The introduction of ‘smart meters’ in parts of Australia has prompted the public to think more carefully about how they consume energy. As with any form of change, this technology has prompted its fair share of criticism, but is this the way of the future? Contributor J. D. Fencer looks at how Australia might in fact be leading the world in terms of how we think about energy consumption.

When we feel cold, we turn up the heating; when we feel hungry, we switch on the stove. In short, when we need energy, we use it and most of us use more than we need. We’re not recklessly wasteful; we know energy is not cheap, but beyond that, we’re pretty ignorant about energy consumption. In a way, it’s just as well, since most of us would get a shock if we knew just how much energy we wasted and a bigger shock if we knew the cost of it. Yet, it’s very difficult for us average people to work out with any degree of accuracy how much energy we consume, let alone waste; we don’t even know how much each of our appliances uses and how much each costs to run. Happily, technology is coming to our rescue and an Australian company is at the forefront.

“Knowledge is power,” as the old saying goes. The knowledge in this case comes from the precise measurement of every aspect of power transmission and consumption. In 2008, Bayard Energy – the energy division of Sydney-based Bayard Capital – acquired the Swiss company Landis+Gyr, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of electricity meters. In 2003, five years prior to this acquisition, Bayard had taken over Ampy, Australia’s leading utility-meter manufacturer, which also has a sizable presence in the UK. At the time of the Landis+Gyr acquisition, the chief executive of Bayard, Cameron O’Reilly, commented: “Every house, every business needs an electricity meter. This deal thus establishes us as the global leader in an essential industry.” In December 2010 GigaOM, the influential Internet technology news site, named Bayard Capital as one of the world’s top five most significant investors in clean technology.

Companies like Landis+Gyr are in the vanguard of what’s called ‘Intelligent Metering’ of electricity, gas and other consumed utilities. This technology has enormous implications for every utility company, every consumer, and the environment. It is a relatively recent development and should not be confused with AMR (automatic meter reading) – a technology that has been around for decades. AMR sends consumption data from the consumer’s meter back to the utility company, primarily for billing purposes. Its main advantages are that it eliminates the need for a person to read the meter and largely does away with estimated bills. Intelligent Metering is different and though it performs those functions, they are just a minor part of what it does.

What’s so special about Intelligent Metering? In an electricity utility company the widespread use of Intelligent Metering, as part of what’s called a “Smart Grid,” cuts the cost of energy distribution, and reduces both the amount of equipment needed in distribution and the downtime of that equipment. The results are a much lower utility bill for the consumer and a hugely positive impact on the environment. It achieves all these by using clever software and a communications infrastructure that enable every meter to stay in constant two-way contact with the utility’s central control point. This integrated system provides real-time monitoring of consumption and power quality, and it detects remote outages as soon as they occur; it can even reroute power to bypass problems.

Most significantly, however, supply can be tailored to precisely match requirements with almost no energy shortfalls or surplus energy generation. The industrial and domestic consumers are central to the system. They ensure demand is more evenly distributed throughout the day in return for financial rewards, which motivate them to reduce non-critical consumption to a minimum at peak times. A system called ‘Demand Response’ is currently being planned that will introduce further automation at consumer level. With Demand Response, “intelligent” domestic and industrial appliances will automatically communicate with the utility company and “agree” the optimum times to switch on and off based on prevailing grid conditions. The consumers need be involved only occasionally to override a decision, should special circumstances dictate.

Simply by enticing consumers to switch to using power at optimal off-peak times means emergency generating capacity never need be called upon and so the number of power stations required to guarantee uninterrupted supply is permanently reduced – a huge cost saving for all players and a significant boon for the environment.

This technology is revolutionary, but not because it’s a new way of generating, distributing, or storing electricity. It’s revolutionary because it simply harnesses knowledge that is already present in the current systems. This knowledge enables the utility company to very accurately predict demand and always keep it within available supply capabilities. In the old system (still the current system in many places), since there is no practical way to store large quantities of electricity, utility companies are forced to build generating capacity for possible demand that is significantly above anticipated peak demand, “just in case.” This is hardly the height of efficiency, but they have little choice since demand is impossible to predict accurately without a system like Smart Grid in place.

Setting up the Smart Grid is an enormous and expensive undertaking and its rollout is slow. Nevertheless, it is happening and it is ongoing. Anticipated obstacles are being tackled and overcome one by one. Some less expected ones are encountered almost daily. For example, a feature of the Smart Grid is that it gives the utility company the ability to remotely and very easily disconnect a consumer’s supply; usually for non-payment of a bill. This has led to a delay in the rollout by some authorities concerned about the impact of sudden disconnection on customers experiencing financial difficulties. Such problems are to be expected and none is insurmountable.

Notwithstanding sluggish progress and minor impediments, the Smart Grid will be coming down your street some time soon. When it knocks on your door, it won’t be demanding your money, or much of your time. All it will ask for is knowledge: the knowledge that’s been lurking in your premises since it was first connected to the power grid. For decades, that knowledge has been waiting for the opportunity to save you money and help save the planet. All someone had to do was ask for it.

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About the author

EthicalLiving.com.au