There's a great post today at The New York Times Green Inc. blog by John Lorinc. It begins:
Mounting evidence of widespread consumer dissatisfaction with smart meters is linked to a lack of understanding about how businesses and homeowners can boost energy efficiency, says Gary Fromer, the chief executive of CPower Inc., an energy management company based in New York.
“Educating users on how to manage their electricity use is under-emphasized, especially with smart grid grants,” Mr. Fromer said, adding that smart meters alone are “insufficient” to change behavior.
What's missing from the smart grid pilots? Sufficent education, perhaps. Of the $3.4 billion dollars the U. S. Department of Energy will spend though utilities on smart grid and smart meters, will enough be allocated to education and behavior change?
Read the entire post (http://nyti.ms/9vFRsr) and then weigh in. Our experience is that marketers of all stripes underestimate what it really takes to get people out of their behavioral ruts.