Cayman Brac, a Caribbean island with a population of 1,822 residents, is installing a pay-as-you-go metering system, Smart Meter, that allows homeowners to monitor their electric charges real time. The goal is to equip consumers with data that will enable them to conserve energy. Reports Cayman Net News:
This initiative is driven by efforts to conserve and reduce electricity consumption, and [Jonathan] Tibbetts, [General Manager of Cayman Brac Power and Light,] maintained that consumers gain valuable insight as to their energy usage, which in turn empowers them to take control of their consumption and ultimately save money.
“Energy conservation is an important global issue that needs to be brought to the forefront of all consumers worldwide,” said Tibbets, who has a Smart Meter installed in his own home. “This has saved me as much as thirty percent off my current bill,” he claimed.
If a tiny Caribbean island can equip homeowners with this conservation technology — manufactured by an American company, APMY Metering, incidentally — you’d think that a comparable initiative would be within the grasp of Virginia utility companies more than 1,000 times larger.
Dominion anticipates that economic/population growth in Northern Virginia will lead to scattered electric power shortages within five years. Dominion’s answer: build a 240-mile electric transmission line of 150-foot tall towers to wheel in surplus electricity from the Midwest — against the vehement objections of the communities whose lands would be traversed and landscapes despoiled.
Why isn’t Dominion actively exploring the conservation option? Smart Meters combined with pricing that charged higher rates during periods of peak demand would encourage homeowners (a) to invest in energy-saving appliances, and (b) shift electric demand to off-peak periods of time. Dominion could save multi-millions in transmission-line construction costs.
Perhaps one reason is that the electric utility industry in Virginia isn’t kept on a short leash like it is in the Cayman Islands. This comes from a December 2003 article in Cayman Net News:
The Cayman Islands Government and Cayman Brac Power & Light Co. Ltd (CBPL) signed a 15-year non-exclusive licence to generate, transmit, distribute and supply electricity to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, on Wednesday. …
The terms of the agreement are in keeping with the policy announced by government earlier this year that no more exclusive licences would be issued in the electricity sector, and that new licences would not exceed 15 years in duration. (My italics.)
Maybe 15-year, non-exclusive licenses would encourage Virginia power companies to be a little more creative in their thinking.
(Hat tip to Larry Gross for pointing me to the Cayman Net News.)