consumers posts, articles, and infographics

New Privacy Guidelines for Electricity Data Will Help Protect Consumers

January 10, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 186 views

It’s difficult to imagine life without electricity. Our lives and lifestyles are so thoroughly intertwined with electricity that any disruptions in power can rapidly transform from minor inconveniences into life-threatening situations. Thus the need for grid modernization – the Smart Grid – is vital to ensure that we continue... [read more]

New Year's Resolution: Monitor Your Electricity Usage!

January 6, 2012 by Peter Troast
with 250 views

First of all, Happy New Year! We're all recovering from a relaxing and, for some of us, pretty exciting holiday break, but we're psyched to be back online and amped up to help all of our readers find new, unique, exciting and effective ways to save energy over the coming year, which we hope you'll all be enjoying in cozy, healthy homes.... [read more]

Can Video Games Solve Energy Challenges?

December 28, 2011 by Silvio Marcacci
with 158 views

Advanced gaming technology now means anyone can immerse themselves in warfare, become a rock star, or win the World Series, albeit virtually. But what if video games could also teach people about energy technologies and environmental concerns? energyNOW! correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan plugs into several video games that could help people make better energy choices and potentially create real-world energy solutions. [read more]

Consumers Deserve A LOT More Info About Smart Grid

November 15, 2011 by Jim Pierobon
with 216 views

Here are the key findings, followed by selected top-line implications. The research, conducted by Market Strategies International August 15-September 6, 2011, consisted of land line and cell phone calls to 1,200 adults aligned with national population parameters. It has a +/- 3.2 percentage point error margin at a confidence level of 95%. [read more]

Data Analytics at the Grid Edge – Killer Apps or Overkill?

September 14, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 430 views

The recent exits of Google’s PowerMeter and Microsoft’s Hohm products targeted at consumers have some industry watchers asking if residential consumers really care about home energy consumption data. Where we once had a monthly bill that simply indicated the previous month’s kilowatthours of electricity use, smart meters can... [read more]

UMW: Messaging A Clean-Energy Future

July 1, 2011 by A Siegel
with 251 views

When it comes to discussing the value and power of a clean-energy future, in a way that touches core values and life-experiences of a good share of Americans, perhaps it is time to think and speak UMW. No … not the United Mine Workers. Instead, when we think UMW and energy, we should turn to three “institutions”... [read more]

Do Oil Consumers And Oil Producers Really Share The Same Goal?

May 31, 2011 by Rod Adams
with 269 views

Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that his country shares a common desire with oil consumers. They would both like oil prices to be lower. Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal indicated that the Saudis would like oil to be trading in the range of $70 to $80 per barrel instead of its current market price of... [read more]

Getting Even With ExxonMobil

May 3, 2011 by Robert Rapier
with 441 views

It is no secret that consumers are suffering from very high gasoline prices. And as a result of these high prices, ExxonMobil just reported a first-quarter profit of $10.7 billion — 69 percent higher than a year ago. The national level of disgust and anger is approaching record levels as we watch the loss of our hard-earned dollars... [read more]

The Future Will Not Be Boring...

April 26, 2011 by Michael Tobis
with 153 views

Let's start at the very beginning. Every month we dig ourselves deeper in the hole. Every month the future bottleneck looks tighter, the future crisis deeper, the future losses more tragic. And for a few years, we have been out of the realm of the hypothetical, with real damage starting to occur.The changes we will need to avoid a... [read more]

‘Price Signal’ can be a Weapon for Managing Higher Gas Prices

April 18, 2011 by Robert Rapier
with 130 views

The Steep Cost of Sudden Price Spikes One of my recent essays discussed the relationship between high oil prices and recession. Consumers who suddenly find themselves paying more for fuel are hit with the equivalent of a stealth tax, leaving less money available to fuel domestic growth through purchases or investments. Thus,... [read more]

SMARTGRID WEBINAR 1PM - LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER

April 2, 2011 by Amelia Timbers
with 463 views

Most traditional systems for distributing electricity are severely limited by a mismatch between available power and fluctuating consumer demand for power. Often, this results in wasted energy during light load times, and insufficient power during peak times—in the worst cases, leading to brownouts and blackouts. [read more]

Bridging the Communications Gap Between Utilities and Consumers

March 28, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 249 views

The ongoing saga of smart meters in California and a recent opt-out ruling once again highlight the existence of a communications gap between utilities and consumers. Watching this slow motion communications disaster play out leads me to two conclusions. First, utilities, regulators, and governmental entities need to... [read more]

No Matter How You Slice It, Energy Efficiency A Good Thing.

March 22, 2011 by Tyler Hamilton
with 166 views

Eric Wesoff of GTM Research has a guest blog post on GE’s Ecomagination site titled “Will efficiency lead to more power consumption?” It touches on the idea, first proposed by economist William Stanley Jevons in 1885, that technologies designed to make our use of energy more efficient work to increase, not decrease, overall power... [read more]

The Times They Are A’Changin, and We Better Get Used to It

March 21, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 27 views

Technology is easy, change is hard. It doesn’t matter if it’s individual or systemic change – it is more difficult to modify human attitudes and behaviors than invent disruptive, game-changing technologies or services. Keep this in mind as we confront hard realities and harder decisions. Nuclear meltdown in Japan,... [read more]

WEBINAR TODAY 3pm: Smart Grid + The Customer Experience - Critical Questions for Utilities

March 20, 2011 by Amelia Timbers
with 362 views

The transition to a smart grid represents a fundamental change in customer relationship management. Suddenly, utilities’ relationships with their customers will dramatically increase in complexity. Utilities will have access to customer data rivaled in sensitivity only by banks and hospitals. They will be able to control customers’... [read more]