Tag: utilities
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Is there really any need for baseload power?
Photo credit wonderferret The electricity grid may not need “baseload” generation sources like coal and nuclear to backup the variability of supply from renewables. Jon Wellinghof is the Chairman of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC is an independent agency that amongst other things, regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and…
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The day that we see all devices which consume water having networked flow meters is still a ways off
I wrote a post a couple of days ago asking the question How long until all devices which consume water have networked flow meters? after talking to Oracle VP Industry Strategy, Guerry Waters about Oracle’s recently released “Testing the Water: Smart Metering for Water Utilities” study. Having put the question out there, I’m now going…
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Google Energy to start disrupting the utility industry?
Photo credit filippo minelli There is no doubt about it but Google is a disruptive company. First Google disrupted search, then advertising, then video (with their acquisition of YouTube), and then Office applications with the launch and continued development of Google Apps for Domains. Most recently Google has disrupted the mobile phone industry, first with…
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PG&E smart meter communication failure – lessons for the rest of us
Photo credit svale What we have got here is a failure to communicate The famous line from legendary movie Cool Hand Luke is the first thing that comes to mind when one hears about the fiasco which PG&E’s smart meter rollout in Bakersfield Ca. has become. From the report on the SmartMeters.com site: a class-action…
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There’s gold in them thar bills!
Photo credit Urban Jacksonville The output from smart meters is incredibly granular. Far more so than is obvious from the smart meter output graph above. In conversations with Dr Monica Sturm (Director of Siemen’s Center of Competence, Metering Services) last November (2008) she confirmed to me that it is possible to identify individual devices in…