The Obama administration is allocating billions to subsidize the purchases of new technologies by utilities. In a BusinessWeek article, he is quoted as saying, “make our energy bills lower, making outages less likely, and making it easier to use clean energy.”
How it would work would be that smart meters would be installed on people’s homes in place of the older models. This would relay information about electricity use and price to consumers and let utilities collect usage data wirelessly without trucks or meter readers. The debate is whether or not real-time pricing will work. Will consumers be willing to pay more as others blast their air conditioning with the idea that demand would be low on a cool night and prices would be lower? Pricing could literally change per minute. Are we ready for this change?
The idea is that overall energy costs would come down even if only 20% of customers take part in the pricing and efficiency program, under PepsiCo Holdings Inc’s plan. Will it work?
There is much debate, yet my question is how will you get consumers to buy-in?
It will be a gamble for many not understanding or believing that their costs will be lower if demand is lower. Lots of education and awareness will need to be in place in regard to what our current consumption is as consumers and where it needs to be and how this is a solution to get our energy usage on track as a nation. The more consumers will understand the need, the more they will buy-in. I almost wonder if a trial would allow more buy-in, where this project could be piloted first and tracked for overall savings.
Regardless of the scenario, the right strategy complete with advanced education, awareness of the current energy situation and how we can be part of the solution will need to be part of the campaign. It seems to me that what worked to convince people to wear seat belts might work here—pure awareness and education.
Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends
Colette Chandler
