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Trilliant said it will provide software to manage the smart grid network. It’s
partnering with General Electric and Landis+Gyr to provide the meters and
with IBM to provide networking software, the company said. Workers will
begin installing the meters this fall, officials said.
Smart meters are on the front line of plans for an advanced power grid
because they can communicate with utilities and respond to constantly
changing energy prices.
All told, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $230 million in federal
stimulus funding — matched by the recipients — for smart meters in New England.
For CMP, smart meters will bring an immediate cost savings by
eliminating the need for meter readers, who drive 2 million miles a year to
check meters, said CMP spokesman John Carroll. The system also could
speed CMP’s storm response and eliminate the need for a site visit when
service is turned on or off, he said.
The smart meter plan was opposed by the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers because it calls for layoffs of 141 full- and part-time
employees, including 85 meter readers.
The union contends stimulus money shouldn’t have been used for
something that has the potential to eliminate jobs.
CMP and the union are currently in negotiations over terms of the layoffs,
said Cynthia Phinney, business manager for Local 1837 in Manchester, Maine.
For CMP customers, smart meters will enable them to monitor their
power consumption in real time for free via the Web or through additional
equipment available for purchase, allowing them to educate themselves and
alter their habits to reduce consumption and save money, Carroll said.
Eventually, a combination of smart meters and smart grid improvements
could open the door to new pricing formulas. For example, consumers in the
future could opt for dynamic pricing in which rates vary by the time of day,
or for demand-response programs in which appliances could be disabled
remotely by utilities.
Dick Davies, Maine’s public advocate, said the technology holds great
potential. But he said CMP must work with regulators to avoid complaints
like those levied against Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which last spring
acknowledged some customers in its smart meter program may have received
inaccurate utility bills.
“The technology has some real potential but if you don’t go about implementing
it in the right way, there’s the potential for real problems,” Davies said.
CMP said the project wouldn’t have taken place without federal stimulus
dollars. In the past, CMP sought to upgrade electric meters, but regulators
said it would’ve been too costly.
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