Smart meters achieve lots of goals. The most marketable was time-of-use electricity pricing.
My distribution company in Ontario makes it very clear when those times are and what the electricity prices are. On-peak is approx CAD 0.18 / kwh and off-peak is CAD 0.11 /kWh. That's over 50% difference.
The problem in Ontario, QC, MB and BC is that electricity is cheap, relative to our standard of living. The incentive to be more efficient is weak because the savings are not worth the effort.
The other reasons smart meters were installed is to speed up the meter reading process and to gather data on when exactly people are using electricity.
The electricity distribution system is passive and the grid operator has little to no visibility on what is happening at various places and times. Smart meters are the foundational tech to enable a bunch of other initiatives and planning.
Hydro-Québec, for example, allow you to see your live power draw. My meter (2011 model) can do this but my electricity distributor will not share the decryption key.
Those meters may not do much to change electricity consumption habits but they are far from a loss. The investment is absolutely worth it.
My distribution company in Ontario makes it very clear when those times are and what the electricity prices are. On-peak is approx CAD 0.18 / kwh and off-peak is CAD 0.11 /kWh. That's over 50% difference.
The problem in Ontario, QC, MB and BC is that electricity is cheap, relative to our standard of living. The incentive to be more efficient is weak because the savings are not worth the effort.
The other reasons smart meters were installed is to speed up the meter reading process and to gather data on when exactly people are using electricity.
The electricity distribution system is passive and the grid operator has little to no visibility on what is happening at various places and times. Smart meters are the foundational tech to enable a bunch of other initiatives and planning.
Hydro-Québec, for example, allow you to see your live power draw. My meter (2011 model) can do this but my electricity distributor will not share the decryption key.
Those meters may not do much to change electricity consumption habits but they are far from a loss. The investment is absolutely worth it.