Of the $3.4 billion in federal grants, the local electric cooperative will receive $16.89 million to "cover almost half of the costs for Cobb EMC to implement 190,000 smart electrical meters and 40,000 load control devices across Cobb EMC's service area," according to the co-op, which serves roughly 190,000 customers.
The grants to 100 power providers nationwide will be matched with $4.7 billion in private investments to funnel a total of more than $8 billion into Smart Grid technology.
Essentially, smart meters allow customers to better monitor their power usage, especially during peak hours, when energy costs the most. Smart meters are expected to lower costs by giving the customer information on their usage, thus hopefully diminishing consumption.
"The focus is to be able to read remotely the consumption on an hourly basis," Cobb EMC Chief Operating Officer Chip Nelson said.
He said the co-op can use the new meters to diminish consumption during EMC's peak - from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer - by sending a signal to its customers during that time, asking them to use less energy from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Customers could decide not to run a dryer or a computer, for example, during that time, he said.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, "A traditional electrical meter simply measures the total consumption of electricity in your home, but does not provide information about the time of day the energy was consumed."
Nelson said smart meters could also be used to remotely turn on and off service.
Nelson could not say when the new meters would be installed, but said the co-op, when applying for the grant at the end of July, agreed to a two-year limit. He said they would start with residential customers. He said specifics have not yet been hammered out since the co-op just found out about being awarded the grant. Nelson said co-op officials are expected to meet with Department of Energy staff the week of Nov. 16 to discuss the programs.
The two-year limit to implement the meters also applies to the 40,000 load control devices, which "allow Cobb EMC to automatically control customers' air conditioners during peak hours," according to the co-op.
Although other electric providers have installed the devices on more than just air conditioning units, Nelson said the co-op would likely use them for air conditioners only. He said again, the co-op's peak time is during the summer.
Nelson said EMC used similar devices from about 1975 to the mid '90s that would control customers' air conditioners.
"When the equipment started failing...around 1994 or '95, we abandoned it," Nelson said, adding that the co-op had about 60,000 switches installed on units at the time the program was scrapped.
When asked why the co-op stopped the program, Nelson said, "Energy was cheap (at the time). And we had plenty of capacity, so the program wasn't worth the cost to replace the switches and start all over again. Now, we have seen the cost of energy take a leap - and it's important now to control the peak."
He said when the co-op was using the switches before, employees would cycle the power by turning off the units for seven minutes and leaving them on for 21 minutes - and "just on hot summer days, 95 or above."
He said, like any equipment, some of the new devices "will fail," but the percentage was "very small" before and "we will be prepared for the phone call" from customers to come out and repair them in the future.
Nelson said residents will sign up for the switches and there will be an incentive for doing so.
Bob Lewis, general manager of Marietta's Board of Lights and Water, said the BLW does not use load control devices.
"We've seen in some past tests that customers have not been pleased with results of having their air conditioning turned off," he said. "...Load control has been around since 1970s. Many years ago they would pay to put these switches on and people would just cut the switch. It's a customer issue. If it's worthwhile for customer to do that, I think it's great. Technology has changed. Certainly, energy costs are going to continue to go up and anything you can do to bring efficiency is good. If it's economical then the market will adopt it."
The BLW was not a recipient of any of the $3.4 billion in federal grants.
As for EMC's investment in Smart Grid technology, U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Smyrna) said, "This is a major win for Cobb County and metro Atlanta. I congratulate Cobb EMC for their hard work and encourage them to become a green energy model for the country."
Nelson said Wanda Lee, associate vice president of engineering, and planning engineer Bhaji Dhillon spearheaded the grant process. He said implementing smart meters and control devices is forecasted to reduce 25 megawatts of power off EMC's peak usage of 1,1000 megawatts.
While co-op officials said "EMC is honored to be selected for a Smart Grid Technology grant," others have questioned why some states that have already moved to build smart meter programs, were shut out of funding.
DailyFinance.com says California is the "biggest loser," seeing that the Golden State "have traditionally been in the forefront of energy conservation."
"The stimulus decision is puzzling in other ways," the article states. "California is a huge electoral player and was a big part of why Obama won the 2008 election. Shorting the cash-strapped Golden State on much need(ed) green energy stimulus funding is an odd policy path to embrace."
The stimulus funds to EMC comes at a time when the co-op remains tied up in legal battles with suing customers. Plaintiffs filed suit with EMC in October 2007, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment. A settlement was reached in December, but plaintiffs took issue with by-law amendments that were made by the co-op shortly after. A Cobb Superior Court judge ruled the amendments were legal and plaintiffs appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which halted the 2009 annual meeting of members. Meantime, there are no updates from District Attorney Pat Head regarding his investigation into the local power provider.
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