Smart Meters and Spot Pricing: Experiments and Potential

Responsive microprocessor meters are approaching a life-cycle cost that is cheaper than that of electromechanical time-of-use meters, and they are currently being tested in Britain and the U.S. The English residential Credit and Load Management Unit (CALMU) can respond to dynamic prices broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation and can in principle turn off individual equipment at prices preselected by the homeowner. In the U.S., a consortium led by Integrated Communication Systems, Inc. (ICS) has started similar experiments, and many ``smart houses'' are being planned. Responsive meters (and the thermal storage they will incite) could displace 100 GW of peak power in the U.S. in the next 20-40 years.