BGE unveils $500M smart grid program aimed to trim customers' bills - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The utility is planning to instalkl 2million “smart” electrixc meters in its customers’ homes and businesses. The meter will help the customers reduce theidr energy consumption at times of peak and the utility will give the customerse rebatesin return. The program will cost $500 milliobn — a bill customers will foot through a surcharge of a few dollarw a month for businesses and an averag eof $1.24 per month for residential customers. and federal economic stimulus package to reduce those But the utility is expecting that the reduction in energyt consumption will create savingds for customers that will more than offseythe surcharges.
The program uses high-tech meters that BGE can more closelyu monitor to get hourly updateds onpower usage. It also will put “energy light devices that warn customers when peak usage periodsare coming, so they can reduce consumption to limit the stress on the poweer grid. A new “smart” pricing system will give customersx rebates for using less power at peak The program could launch by the fourth quarterdof 2009, with installation of the new meterzs continuing until 2014, Mark BGE senior vice president for strategy and regulatory affairs, said at a news conference Monday.
The new pricing system is schedulexd to be in placein 2012, he BGE, a subsidiary of Baltimore'ds Inc. (NYSE: CEG), plans to apply for the stimulus dollars in Augustr and expects to hear back by Case said. There is $4.5 billion set asid in the stimulus packagwe for smart grid Case said heexpects BGE’s application to be competitive because of its background with its Peak Rewarde program, which also helpsx customers reduce energy “We know it’s going to be a competitivde process,” Case said. “Ir we were unsuccessful in getting the stimulus we would recommend still goint forward withthe program.
” In a pilot program that startex in 2008, the smart grid meters helped customers save an averagre of $100 on their bills and cut usagee by 45 percent, Case said. BGE expects the programm to savecustomers $2.6 billion over the life of the he said. And it expectse to cut usage by 500megawattes — about the same amount as a large powedr plant would produce.