PG&E lawsuit spreads down Smart Grid supply chain
Last week, we reported on the lawsuit being filed against Pacific Gas & Electric for price hikes seemingly caused by installation of smart meters in the Bakersfield area of California. Now the plaintiff’s attorneys say that PG&E’s suppliers should also be sued — a who’s who of Smart Grid companies including General Electric, meter maker Landis+Gyr and communications provider Silver Spring Networks.
The original plaintiff, Bakersfield resident Pete Flores, filed the suit after his electric bill… Continue Reading
Hohm vs. Powermeter: A side-by-side rundown
Much has been written about how the bitter rivalry between Google and Microsoft has extended to their respective home energy management systems, Google PowerMeter and Microsoft Hohm. But most of these stories make it sound like the tools render the same service: reporting how much energy people are using and how much it is costing them. Few have sussed out their subtler differences.
With so many smaller players in the home energy monitoring field (think OpenPeak,… Continue Reading
PG&E refutes suit alleging price-gouging via smart meters
Pacific Gas & Electric’s smart metering headaches might have just gotten a lot worse. Already, the company has had to fend off accusations that its installation of smart meters hiked energy rates. Now Bakersfield, Calif. residents are suing the utility for price gouging via its smart metering program — but PG&E says the lawsuit has no merit.
The class-action lawsuit — which also names meter installer Wellington Energy, alleges that the utility falsely advertised its smart… Continue Reading
Chevron follows the money, bats down climate bill
In a not so surprising turn of events, Chevron’s CEO heir apparent, John Watson, spoke out against U.S. climate change legislation — offering the party line argument that increasing regulation will jack up energy prices and let the air out of our barely buoyant economy. His is just one voice in a chorus of fossil fuel executives opposing the Kerry-Boxer bill pending in the Senate.
But what makes his voice interesting is how hard Chevron has… Continue Reading
California quietly passes first statewide Smart Grid law
Largely ignored by the national media, California passed the first statewide Smart Grid bill in the U.S. earlier this month, amid the flurry of renewable energy and efficiency legislation Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also signed.
Now enacted, Senate Bill 17, requires the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to develop an overarching plan for Smart Grid deployment — the installation of smart meters, data networks and other infrastructure for a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid by — by… Continue Reading
Solar co. Nextlight lands 230-MW deal with PG&E
NextLight Renewable Power, a solar company developing 2,100 Californian acres into what will be the AV Solar Ranch — a $1 billion solar array producing 230 megawatts — has landed a power purchasing contract with Pacific Gas & Electric. The plant will break ground next year in Antelope Valley, Calif., and is expected to be fully operational by 2013. The project could ultimately generate 592 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year for up to 90,000 PG&E… Continue Reading
San Francisco to become solar powerhouse
A plan approved by San Francisco’s board of supervisors clears the way for a 5-megawatt photovoltaic array that would triple the city’s solar productivity. The energy it generates — enough to power 1,000 homes — will largely be used in government buildings like schools and municipal facilities.
Funding, construction and maintenance for the 25,000-panel array — located in the Sunset Reservoir (the largest reservoir in the city) — will be provided by San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy…. Continue Reading