Imagine this scenario: you get an SMS saying there’s a problem in your home of excessive power output (“power leak”) and that an electric company rep is on his way to fix the problem. Sounds incredible? Well, apparently this scenario is not far from being realized. This is what Itai Brezis, Director of Strategy and Business Development at Cellcom, claimed at (more…)

Who among us has not eagerly described the smart meter to a non-energy person only to be greeted by a blank stare, or worse the retort: “Why would I want to track my electricity costs all day?”

You try to explain the profound applications: smart appliances that talk to the power grid, consumer (more…)

Glendale Water and Power, the municipal utility for the city of Glendale, California, is one of the first U.S utilities to connect all of its electric customers using smart grid technology and the first to integrate smart systems for two commodities: electricity and water. The company has more than 84,000 electric and (more…)

In a previous post, I wrote about Texas smart meter company TransData‘s patent infringement suit against CoServ, a Texas utility.

TransData recently extended its patent enforcement activity from Texas in an easterly direction through the southeastern United States, filing complaints (more…)

Why do so many energy insiders insist that home energy automation will fail? Many whom I respect say the typical householder will never take the time to fiddle with smart gadgets that reduce energy costs.

Their skepticism, however, just elicits a verbal shrug (more…)

Earlier this month, Silver Spring Networks filed an S-1 for its long anticipated IPO. It was so long anticipated that many had about given up, but through a series of smart grid acquisitions, including Toshiba’s pending payout for Landis+Gyr, we had renewed speculation.

Expected pricing for the IPO was not announced, but (more…)

Last week, temperatures soared into the triple digits, reaching record highs for the Twin Cities. After a wicked winter, I actually welcomed the heat with open arms. That is, until the temperature inside my house hit a steamy 86 degrees – even with curtains closed and fans circulating. And while I pride myself on (more…)

The long rumored acquisition of L+G by Toshiba has finally happened. It appears Bayard Group, the investment group that assembled the current incarnation of L+G from more than five companies, got their price ($2.3 billion) without the originally anticipated IPO, making their investors happy. Perhaps it is (more…)

Dynamic pricing schemes are viewed as one of the key utility tools for reducing peak load during the summer, which is growing over time. Such pricing schemes, which adjust the price of electricity based on the time of day and the cost of generating electricity during different time periods, are on the rise throughout the United States. (more…)

We’ve been hearing for years that the energy efficiency industry needs to find its equivalent to the cell phone. These days industry folks refer to it as the ‘killer app,” the revolutionary product or service that consumers can’t resist.

But lately, partly because I’m dieting, I’ve been (more…)