Great article, with much better perspective than some of the other blogs reporting the same story at the moment.

Google PowerMeter's a great product for those people smart enough to act on the data, but what we really need is some software which analyses the data and then makes simple suggestions on how and when to cut back. This will of course be helped by smart appliances in the future, but the average household will struggle to leverage Google PowerMeter to reduce their bills, especially against the likely scenario of rising energy costs.

In the exuberance to move ahead with an interesting and very important initiative, let not the importance of Open Systems and interoperability be lowered or lost in the process. Initially the clients and their client communities will be consumed by the task before them, to get the smart meters in place. In that phase of the work they may not see the lack of interoperability until after the fact.
To achieve the Smart Grid level Interoperability is and will be essential. In commercial and institutional installations interconnection with building control and lighting systems is essential to achieve building load management. Adopting existing and or developing standards will add many benefits and shorten development time.

Smart? These meters will allow the power companies to have an actual reading of your personal consumption and will charge for that Higher Demand Peek. Being able to personally see it in real time is one thing, but to do something about it is another. The highest business & home consumner of energy is the HVAC.

Wake up people 25 - 35 cents a KW is coming - tripling your eletric bill!