Are consumers ready for the smart grid?

(CNET) — Modernizing the electricity grid to be a more efficient and reliable smart grid will bring a number of societal benefits. That is, if consumers are up for it.

General Electric hosted a symposium of utility industry executives at its research lab here, where the company showed off appliances due next year that communicate with smart meters to take advantage of cheaper electricity rates.

These sorts of goods promise to help consumers cut their utility bills without much added expense — GE forecasts its “demand response” appliances will cost about $10 more.

But industry executives still wonder whether consumers will be drawn to products like energy displays and networked appliances. And tepid acceptance of smart-grid technologies could cut short the benefits of higher grid efficiency, they said.

“There’s a lot of good technology that fits into the smart-grid concept, but the challenge frankly moving forward is getting consumer acceptance, not just today but in the future,” said Bryan Olnick, senior director of the Meter Service department at Florida Power & Light.

CNN