“Stimulus” Money Being Spent For Studies On How Best To Change Your Behavior

Posted By The P/Oed Patriot

While the Stimulus has done anything but stimulate, it has created a few jobs in the “research” department of 10 utility companies.

What are they researching?

The best ways to change your behavior of course…

According to the Obama Administration’s Recovery Act ‘Smart Grid Programs’ website, smartgrid.gov:

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with about $4.5 billion to modernize the electric power grid. The two largest initiatives resulting from this funding are the Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program and the Smart Grid Demonstration program (SGDP).”

A part of the Stimulus funded SGIG program is a “Consumer Behavioral Study”. The Behavioral Study is to help determine what resistance there may be to the Smart Grid’s “Real Time” or “Dynamic Pricing”(Under the Smart Grid you will be charged for your electricity by the minute and the price will be based upon demand.) and utility or third party control over your appliances (Also known as Demand Response Appliances).

While those are some of the main reasons given for the behavioral studies, in a document titled “U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid Investment Grant- Technical Advisory Group Guidance Document #2” a “key” goal is revealed:

“A key goal of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) consumer behavior studies is to provide experimental evidence that certain treatment variables are more or less effective in changing behavior than other options, including the status quo. At the same time, these studies will function to inform utility management, regulators, and policy makers of the economic and operational issues to be expected in a larger, system-wide implementation of those treatments tested.”

Basically they want to know if the Government, and the Utility Companies, should use a stick or a carrot to get you, the public, to accept the higher Dynamic Energy prices and their control of your appliances through the Smart Grid and if doing so will force you to change your energy usage behavior.

Now if you are lucky enough to be asked, or forced, into one of these “behavioral” studies don’t worry, the amount of information the Department of Energy wants the Utility Companies to collect on you is minimal. It only involves information like:

  1. Education Level (Head of Household)
  2. Annual Income Level (Household)
  3. Working Full Time for Pay?
  4. Housing Type
  5. Owner/Renter?
  6. Number of Occupants
  7. Occupant with a Chronic Illness or Disability?
  8. Occupant Home  Monday to Friday  Sometime Between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Least One Day a Week?
  9. Occupant Working from Home at Least One Day a Week?
  10. Air Conditioning?
  11. Electric Clothes Dryer?

Isn’t it nice to see that the Obama Administration is actually creating jobs..?

Jobs that will help the Government determine what is the easiest way to get you to change your Energy Usage Behavior and accept the Smart Grid…

That is the kind of change any Environmental Dictator can believe in…

 

Thanks for sharing!