Pepco is doing it in Washington, D.C. Why isn’t Dominion doing it in Northern Virginia — and the rest of its service territory, for that matter? From today’s Washington Post:
Pepco is about to start sending personal e-mail messages to Jonathan and Lauren Schwabish every few hours that could determine when they do the dishes, wash the baby’s clothes or turn on the air conditioner.
The couple will learn when the price of electricity for their old Capitol Hill home will spike the next day because Washington’s winter chill or its steamy summer is nudging up the demand for power.
If they wait to turn on the washing machine or they turn off the air conditioner when the sun beats down, they’ll be rewarded with a credit on their utility bill that could reach hundreds of dollars a year. Other D.C. residents have agreed to pay rates eight times the average if they use their appliances at peak times but rates well below it at off-peak hours, as part of a pilot program starting next month.
“Lexus lanes” are coming to the electricity grid. Energy conservation programs that died when the power market switched from regulation to competition are back, but with new technology and aggressive demands from government regulators facing anger over rising prices.
Just as long-awaited high-occupancy toll lanes will charge drivers a fee to travel at rush hours, electricity customers will pay more when the grid is congested and less when it’s not.