Poor Management Planning at PG&E

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), in an innovative move, decided to base their customers' home electric bill on when they used their power rather than on just how much they consumed. The paper then discusses how the company failed to consider the impact of this new change on their residential customers who have a limited household income or who demonstrate an inability to make regular monthly payments. The paper concludes that PG&E will therefore not succeed in helping all of their customers to conserve energy and save money on their electric bills.

From the Paper:

"It was considered to be an innovation of the future, but for many customers of Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) in Bakersfield, California, it has become a reality. Their home electric bill is now based on when they use their power, not just on how much power they consume. On July 20th, 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission approved an estimated $1.74 billion plan by PG&E to install the new SmartMeter(TM) that will benefit the state by improving the speed of power outage restoration, giving customers more options on how to save on their energy bills, and allow electricity usage to be tracked with far more precision than ever before (Pacific Gas & Electric Company [PG&E], 2006)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alexander, B. (2007, February). Smart Meters, Real Time Pricing, and Demand Response Programs: Implications for Low Income Electric Customers. Retrieved November 3, 2007, from www.pulp.tc/Smart_Meters_Real_Time.pdf
• Bay City News, Inc. (2006, July 20). PG&E Plans To Install 'Smart Meters'. Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4383628
• Darbee, P. A. (2006). PG&E Corporation Fourth Annual Corporate Responsibility Report. Retrieved November 5, 2007, from http://www.pgecorp.com/corp_responsibility/reports/2006/pge_crr_2006.pdf
• Davidson, P. (2007, March 20). Saving on utilities just takes gazing into a crystal ball. Retrieved November 2, 2007, from http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-03-20-smart-meter-main-usat_N.htm
• Lifsher, M. (2006, February 6). California: New Power Meters Show Users the Money. Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=51935

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