ComEd Says Smart Meters Could Save Customers $2.8 Billion Over 20 Years, Despite Short-Term Rate Hikes

Despite short-term rate hikes, ComEd customers throughout northern Illinois could experience long-term savings of $2.8 billion with the implementation of smart meters, the company announced Monday.

The analysis, completed by Black & Veatch, was ordered after the Illinois Commerce Commission approved the Exelon company's smart meter pilot program, which tested the technology on more than 120,000 customers in the Chicagoland area over the course of one year, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The savings would come through eliminating manual meter reading, delivering more accurate bills to customers, reducing the number of service calls and visits and more generally enhancing communication between the company and its customers. The $2.8 billion in savings are in addition to the savings that customers would experience by using the smart meters to more closely monitor their energy usage, according to the company.

"Smart meter system technology can improve service, help customers make more informed decisions about energy use, and contribute to lower energy costs," ComEd president and chief operating officer Anne Pramaggiore said in a statement.

The program would also foster an improved company response to power outages, such as the unprecedented summer storm that, on July 11, knocked out power to over 850,000 of their customers, LaGrange Patch reports. Some customers were left in the dark for days. Had the program been in place, a company spokeswoman recently said in a LaGrange board meeting, nearly one-quarter fewer of those customers -- 200,000 -- would have been affected by service disruption.

But ComEd's smart meter program still faces an uphill political battle in order to become a reality. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has promised to veto the rate increase and described the program as "really about locking in guaranteed, significant annual profits for the utility companies without any real oversight by the Illinois Commerce Commission," the Sun-Times reports.

According to NBC Chicago, ComEd recently ranked as the 112th-best utility in terms of overall performance by J.D. Power and Associates. The company ranked dead last in customer service.

Comments

[Kenz300]

09:59 AM on 09/03/2011

Saving energy saves money. The price of oil, coal and nuclear keep rising.

We will all figure out how to do more with less energy as the price continues to rise.

[Eagleman]

10:41 AM on 08/31/2011

The whole thing is a high tech ponzi scheme..

Every one makes money in this - Technology vendor, consultants, etc. All you have to do is add the word "Smart" to it.

Companies like Black & Veatch performs analysis and says good. There are high paid consultants who say what you want to hear - a classic fox in the hen house.

Now the electric companies like ComEd, PG&E and other have an excuse to increase our electric bills, because they are investing in their infrastructure.

Every one gets something out of it except the consumers.

[dopamineboy]

04:13 PM on 08/17/2011

It's all b.s.
The only study looking at smart meter economy was in Toronto and 80% reported their bills went up, and this is in addition to customers having paid the huge costs of installing the smart meter infrastructure. Consumers are being duped in one of the biggest cons of the 21st century

[loco48]

07:10 AM on 08/26/2011

I have a smart meter. It is great. I can program my thermostat by daily readings I do online. My bill has gone done by 10% since the meter was installed 2 years ago. Also, the meter reader's time is greatly reduced. Before, the reader had to stop at every 4 houses, get out and go to each meter for a reading. Now, he just drives down the street and captures the reading from RF sent by the meters. Saves gas and time. Gas and time = more expense. Soon, not good for the readers, the meters will be read over the lines remotley, using power line coding. And the power company charged me nothing for the meter, they paid for them selves in cost savings.

[Genders]

09:43 PM on 08/15/2011

Please! It would save the utilities that much. I hope they would choose to share that with the customers, but there is no guarantee.

[Kenz300]

08:01 PM on 08/15/2011

Japan has said that if they replaced all their light bulbs with more energy efficient LED bulbs they could reduce the electric demand equal to several nuclear power plants.

[pewty]

08:00 PM on 08/11/2011

wont work, it doesnt make money for big oil or big coal....fergit it......wont work....nope nope nope

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

04:22 AM on 08/10/2011

Why will customers save money? Com Ed isn't known for passing savings on to customers, just costs.

[Vincent Rocco]

10:36 PM on 08/09/2011

Dont forgot about the jobs that would be lost. Having computers replace people is not a good thing.
This is our future if we let this happenhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/comed-says-smart-meters-c_n_922301.html#

[ejhickey]

10:26 PM on 08/09/2011

One unstated reason for the smart meters is to give Com Ed the ability to regulate the amount of electricity an individual can use. during times of high usage they can more easily ration electricity. this will save com. ed the cost of building additional capacity. thus can also be used by the cops to track down grow ops by electricity usage. Don't like it? Get your own back up generator.

[dsa1115]

10:17 PM on 08/09/2011

This is nonsense. There is no proof this will save anyone money but ComEd. If it's such a great investment, why doesn't ComEd pay for it?

[madeashell]

04:26 PM on 08/09/2011

No they don't. All smart meters do is rake in the dough for com-ed. It is the old nickle and dime you to death routine. Remember when you could make a phone call at any time, day or night, and still pay the same charge. Now in the wireless industry, if you want the cheaper rate you have to call after 7 PM. It works the same with smart meters. Want to do your laundry at 7 or 8 am in the morning? You'll pay more than if you did it at 2 am. Want to run your air conditioner? Better hold off until you get home and can turn it on at midnight because they don't want us peons battling for the same electricity big business sucks up during working hours. . Nickel and dime, Nickel and dime.