In this, the fifth and final stage of my smart metering maturity series, we look at automation – from the perspective of the utility using automation to help the customer achieve the lowest possible bill with no change to their lifestyle. They essentially ‘set and forget’.
Let’s imagine a time, not too many years away, where a large portion of customers have rooftop solar, storage, electric vehicles and a range of smart devices all controlled by a home hub. I see a time when this applies to both houses and apartments.
With the data being generated from smart meters, and with the ability to remotely control all these behind the meter technologies with your Demand Response system, you can explore the holy grail of customer product offerings – the lowest possible electricity bill to match their lifestyle.
In this month’s Metering & Smart Energy International magazine I have written an article called “A Utilities Secret Weapon In The Battle For The Connected Home.” In this article, I explain the opportunity automation introduces in much greater detail and explains how to combine dynamic pricing with the ability to remotely control consumer demand and generation to optimize the customer’s energy bill.
Combine automation with dynamic pricing to optimize a customer’s energy bill is a great opportunity for Utilities, but they are on borrowed time. As outsiders begin to understand more about third party access to customer meter data, suddenly anyone will be able to offer this service and Utilities will be left wanting.
This is all very exciting. But it not only requires a customer to invest in these behind-the-meter technologies, it requires a Utility to first master the basics of smart metering, automated demand response, dynamic rate design, and advanced analytics. A journey that takes most Utilities a decade or more. How mature is your Utility’s smart metering capability?
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Contact me to find out how we can help you get the most from smart metering, demand response, and behind-the-meter technologies.