Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), a subsidiary of Constellation Energy  got the go ahead from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to proceed with a vast smart grid deployment in Central Maryland.  The saga between BGE and the PSC was evident when the  PSC denied BGE on the first round the ability to run with its smart meter deployment as planned. BGE had to move fast because it got $200 million from the Federal government through a stimulus grant which was about to expire if the PSC had not accepted the terms.

So now the plan has been accepted, and  BGE is going to touch the lives of 1.2 million customers in Maryland. Clearly a pretty ambitious smart grid program.

According to BGE president and CEO, Kenneth W. DeFontes Jr., "Those benefits include at least $2.5 billion worth of savings for BGE customers over the life of the project, as well as major new enhancements in customer service and reliability."

BGE's ability to invest the hundreds of millions of dollars in smart grid on behalf of its customers depends on predictability, certainty and fairness in being able to recover those costs. And for this project to be a success BGE must be very vigilant, and on-top of customer expectations, satisfaction, and congruency.

The PSC was probably concerned the public would not understand that the moment a Smart Grid is installed, they would receive immediate savings on their electricity bill. Is this true? Most likely not, and the PSC's concerns are legitimate. 

There seems to be a discrepancy between what the public understands to be as  Smart Grid and Smart Meter deployment.  As a condition for approval, BGE presented to the PSC a long-term, customer-focused education and communication plan surrounding smart grid.

BGE states that,  "It will devote the necessary time and resources to ensure that all of its customers, including limited-income customers and senior citizens, have the information they need prior to each phase of smart grid implementation."  What is the plan? what is the outreach execution, How will they measure this successfully?  Historically customers have to "grin-and-bear" attitude toward utilities. The lack of competitive alternatives has made the focus on customer satisfaction, and expectations not a priority for utilities..

How will this Smart Grid roll out be any different?  If customer's complain that their energy bill has not decreased after a Smart Meter was installed in their home or business what are the consequences for BGE? Probably nothing.. so how true is it that the utility actually cares? And will  BGE do whatever necessary to gain customer's trust and confidence?

I am excited about the prospects... let's see what happens








Pilar - a BrightGreen EnviroLeader