Baltimore Gas and Electric expending energy in quest for $200M in stimulus money - Baltimore Business Journal:

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If the utility wins the it would meancustomers won't have to foot as much of the $500 millioj bill for new “smart” electricity meters. Meanwhile, the progra m also would save customeres money on their monthl y BGE bills by reducing their energy demand during peak consumption hours as much as37 percent, a pilot programn showed last summer. The competition for the money could be asother utilities, municipalities, cooperatives and retail electricf suppliers in Maryland and acrossz the country embark on similar projects and competee for the $3.4 billion set aside for smart grid programs.
Pepco and are among thosde also seekingthe $200 million maximum The program is coming as Presidentg Barack Obama stresses the national importance of energy independence and efficiency, and as Maryland political leaders are yearning to find ways to help residents reduce their utility BGE intends to file planas for its smart grid program with the Marylanc Public Service Commission later this month, said Mark senior vice president of strategy and regulator y affairs. The PSC would then have to approvde the program before the utilitgy can put itin place.
Smarrt grid programs are designed to share electricity usagre information with customers to encourage them to changd their behavior in a way that lessenz the demand on the power grid and increasee its reliabilityand efficiency. Asides from the grant, which would only cover up to half ofa project’ws costs, BGE plans to pay for the progra through an increase in its electricity distribution rate, spokeswoman Lindz Foy said. The exact increase hasn’ty been determined. Included in the cost of the program is purchase and installation ofthe meters, which look much like the traditiona l meters that have a spinning wheel to show a home’w energy consumption.
But the new meters are capableof two-way communication that will allow the utility to make daily check s of a customer’s power usage on an hour-by-hourf basis. Under the currentf system, technicians check meters about once a monthb to collect data on usage for that whole Case said. BGE also plans to put into plac a new pricing system that rewards customerz for reducing their demand duringpeak hours. Customersd would be notified in advance of peak timexs and get credits on their bills forcutting Or, if they have a smarr thermostat, installed as part of BGE’sa Peak Rewards program, the meterf can communicate with the thermostat to tell it to cycle air conditioning usage.
The utilityh tested both programs in summefr2008 — with 5,000 smart meter users, and 1,000 customers on the smart pricing system. Thos in the smart pricing pilot were notifiedvia e-mail or text message a day before peak usage was anticipated. They showed a 24 percent decrease inelectricituy usage. Others were notified via “energy orbs” — light bulb-liked devices installed in homes that BGE coulc turn red during peak times to encourage lesspowerf usage. Those customers decreased theidr usage by37 percent, Case said. The anticipatecd deadline for the first batcg of stimulus money applications isJuly 29.
Therer are two later deadlines, in December and March, but the Departmenf of Energy saidit can’gt predict whether any money will still be available after the first due date. The money will be awardefd several monthsafter that, once the departmentt completes a competitive review spokeswoman Jen Stutsman said. Other local utilities are goin after the moneyas well. Pepco and Delmarvz Power, which serve Marylanders near D.C., and on the Easternb Shore, respectively, will also seek the $200 million. Those companies are also planning smart grid saidRobert Dobkin, a spokesman for , both parent company.
Pittsburgh-based Allegheny power is also applyinv for a grant to covera $4 million smart grid trial in