Google has announced that it is teaming up with eight utilities in the U.S., Canada and India to launch smart meter projects that enable customers to monitor their energy use online. In doing so, the company believes that consumer will better manage their power consumption.
San Diego Gas & Electric is among the first of the utilities to launch a programme which will cost $572 million and will bring smart metering to 1.4 million business and residential users by 2011.
The news from Google and SDG&E follows the announcement from the Obama administration that it intends to establish a nationwide smart electric power grid that will enable users and energy suppliers to connect directly through two-way, real-time communication technology.
In addition, the Obama administration is raising the maximum award available in Recovery Act funds for the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program to $200 million from the original $20 million. The maximum grant for Smart Grid Demonstration Projects will increase to $100 million; it had been $40 million.
Google, which wants to organize energy consumption information around the world and make it available online, has been a strong advocate for a smart grid in the U.S.
In addition to SDG&E, the energy companies partnering with Google are TXU Energy in Texas, JEA in Florida, Reliance Energy in India, the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, White River Valley Electric Cooperative in Missouri, Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited in Canada and Glasgow EPB in Kentucky.
Itron, a tech firm specializing in metering devices and software, is working Google to make smart meters for the initiative.
SDG&E began installing its first batch of Itron smart meters in March. As of today those participating in the pilot are able to go online to see how much energy their properties consumed the day before.
The Google PowerMeter includes a that graph displays energy use hour by hour, and the users can view consumption totals day to day, across a week or more. The information displays in box that sits on a user's personalized iGoogle homepage.
The utility said its research has shown that customers typically cut their energy consumption by at least 5 percent to 10 percent when they know how much they are using. SDG&E's testing program is expected to run through June. The broader installation project is expected to be complete by the end of 2011.
