A Message from Our President
Kenneth J. Parker - President, Atlantic City Electric Region
As you know, the United States and the world are facing two preeminent energy challenges: the rising cost of energy and the impact of energy use on the environment. As a utility with over 100 years of service to our customers in southern New Jersey , we believe we are uniquely placed to play a leadership role in helping to meet both of these challenges. Our customers have told us that these issues – rising energy prices, the environment, and system reliability – are important to them. We agree.
Recently, Atlantic City Electric unveiled its Blueprint for the Future proposal for helping our customers cope with rising energy prices driven by national and international trends that have driven up the cost of coal, oil, and natural gas—the primary fuels used to generate electricity. The proposal builds on many of the ideas that have been around since the 1970s with one very important twist: it uses the latest technology to make those ideas even more effective.
That new technology takes the form of a device often referred to as a “smart meter.” In our proposal, which we filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Monday, November 19, 2007, we lay out plans to install “smart meters” for all our southern New Jersey customers.
“Smart meters” represent the next generation of electric meters. They take advantage of wireless technology to enable Atlantic City Electric to communicate with the electric meter in your home or business, enhancing reliability and giving customers options to control their energy use.
Investment in Technology
The proposal paves the way towards eventually connecting customers' equipment to the electric grid to allow technology in the appliances to “learn” the cost implications of when and how it is operating. This ability translates into savings for customers. “Smart meters” also provide for better reliability in the future. For example, the meters – in conjunction with automated equipment – will give Atlantic City Electric the ability to remotely identify the location of outages (without customers calling in), isolate the problem, and reroute crews to speed restoration.
Along with advanced meters, we plan to offer state-of-the-art thermostats. These “smart thermostats” will be able to communicate back to Atlantic City Electric and allow customers to save money by altering when they use their heating and air conditioning – the primary drivers of energy in the home today. Customers will have the option of signing up for this technology.
Our proposal complements what the State of New Jersey – in particular, the Board of Public Utilities -- already does through its Clean Energy Program, which offers residents and businesses financial incentives, programs and services aimed at increasing energy efficiency and the use of clean, renewable energy sources. When coupled with “smart meters” and “smart thermostats,” such programs will give customers the latest tools to manage their energy use and save money. They also offer a means for us to limit our dependence on foreign energy sources and cut down on the impact our energy use has on the environment. Indeed, our proposal suggests several other ways to improve the environment through energy policy—ideas like using renewable sources such as wind and solar power to generate electricity or finding ways to make electric vehicles more user-friendly. That said, one of the most cost effective ways to improve the environment is to use less electricity in the first place. Customers save on energy bills, and we all save our share of paying for new power plants.
Our plan takes advantage of new technologies for our customers to use, often without having to think about it. We have a vision of what the energy future looks like, and we look forward to working collaboratively on reaching that vision for a cleaner, greener New Jersey . Finally, we commend Governor Jon S. Corzine for setting goals and developing an Energy Master Plan process through which we all can have the appropriate dialogue to bring these benefits to our customers who have already spoken.
