.

By: GraniteViewpoint

GraniteViewpoint — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:56:20 +0000

Lynne,

You make a good point. I keep reading smart grid articles that make it sound like the shiny new real-time communication infrastructure, along with smart thermostats, and new refrigerators, all must be in place in order to make TOU work. These reports leave people thinking that TOU will be part of some far away sci-fi future world.

IMO, static time-of-use pricing (maybe just 2 or 3 tiers as you suggest) could capture a good chunk of the demand elasticity that’s out there, and it would be an easy first step.

Jim