A Year in, Smart Energy Program Bright Idea for Most

Sep 14, 2015 3:00 PM ET
Campaign: Energy Efficiency

Originally published on Telegram.com

By Cyrus Moulton
Telegram & Gazette Staff

It was the hottest day of the year, and Richard and Linda Adams were ready: The shades were down, the appliances idle and the air conditioning was off.

“Some of these things just make sense,” Mr. Adams said. “It’s nothing off the wall, I’m not going to save the world. It just makes sense.”

They may not be saving the world, but the Adamses said they’re saving electricity and, by extension, money, by participating in National Grid’s Smart Energy Solutions program.

Smart Energy Solutions is a $46 million, two-year pilot program that began in January with about 11,000 participating customers in Worcester. It incorporates advanced “smart” technology and time-varying electricity rates to encourage customers to conserve energy and to shift energy-intensive activities to times when there is less demand on the power grid.

About a year into the program, National Grid said that a majority of participating customers have saved money and energy. Moreover, representatives of the utility company said that they have learned valuable lessons that have informed a Grid Modernization Plan recently submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

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