Gerry Brownlee has decided not to specify a standard for smart meters, denying householders the opportunity to get a little more control over the cost of their electricity. The technology on offer is quite exciting, and it’s a real shame the new meters electricity companies are fitting won’t make use of it. The meters being installed don’t have a HAN (home area network) chip, so they won’t be able to communicate with other in-home appliances to allow consumers to take advantage of using power when electricity is cheaper.
Brownlee’s decision is good news for the electricity companies, who now have ministerial backing in their quest to deny households the opportunity to save money on their power bills. It’s a shame he didn’t listen to the advice of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, who recommended last year that he specify a standard, as many overseas jurisdictions have done. Brownlee is defending his decision by saying that the ripple control system for hot water heaters is an adequate substitute. As my colleague Charles Chauvel has stated “In technology terms, that’s a bit like saying you don’t want an iPod because you still have a perfectly good collection of 78s”.
However, he has got one thing right in that he has agreed to regulate some of the basic data exchange protocols. That will ensure that consumers will be able to make use of new meter technology even if they switch retailers. As an example, I’m currently with Meridian but my meter was installed by Genesis. Meridian read my meter every 2nd month, but if I was with Genesis they would do an electronic reading monthly so I’d never need to worry about ‘estimate’ readings. Hopefully the new rules will ensure that Meridian will be able to use the meters electronic capability, even though they didn’t install it themselves.
It’s a real shame Gerry Brownlee hasn’t used his 3 and a half months deliberating on the issue (the Electricity Commission presented their recommendations to him in early December) to make a more gutsy call. As usual he’s sticking with his head in the sand, stacking up more problems that will have to be dealt with in the future rather than showing leadership today. In the meantime consumers miss out on an opportunity to save money on their power bills. So much for National being the party of choice…
“Gerry’s dumb decision…” What do you expect? You come across as being surprised by his behaviour. You shouldn’t.
Dumb is right – I do wonder sometimes how the heck his electorate keep on voting him in – this is an MP who only seems to do what is right for him – why would you vote him in…one does wonder what he gets out of not putting a std in.
STD?
Thanks, Chris, for pointing this out.
This, as with many others from various National Government ministers in recent months, strikes me as another instance that this is a Government of missed opportunities
Apparently the smart meters allow the power companies to charge more flexibly – based on when power is used (and the price of power at the time).
The higher rate is most likely in winter with peak use periods.
Moving to a smart meter overcomes the vagaries of the estimate system, but it could result in higher power price per unit charges in winter when more power is used – exacerbating the problem for some affording power in winter months.
This makes the decision unfortunate for the poor (unaware of the high rate being charged at the time when using power) as well as power conservation in general.
SPC
Surely not.
Smart meters will cost the worker more?
And Labour advocate this?
Good on Gerry Brownlee I say.
And yet, specifying standards for such devices is exactly what the government should be doing to assist the operation of the free-market. Specified standards mean that anyone who can make such a device will be making them inter-operable with all the other devices on the market increasing competition.
Of course, this is a government that’s all about capitalism and capitalism requires restriction so that more profit can be made.
it’s not a dumb decision, it makes perfect sense (remarkably for this minister)when there is no certainty about where the technology is going and noting that smart meters are not the only game in town.
Simple questions – Which standard should be mandated and why? How would that be an advance on the current voluntary standard that every powerco is meeting?
In the us, the web appears to be the favoured method of cammunicating with consumers. Why lock us into meters and the risk of monopoly providers?
Your ‘leadership today’ seems more like ‘regulate and hope’. That usually ends up with people like me footing both the cost of your leadership plus the technology that did an end run around it.
Not surprising for insider to promote confusion in the marketplace by asking Government not to facilitate a clear direction – which could be set in concert and consultation with technology providers – for the wider industry to follow.
More Tired Tory free marketeerism, and typical zero leadership.
And yes, more National missed opportunities.
CV
This is a long term issue driven by technology uncertainty and economics not ideology. Leadership is not needed now. There are too many variables at play for a technology taker to be making a stand. There are a number of competing HAN standards plus alternatives like Internet based systems, considered by many to be far more attractive for consumers than a HAN meter. Which would you choose and why?
Isn’t there a risk we might legislate using a video disc instead of the Bluray player with your leadership model? Better to watch which way standards are developing and be flexible because, while King Gerry has power over Canterbury, his power doesn’t extend directing overseas appliance makers what chips to put in their products.
Couple of things you need to think about on this to give this context. First is, the direct consumer benefit of smart meters is very limited. The main gain is getting cheaper power which means shifting load off peak and doing so in a more flexible way than ripple control. But you can already do it with something like Google’s free powermeter, which already provides a platform for informing consumers and developing home management systems.
In theory this should take pressure off grids and lower cost pressures over time, but it would be a brave man that would say that will happen with certainty (especially when we are overbuilding the grid now and that will have to be paid for over the next 20 years no matter what).
But do your own analysis of what power you could easily and regularly shift at peak times. Hot water? Many already use ripple meters so not much gain. Fridge? Could be done through simple timer but carries food safety risks. Dishwasher? Most likely but you can just choose not to switch it on at peak – not an urgent activity. Are you going to shift heating and cooking? Unlikely. Lighting? Could be difficult.
And about 2/3 of power cost is for fixed items like lines, grid and system maintenance. So you are only looking at a block of about 7-8c/kwh of your power cost that could see significant variance. So your 305 kwh a year dishwasher costs you about $67 a year to run but about $45 is fixed not variable costs. If you could cut the variable cost by 30% you’d save about $7 a year, 50% saves about $12.
It’s not a lot and questionable whether it makes sense to force all consumers to wear the additional meter costs of about $150, especially when there aren’t even appliances on the market that can use them and most of us don’t change appliances for 10-15 years! So a lot of sunk investment due to your leadership but not much benefit for the majority for some time.
Oh and the more we shift power off peak, the potential is prices will rise in those periods as more expensive generation is despatched to meet demand so you may save even less.
Can you provide a compelling alternative case on the lost opportunities, apart from the general desire to ‘lead’.
Forgot to add that most retail prices are averaged/smoothed over a period of time – sort of cross subsidy. But if you change that to time of use pricing, then the logic is peak periods will have to rise significantly. Not sure that will be a good thing for the poor and old in winter.