SmartMeters soon to be installed by local Elec Co

[potts.mike]

The scary part is the rate structure invoked during high usage periods...goes from a normal rate of 4.6 cents/Khw up to 46 cents/hr during "critical" periods.

.46$ thats ridiculous!
I would hate to have OG&E turn my AC off in the middle of August.

 

[beelzerob]

Ya, but you'd probably prefer that to your AC coming on at 46c/kWh.

 

[yankeewired]

So is everybody ready to sign up ? How frustrating is a power failure ? How about when it's caused by some hacker ? Who is going to resolve the problem and how fast ? How about if someone hijacks your thermostat and shuts off your heat during the coldest day of the year or shuts off your cooling mid august? Read the AP article. It seems that most power providers are not protecting the grid/customers.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[PaulD]

As the OP here, I thought I would bring you up to date on how my situation turned out. Although everyyone in my service area will get a smart meter, I was unable to sign up for the study they were conducting during the start up perior. To sign up, you are required to let the elec company install a new thermostat that communicates via Zigbee with the smart meter. Since I already had my HAI thermostates installed as part of my HA structure, I was not willing to replace it thus I would not have real time visibility of the rates. I asked about using the new HAI Zigbee thermostat...no deal...must use the one they include in their package. They also have a tabletop display they use in some other areas which is a stand alone unit. They would not allow that either because it is not part of their package.

I am tempted to call them back and see if they would let me use their thermostat independent of my HVAC system. I assume all I would need is to provide a 24VDC power source and that it would function OK even if it is not connceted to any HVAC to function.