Webinar: Safeguarding the Rights of Vulnerable Populations During Modernization of Electricity Distribution
In an effort to save energy, stem rising costs, and increase reliability of the electricity distribution system, many public utilities are or are planning to upgrade to “smart grid” technology. The smart grid, which is supported by a 2007 federal law and a $3.4 billion federal investment, enables utilities to better monitor electricity demand. By permitting consumers to more closely monitor their real-time usage, smart meters encourage them to reduce electricity usage during peak demand through dynamic pricing, in which electricity rates vary based on demand.
Yet the cost of smart grid technology and dynamic pricing methods may impose a disproportionate burden on low-income, disabled, and elderly people, who have already reduced their usage to a minimum and may be less able to shift their electricity usage to off-peak times. Unless adequate protections are built into the planning and implementation of smart grid technology upgrades, these vulnerable populations may face termination of service, hunger, health risks, or even death.
Join the Shriver Center’s Clearinghouse Review to learn more about the smart grid and its impact on low-income, disabled, and elderly people. Julie Nepveu, Senior Attorney at AARP Foundation Litigation, will discuss smart grid basics, federal requirements, and how advocates in jurisdictions facing these issues have responded.
Dan Lesser, Senior Attorney at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, will offer an update on recent climate change legislation affecting low-income clients.
Registrants for the webinar will each receive a free copy of What Is the Smart Grid and Why Should We Care?, which was published in the recent special issue of Clearinghouse Review devoted to climate change and the green economy.