Okay, so PowerStream Ontario installed a new smart meter last week so they can vary electricity billing by usage over different time periods in response to the provincial government’s mandate to migrate customers to a new pricing system by the end of 2010. I get the variable reinforcement schedule. There’s no need for Pavlov to ring his little bell. The brochure outlines the big electricity users in my home, but I already knew, thanks.
The meter will enable variable pricing for electricity costs, depending on Time Of Use (TOU). When TOU billing starts in a few months, usage will cost more during peak usage times, i.e. homeowners will pay a bit more than twice as much to use electricity during convenient times compared to the middle of the night, when they might otherwise be doing things like sleeping.
Well, I hate to break the news, but I won’t be doing laundry between 10pm and 7am. Not happening. For sure. I already do my part with a high efficiency furnace and air conditioner, air-tight windows, CFL lightbulbs, using off-switches and unplugging things. Gee, I haven’t plugged the treadmill in for months! How nice that from now on, weekends and holidays are considered off-peak, so if I have nowhere better to be, I can always do chores all weekend and not feel guilty about the electricity I’m using.
And no thanks to the an additional offer for something called a “peaksaver” programmable thermostat that will allow the power company to remotely turn air conditioners on and off during heat waves. I guess this comes as a surprise, but I already manage my own programmable thermostat, all by myself, keep it set at a respectable 25C and even then, only turn it on during a heat wave. Otherwise, fresh air seems to work just fine. And surely they are kidding to think that it’s a benefit for homeowners to control their thermostat remotely via the internet. Perhaps this is an exciting option for those who are too challenged to program their thermostat on the wall in the first place?!
Rather than chase homeowners who already try to be energy efficient, I think it would be far better for the electricity company the Ontario Energy Board to implement variable billing for businesses like grocery stores with open freezer sections, or movie theatres that are so cold you need to dress in layers to see a movie during a heat advisory. The chill hits you like a wall just entering those places.
Perhaps the new Smart Meters will instill a bit of a learning curve by penalizing the pocketbook of neighbours who think it’s okay to roar their air conditioners 24/7 all summer with open windows. But for the most part, I think the average homeowner has more common sense. Only time will tell if the new rates will translate to price gouging from those who are already trying to be reasonable in their power consumption.
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Just for the record, it is not the electricity companies that are responsible for initiating the deployment of smart meters and the implementation of time-of-use rates but rather the provincial government through its industry regulator, the Ontario Energy Board. Electricity companies are simply executing the government’s mandate to install a smart meter at every home and small business in the province by the end of 2010 and to migrate these customers to time-of-use pricing by no later than the end of 2011.
Eric, thank you for the clarifications, I have updated my post accordingly.