Redondo Beach Smart Meter is One in a Million

Neighbors on the 500 block of Avenue D were surprised Monday morning to see TV news vans lining their street and a full contingent of reporters, politicians, corporate CEOs and Southern California Edison officials gathering in the driveway of homeowners Scott and Liz Keran.

Thanks to an invitation from Diane Moss, Congresswoman Jane Harman's Environmental Deputy, I was there too, to witness something that's already happened at my house and 999,999 others in Southern California. We were all there to see the Edison service representative remove the old, analog electric meter with its mechanical dial that spins and replace it with a brand new digital smart meter with its electronic readout. 

Before it was out with the old and in with the new, President and CEO of Edison International, (SCE's parent company) Theodore F. Craver spoke to the assembled crowd from an amplified podium in the driveway about the historic nature of the event.

"After years of extensive research, we have made careful decisions to invest in technologies, systems and devices that provide a full range of customer benefits," said Craver. "We look forward to making available to all of our customers the valuable features smart meters provide, enabling them to closely monitor and manage their electricity usage to help them save energy, money, and the environment."

This was the one millionth meter replacement with only four million more to go and it was being installed in the South Bay in no small part due to Congresswoman Harman who has been lobbying Edison officials on both a local and national basis to make it happen in her district.  She cited a visit to Robert Fortunato's Green Idea House in Hermosa Beach as the inspiration for her interest.

"Our region was green before green was cool, and I can think of no better place to install SCE's one millionth smart meter than here in the 36th congressional district," said the Congresswoman (D-Venice). "Smart meters empower customers to make better choices about their energy usage -- lowering electrical bills, reducing demand during peak hours, and preserving scarce resources. Kudos to Southern California Edison for this ambitious and innovative program."

Redondo Beach Mayor, Mike Gin also made remarks and presented City proclamations to Edison's CEO as well as President and CEO of Itron, the meter's manufacturer, Malcom Unsworthy.

Once the new smart meter's full capabilities are enabled it will be in two-way communication with the utility company, updating Edison instantly on how much electricity you're using and what time of day you're using it.  They will also be able to "talk" to new smart appliances in your home turning them on (with your permission) when rates are at the lowest, and time-shifting tasks away from the peak hours. 

Eventually, smart meters will be part of an entire smart grid, which will enable technologies like V2G, vehicle-to grid charging of electric cars in which the car's battery will be used to store solar and wind energy for later use.

Those services are still years away with many miles to go before we get there, but the essential first step, the installation of the smart meter, is now happening rapidly and on this day, Avenue D, Redondo Beach was the center of the entire smart electricity universe.

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