So, the buzz on the street is the "SmartGrid".  Just what does that mean?  Well, lets just break it down based on my personal experience and future ideas.

1 -- What is the Driving Force?:

Simply put, the driving force behind the SmartGrid is two-fold.  The power comanies want to save money, and the Environmentalists want to clean the air.  For much of human history, those two objectives seemed to be at COMPLETE POLAR OPPOSITES.  How can a dirty, energy production company POSSIBLY have any ojectives in line with the Hippie Environmentalist movement?

Its money.  Currently, to supply peak demand for power in very dense energy-consuming areas, the power company has to either bring online more expensive auxillary power or buy that power from areas where there isn't as much load.  The oveall effect?  A bell-curve standard distribution of COGS(cost of goods sold...  eneregy is, after all a commodity) centered around peak times of load (read noon-3pm).

2 -- Why do Power Companies like the Smart Grid?

Why does this distribution of energy consumption make power companines like the smart gird?  The SmartGrid can give the Power Companines as low as 5 or 15-minute snapshots of your energy usage.  This allows them to shift from charging you a flat-rate per kWh to a time of use billing (where you get billed more or less based on your time of use).  Through negative(higher billing rates during peak) or positive(through lower rates on off-peak) re-enforcement, the power comany can drive users to level out their energy consumption, and therefore save the company the cost of producing energy during the high-demand times.  For this(the cost can be astronomical to power companies), the power companies are willing to give you a break on your energy use on off-peak hours. In the end, its more profitable for the power company to sell you energy in off-peak times  than it is during peak times.

3 -- What does it mean for the environment?

Honestly...  not much.  In the short run, it means fewer power plants being online at any one time.  Whether they are dirty coal, or relatively clean natural gas, it means there are fewer fossil fuels being burned at any one time to keep your lights on, your TV showing your favorite show and lower carbon emissions overall.  In the long term, it means an alteration in the way we view and alter our consumption.  Which could lead to major efficency savings in the power grid as a whole.

So, there you have it... the SmartGrid in a nutshell.  Is it magical?  No.  Is it the saviour of our planet?  No.  Is it a way to ensure the excessive energy consumption is curtailed?  Absolutel.y  Is it a way to ensure better profit magins?  You betcha!

But, in the end...  Its better for the consumer, its better for the energy provider and its better for the environment.