Benefits of changing electric use habits

Reducing energy use and utilizing electricity more efficiently can be expensive when it comes to the up-front investment. But the long-term savings can be significant and the benefits to the environment and national security profound.

That is why it is a good use of federal stimulus funds to find ways of changing consumer habits for the better. And the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative deserves credit for nailing down one of these grants to lower bills for 13,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers served by the municipal utilities that make up the cooperative.

In this region that includes Norwich Public Utilities, the Jewett City Department of Public Utilities, Groton Utilities and the Bozrah Light & Power Co. it owns. CMEEC, based in Norwich, also includes as members two Norwalk municipal utilities.

Last week the cooperative announced it had qualified for $9.2 million in stimulus money to undertake a Smart Grid Project. It will retool the electric grid serving those communities and provide customers "smart meters" so that consumers can shrink their bills by using electricity at low-demand hours.

Utilities designed today's grid to meet peak demands. On hot summer days when air conditioners are roaring, utilities bring inefficient and pollution-causing peak-load plants online to meet the need. The rules of supply and demand also send wholesale prices skyrocketing, and utilities must recover those costs through higher rates.

Reducing that peak demand, by shutting down or lowering air conditioners when no one is home, delaying running washers and driers until nightfall, and other steps can drop that peak, reduce the resulting pollution and mitigate market forces that drive wholesale rates. A smart grid system will provide consumers the incentive of lower off-peak rates to better manage their electric consumption.

But it is expensive. CMEEC utilities must match the federal grant to build the smart grid. About $3.4 billion was set aside in the stimulus bill for such projects nationwide. Estimates point to a 4 percent reduction in electric use and $20.4 billion in savings for residential and business customers through 2030.

More importantly, however, creation of such systems will drive technological development, lower prices for meters and other equipment through mass production and set the stage for the eventual transformation of the entire grid. That in turn would mean reducing greenhouse emissions, lowering pollutants and reducing demand for foreign oil.

Connecticut Light & Power will soon release the results of its own study of smart meter use and how effectively it can transform consumer behavior. CL&P provided the technology to 3,000 residential and commercial customers in Hartford and Stamford and recorded data from June through August. It plans to submit its findings to the state Department of Public Utility Control by year's end.

The CL&P pilot program is costing $13 million, an expense passed along to consumers. It should show how much consumers and businesses change their use habits to realize real-time savings.

More than ever people appear willing to reduce their energy use. This is a combination of recession-induced frugalness, increased sensitivity about the environment and a patriotic drive to reduce this country's dependence on foreign oil. Rewarding people with savings if they use electricity wisely can only add to that momentum.

CMEEC expects to have the smart meters installed by late next year or early 2011. We can't wait.