Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy
Will Maryland be the first to have a smart grid up and running?
It no secret the California and Austin, TX are two places where engineers and legislators are moving forward on getting a smart grid up and running (see links below). It's time to put another location on the list: Maryland. Maryland's Governor O'Malley and energy experts today met yesterday at the Maryland Energy Summit and one of the topics was smart metering technology.
Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, which is working on smart grid technology, says Maryland is starting to make the right moves for installing a smart grid.
"For too long, customers have been shut out of the dialogue, when instead they should be treated as active participants and partners in the electricity enterprise. Rewarding utilities for efficiency and customer service facilitates that relationship, and smart metering technology gives consumers the tools they need to benefit from it, from reducing their bills to helping protect the environment. Maryland's decoupling efforts are steps in the right direction, paving the way for a future electric system that is affordable, efficient and reliable," Yeager said in a release.
Related:
[Source: Galvin Electricity Initiative]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 12:44PM (7/26/2007)
I live in Maryland - and this was the first time I've heard of the Maryland Energy Summit.
Quick Googling didn't reveal much more than announcements for the summit. The Baltimore Sun did have some more detail:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.energy25jul25,0,6941390.story
I hope the summit results in more than just a political PR opportunity. Legislative gridlock and lack of forward thinking has resulted in a 50% (yes, fifty percent) electrical rate increase just this month in my area (served by BG&E). That makes for 72.5% in the last 18 months. So I must admit that my hopes for real progress are being tempered by recent reality.
If you're curious, more info on Maryland energy shenanigans:
http://omalleywatch.com/?p=116
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Tim 1:32PM (7/26/2007)
Ignore the guy above, I'm also from Maryland the website he's linking to is a known conservative propoganda site. Please save your O'Malley bashing for a more appropriate forum, we deal with truths here.
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Phil L. 1:43PM (7/26/2007)
Tim -
You're right. My apologies: As I look at it further, I shouldn't have linked to O'Malley site.
I was trying to find a reference that covered the recent BG&E rate issue, including the political aspects. Note that the item linked references both Baltimore Sun and Washington Post references, so it's hardly based on hearsay. I stumbled into that one (I don't normally read the site), but you're correct: The site isn't designed to be a general source, and shouldn't be treated as such.
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rj 2:08PM (7/26/2007)
The power situation in md is a mess.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-id.moore25jun25,0,7919743.column?coll=bal-opinion-utility
"..consumers have no choice about whether to participate in the legislature's plan and that all ratepayers will now be charged interest on their deferred payments."
Not only did they raise our rates they are charging us intrest with no choice to pay the full ammount with no intrest.
They charge a "delivery fee" per KWH that durring the so called rate freze was about equal to the cost per KWH of electricity.
Smart grid ... ha ... they can't keep the regular grid up and running. There is a reason I have a generator, reserve gasoline, an inverter, and a deep cycle battery.
from your link
"The state currently imports a quarter of its electricity, and the transmission lines into the state are operating near their capacity."
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