Up early on a cold morning you head downstairs to turn the heat up a notch and are surprised to find the thermostat 10 degrees below where you had last set it. Each attempt to raise the temperature on the thermostat is met with beeps. Just as you begin to mouth "What the ..." the phone rings. Picking up you are greeted by an automated, gender neutral voice:

GNV: Dear sir or madam, our records indicate that you have attempted to consume more than your allotted amount of energy for the week.

GNV: Over-consumption is not permitted at this time.

GNV: Your temperature has been lowered to a comfortable and sustainable level.

GNV: You have 1 day, 3 hours, and 33 minutes until you may return to your wasteful ways.

Click.

Welcome to the "smart grid", a tangle of cables and radio waves connecting everything to everyone. A place where private corporations and governments join forces to help you do your part for the planet. Toronto Hydro explains how their implementation works:

During peak periods, Toronto Hydro will send a signal to your air conditioner or water heater to interrupt power to the appliance for a short time. Air conditioners are cycled off for 15 minutes out of every 30 minutes.

Water heaters and pool pumps are turned off for the entire load management period - this time will not exceed 4 hours. For some small commercial customers like retail stores, their programmable thermostats will be increased by 2° C and/or the A/C will be instructed to turn 'on' less frequently.
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Google is just one among many companies creating devices that would connect to the smart grid and allow the end user to monitor their electricity usage and recommend ways of reducing consumption.

"They've been putting a chip in your dishwasher for a long time that would allow you to run it any time you want," said Rick Sergel, chief executive of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, an industry group that sets operating standards for the grid.

If the utility could "talk" to the dishwasher, it might tell the machine to run at 2 a.m. and not 2 p.m., or it might tell the homeowner how much money would be saved by running the dishwasher at a different hour.
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Down under, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation has developed a device that when attached to a refrigerator would communicate with other fridges in the neighbourhood. Using peer to peer networking (similar to bittorrent) the fridges would negotiate with each other on when to start and stop, helping smooth out electricity consumption fluctuations.

"The fridges work together to decide when to cool down, and thus consume power, based on how much surplus power will be available," said West.

"They are able to anticipate power shortages and change their running schedules accordingly to use as little power as possible during these times."
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The power consumption of such devices working 24/7 along with the monitoring and control systems needed to operate the grid as described is never discussed in the product literature and press releases.

Enrollment in these new programs is currently optional, however there will come a time when financial or environmental circumstances will be such that they could become mandatory. With the hysteria surrounding the "financial crisis" continuing to gain momentum, power companies and corporations could soon make the case that their power needs should take precedence over an individual's right to enjoy control over their daily lives.

-tdm