What Gas Companies Can Learn From 'Smart Meter' Missteps

摘要

Thirty miles north of Denver, in an upscale suburban community, one possible future for the gas industry is taking shape. This future is marked by consumers' distrust—of advanced energy technology and their energy company—as well as fear, anger, and activism. High hopes have given way to recrimination, litigation, and potential expropriation. As 2013 begins, what is taking place in this Denver suburb raises vexing national questions about whether, and under what circumstances, US consumers and businesses will be able to benefit from advanced energy technology. This possible future is unfolding in Boulder, Colorado, a community with virtually no gas wells. In Boulder, the politically divisive advanced energy technology is not hydraulic fracturing but advanced digital electric meters, widely known as "smart" meters. And the energy company in the public's crosshairs is not a gas producer but the Fortune 500 utility that serves Boulder, a city of about 100,000.