Patty Durand, SGCC Executive Director

Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- January 4, 2013 - The opportunity is ripe in 2013 for consumer outreach and education about the value and benefits a smart grid can bring, according to the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC)from its research carried out during 2012.

“We’ve found that once consumers are educated about smart grid, they are supportive of it,” said SGCC executive director Patty Durand. “So the opportunity to further engage with our consumers only gets bigger. Armed with research, facts, figures, knowledge and a vision, industry can continue to educate its customers.”

Some of the findings the SGCC highlights from its 2012 research are:

• Many non-financial benefits of smart grid upgrades, such as ease of connecting renewable energy sources to the electric grid and reduced outages, are as compelling to consumers as those that can save consumers money.
• Consumers see some smart grid benefits that they consider to be worth paying more for, such as outage restoration after storms like Hurricane Sandy.
• More than half of consumers found time-of-use pricing and peak time rebates appealing.
• The better they understand it, the more consumers support smart grid and smart meters.
• Low income energy consumers are less aware of electricity grid modernization technology than the general population but they find its benefits compelling nonetheless.
• Consumers are interested in various smart grid-enabled pricing programs and services and are increasingly likely to use social media to access energy information.