Experts testifying Thursday encouraged lawmakers to provide financial incentives to utilities and states to encourage smart metering programs.
This is the idea behind smart metering, which has made a good deal of progress in the power industry.
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The key feature of a distributed system is so-called "smart metering, " which allows power to flow in both directions.
The move comes as Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems (SMS) bids to take advantage of a drive to fit every UK home with a smart meter by 2020.
There were also discussions around innovation that would be more relevant to utility markets such as smart metering, leak detection, pressure regulation, water quality monitoring and more.
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And because the public is largely uneducated on smart metering and energy price fluctuations, there hasn't been much of a demand, says Robert Lieberman of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Itron (ITRI) has the leading market share in the global smart metering industry, and Echelon (ELON) provides network solutions and interfaces for street lighting, residential appliances and facility monitoring.
At the federal level, Congress doesn't have the power to mandate a nationwide smart metering program, and many states don't have the programs or the political will to foster such programs.
Why is it, I asked, have the power firms meekly accepted the government's requirement to deliver Whitehall policy on the shift to lower carbon and renewable power, while funding energy efficiency measures, smart metering and the social tariffs that support poorer customers?
By adding Obvius to its list of offerings, Leviton is staking out its position as single-source provider of measurement and verification solutions in the field of lighting and energy management solutions, which include smart metering, energy data information, load management and LEED rating achievement.
Smart metering is part of an increasingly popular trend in energy efficiency called "demand response" in which customers voluntarily cut back on their power consumption during times of highest electricity demand, like the hottest days of summer, when air conditioners are running at full blast.
In January of last year, cybersecurity researcher Travis Goodspeed gave a presentation at the S4 conference in Miami where he described a way to bypass encryption on Zigbee wireless chips, which some smart electric metering systems would use to communicate.
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For more than ten years, NARUC has addressed critical issues arising from advanced metering and smart grid deployments, including ratemaking, reliability, cyber security, consumer education, consumer protection, and privacy.
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The change has taken Denmark nearly two decades to implement, but the most critical step was the introduction of smart- or net-metering, which required utilities to buy back electricity from consumers at 85% of the price.
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