AHAM Makes Recommendations for Smart Grid Success

AHAM released a white paper with Smart Grid recommendations in hopes that there's a useful smart grid when the smart appliances are ready.  In many ways the white paper is yelling the obvious, but knocking heads and yelling the obvious can be a useful way to move from short term to long term memory in the heads of decision makers.

AHAM has recommended:

• Time of use metering.  Obviously, without time of use metering, or market price metering, there isn't much incentive for a consumer to do much of anything......and not just because consumers are drooling oafs, though that doesn't help.  Time of Use metering is a tool to reward our oafish consumers, and correctly designed can actually initiate a mouth watering response in the consumer.  Just check the literature.
  Evidently, not all states allow this type of metering.
• Standards of Communication between utility and appliance should be few across all utilities and open.  Manufacturers like things to be simple....so don't screw with them.
• Consumer Privacy.  AHAM suggests that the consumer needs to be in control of his appliance.  AHAM suggests that the utility should not use a 53 year old wiseguy named Vito to enter your home to turn on or off your appliances or your lights while you sleep.  AHAM thinks that would be bad. 
  Instead the consumer will still have the power to over-ride utility signals for "demand response".

See the AHAM White Paper

CNET Article