On June 14, the Consumer Electronics Association (News - Alert) (CEA), a trade organization based in Arlington, Virginia, officially gave its backing to the Obama Administration’s smart grid policy recommendation that consumers get better access to their own energy information.

Released by the Executive Office of the President and the National Science and Technology Council on June 13, the report, A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: Enabling Our Secure Energy Future, strongly recommends that, in the new era of the Smart Grid, consumers should be empowered and informed, in order to make better energy decisions—specifically noting: 

The success of smart grid technologies and applications depends crucially on engaging and empowering both residential and small business consumers in an effective manner. New tools and programs promise to provide consumers personalized information and enable them to make informed energy choices, while ensuring their energy consumption data is accorded privacy protections.

In conjunction with the release of the policy paper, the Obama Administration announced new Department of Energy commitments to improve consumers’ access to their own energy information, as well as the creation of Grid 21, a private-sector initiative by the GridWise Alliance to improve energy information while ensuring the proper privacy safeguards

Last month, the CEA released a white paper, Unlocking the Potential of the Smart Grid – A Regulatory Framework for the Consumer Domain of Smart Grid, recommending a similar policy approach to improve the way Americans understand and manage energy consumption.

The whitepaper, which was a product of CEA’s Smart Grid Working Group, called for dynamic pricing programs, and real-time consumption and pricing information.

“Improving and educating consumers on their energy consumption is critical to the creation of a smart grid,” commented  CEA’s President and CEO Gary Shapiro (News - Alert). “Studies show a smart grid could cut consumption by 20 percent, and CEA’s recent poll [released on June 2] found consumers are interested in energy management systems yet lack knowledge of them. Prescient policies and educating consumers on the promise of a smart grid will move our country’s energy and environmental interests forward.”

For more information, visit the Consumer Electronic Association website or see the President’s Policy Framework in its entirety.

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Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell