Smart Grid? Where? What? Huh?

Apparently, we're a clueless bunch of cocoanuts. A recent Harris poll boldly announced that 68 percent of Americans have never even heard of the smart grid.

My first reaction to that statement: "Really?" According to the results: 57 percent of U.S. adults in the survey watch their power consumption and 67 percent say they would reduce their usage if they had visibility to it. But most still have no concept of the smart grid that would help them do that.

When I say we're a clueless bunch, I don't mean the average American in that Harris poll, I mean those of us inside the power industry. We've been talking amongst ourselves, amongst politicians, amongst vendors for years about smart grid. We've dissected it, analyzed it, spent money on it, marketed it, given it lip service, heralded it as the next big thing, and built it a very tall and cushy pedestal. But, how much have we spent, as a group, in time and money, to inform the average consumer about the benefits of a smart grid?

On the upside of this poll, those familiar with the concept of a smart grid seemed to, mostly, see it as a good thing, although over half believed their cost of power would increase once all the technology is in place.

I can support that with a little story of my own, actually. Since I work in this industry, my family is a lot more aware of industry insider trading: talk about meters, smart grid, etc. So, my mother is always super excited to have something to contribute, rather than just listening. On the phone on Sunday, she did the classic urban legend "friend of a friend of a friend" got a smart meter tale. And, guess what happened? Their bill just, like, doubled. Or tripled. Or quadrupled. Or skyrocketed. It really depends on the version that you hear.

Now, I am sure that some people, when getting a new and shiny meter to replace their older one, will notice a change. And, if that old meter is favoring them, it will not be a positive change in their eyes. However, for most, smart grids and smart meters make it all work better, faster, more efficiently. But, isn't it interesting that we don't hear anything about smart grids and smart meters bringing us savings from the consumer side of things. We do hear that mantra from vendors, of course. But, the stories I hear passed inside from my mother and other outside sources is always how expensive this technology will be to the customer.

Perhaps this Harris poll is giving us a shining light, a path to follow. The people we need to most convince about the positives of the smart grid aren't industry insiders, vendors, utilities or renewables advocates. Nope. It's the people who control that light switch at the dead end of this business. About smart grids, it seems, they are still primarily in the dark.