So, Manlove decided to call up his utility and ask: Was there somewhere else he could access that data? The bill displayed a graph of his family's month-to-month usage, but nothing to indicate the availability of the treasure trove of data promised by Obama.
POWER UTILITY COMPANY IN WYOMING INSTALL
He is also a customer of Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power, which like many other utilities, received stimulus money to install smart meters for all of its nearly 40,000 customers.Ĭole Manlove is a customer of Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power, which received stimulus funding to install smart meters for all of its 40,000 customers.Īt his house on a recent snowy spring afternoon, I told him about smart meters and he pulled out his electricity bill to see what kind of information it contained about his electricity use. He’s a high school math teacher, married, two kids-an average American guy. Those are things Cole Manlove would like to do. “Coupled with other technologies, this is going to help you manage your electricity use and your budget at the same time,” the President said. In his Florida speech, Obama declared they would lay the foundation for a modern grid-and be good for customers too. Like a FitBit for your house, the meters collect data about a home’s electricity use several times an hour and then send that data to your power company. In practice, the President’s lofty goals have taken shape mostly in the form of a technology called smart meters. And, it would save customers a whole lot of money. It would have the ability to fix blackouts more quickly. It would incorporate more renewable energy. The new grid would be smart and efficient, bringing the tech revolution to electricity. On that Friday, Obama promised $3.4 billion dollars of stimulus money from the 2009 Recovery Act to do for power what the Eisenhower administration did for the roads. President Obama announcing $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to modernize the electric grid on October 27, 2009