How Much Money Can A Smart Electric Grid Save?

Mr. DELUREY: Something that most people are surprised to hear is that 10 to 20 percent of the overall electricity costs in the U.S. come from the top 100 hours on the electricity system.

I had “All Things Considered” on the car radio this evening as I made a quick trip to Hamden. The distinctly piped Robert Siegel was interviewing Dan Delurey, president of the Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition. They are an organization which promotes “Smart Grid” technology for power companies.

I know what he’s selling so the interview was pedestrian until this exchange.

Mr. DELUREY: Something that most people are surprised to hear is that 10 to 20 percent of the overall electricity costs in the U.S. come from the top 100 hours on the electricity system.

SIEGEL: I want you to repeat that number because it’s astonishing. The top 100 hours of the year for demand of electricity account for 10 to 20 percent…

Mr. DELUREY: That’s correct.

SIEGEL: …of the cost of providing electricity.

Mr. DELUREY: That’s correct.

And, of course, that’s the real weakness of a public utility. You have to build for peak demand even if average demand is much, much lower and large portions of your capacity will be unused most of the time.

If there’s 10-20% of low hanging fruit savings I’d probably participate… if I shared the savings. Some companies aren’t good at sharing. We’ll see.

I’ve been talking a lot about alternate power generation recently. People bring it up in conversation all the time. BP has gotten us all pissed at oil. Oil needs some tough love.

I’m suspicious of solar power and wind energy. Neither is dependable enough nor are the solar cells and windmills efficient enough. On top of that it’s tough to store excess electricity to use when the wind isn’t blowing or the Sun’s not shining.

I favor wind/wave action. I’m no engineer, but the slow progress here has got to be a consequence of the difficulty… not that getting oil in the Gulf is so easy!

The advantage of turbines spun by currents or generators driven by wave action is they’re very dependable. The motion to power them is quite plentiful and free.

You would think building offshore removes most of the NIMBY problems. It doesn’t. Otherwise green residents are up in arms against the wind farm in Nantucket Sound. Still, it’s got to be easier than building on land.

Imagine tapping into the Gulf Stream or the ocean swells a few miles out. These are inexhaustible sources of power and they add no pollution.

Until that day 10-20% savings by letting someone else control my thermostat seems worth considering.