Study shows big smart meter investment yielded ‘very small’ electricity savings

Canadian researchers compared data for nine months before and nine months after time-of-use rates were introduced in November 2011 by an unidentified distribution company with more than 20,000 household customers in Ontario. Using advanced statistical tools to factor out the impact of weather differences, their analysis showed residential demand for electricity dropped just 2.6 percent during on-peak periods and 2.4 percent during mid-peak periods following the change.