Smart Meters

In the latest wrinkle in a rapidly changing market for electricity, PPL Electric Utilities in Allentown has provided a strong financial incentive for residential customers to switch to a new hourly pricing plan. The utility, which serves 1.4 million customers in eastern Pennsylvania, this week announced a new time-of-use pricing scheme in which residential customers could get discounts of up to 34 percent on power supply for consumption during off-peak hours. The two-tiered pricing plan is a move away from flat rates, which have characterized electrical billing for the last century.

A recent United Nations report is the latest in a stream of compelling evidence prompting politicians of all stripes to publicly acknowledge the seriousness of global warming. It is time for Pennsylvania's elected officials to convert their political rhetoric into action on this issue. On Feb. 2, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report predicting global temperature rises of up to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit and sea-level rises of up to 23 inches by the end of the century.

Lawmakers should jump at creating new jobs, protecting consumers from electrical blackouts and price spikes, and reducing reliance on dirty and foreign fuels. President Bush has been begging Congress to pass that kind of legislation since 2003. Yet they're balking at the opportunity in Harrisburg. Gov. Rendell's innovative Energy Independence Strategy, now stalled in the state Senate, promotes renewable energy, encourages the production of home-grown fuels, and rewards conservation.

Borough residents and merchants packed into last week's council meeting to fight for their rights . . . to parking. Discussion on a tentative draft of an ordinance to revise parking regulations in the busy tourist town attracted a full house, as merchants contended that requirements for truck deliveries and street parking are too restrictive already, and that to make them more so would hurt business. Council members opted Tuesday night to table the ordinance for further discussion, amid a storm of angry testimony and hints at possible litigation.

The talk was of job opportunities, worker training programs, and a flourishing state economy. One manager from a Kennett Square firm said her clean-energy company was hiring - and expanding - throughout the United States. What recession? Though another dose of dismal unemployment data came from the Labor Department yesterday, optimism was in great supply in a ballroom at West Chester University on Thursday night. Why? The potential of Pennsylvania's green economy - assuming a major infusion through the latest stimulus measure now before Congress.

Just one $15 parking ticket has been issued to a motorcyclist since the borough began enforcing an ordinance that allows just one vehicle per parking space. Borough officials hope there won't be too many more. With talk of motorcyclists planning to roar down Main Street en masse, taking all the parking spaces in town, a new parking ordinance will be proposed at the Borough Council meeting April 7. The measure is the result of discussion among borough officials, motorcyclists and store owners working together.

TRENTON - New Jersey's electricity providers did a good job of bringing in thousands of out-of-state linemen and tree trimmers before Sandy struck, but they failed at communicating with customers and mayors after that storm and a subsequent nor'easter, which darkened 2.7 million homes and businesses for up to 13 days. That assessment from Bob Hanna, president of the Board of Public Utilities, the agency that regulates the energy companies, came Wednesday during the third Senate Budget Committee hearing on the storm, this one focused on the utilities' response and what improvements might be made.

It's a summer day a few years from now. Some things are familiar - for one, you're stuck in a Philadelphia heat wave. Other things aren't. You drive your plug-in hybrid car to work. At 3 p.m., when no one's home, your smart electric meter notices that power prices are rising. The meter switches your air-conditioner into energy-saving mode. No human intervention necessary. At 4 p.m., also automatically, the smart electrical grid notices that same spiking demand, and sends a signal to your company's meter.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority's plan to take over regulation of city taxicabs is in limbo for want of a law. That means the proposed regulations aimed at improving cab service are on hold and an existing state enforcement program to investigate rider complaints and weed out illegal operators has been slowed down. The state legislature had been expected to adopt a law months ago transferring regulatory powers for Philadelphia taxis from the state Public Utility Commission to the Parking Authority.

For months, lobbyists for everyone from small-town Pennsylvania farmers to multibillion-dollar oil companies have swarmed the Capitol, jockeying for the best seat at the table to exert influence on Gov. Rendell's alternative energy legislation. Some are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbying to make sure they are heard. It is a stark reminder that the fight over the future of alternative energy is not just a legislative brawl between Republicans and Democrats.