Dominion drops systemwide smart meters for conservation

Just ahead of a public hearing for state regulators to consider Dominion Virginia Power's plan for electricity conservation, the company dropped the key component of that plan - the installation of "smart meters" across its system.

The public hearing began Tuesday morning.

Dominion filed a revised conservation proposal late Friday that kept 11 of the 12 programs it first proposed in July to the State Corporation Commission.

Instead of smart meters systemwide, the company proposes to install the meters for an additional 30,000 customers in Northern Virginia to expand its testing of the technology. It already has a pilot program to test the meters with some customers in Midlothian and Charlottesville.

The smart meters communicate customers' electricity usage in real time back to Dominion's distribution operators, allowing them to adjust voltage to meet actual demand at a given time. This reduces the company's need to provide a steady flow of power at higher levels than customers are using.

By delaying the wider deployment of the meters, Dominion said it would reduce the proposed cost of its overall conservation plan from about $51 million to about $48 million.

Dominion's initial proposal included two new rates that customers would pay to cover the costs of the electricity-saving measures. Those rate changes amounted to an additional 95 cents on the bills of residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. The company's revised plan would reduce those charges to 91 cents.

Of the remaining 11 programs, four are for businesses and seven target residential customers. The residential plans include incentives to upgrade heat pumps and dispose of older appliances.

The commission must rule on the plan by March 31.

The attorney general's office - which represents Virginia consumers - and the commission staff both supported the withdrawal of the "advanced metering infrastructure" aspect of Dominion's conservation plan, having previously questioned the effectiveness of the technology and its high cost. At the start of the hearing, they said they needed more details about Dominion's new plan for expanding the testing to Northern Virginia before they could support it.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing several environmental groups in Virginia, applauded Dominion's efforts to improve energy efficiency but argued that its plan needs strengthening.

Cale Jaffe, an attorney for the center, said at the hearing that the company should devote a larger portion of its conservation spending toward business and commercial customers, which account for more than 60 percent of total demand on its system.

"Reducing energy usage delays the need for supply-side resources," specifically power plants, Jaffe said.

Carolyn Shapiro, (757) 446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com