LONDON (Reuters) - Used right, the new generation of smart power meters could cut peak electricity consumption by up to 20 percent, avoiding the need to construct 2,000 new power plants across the United States. Installing them, however, is the easy part. The industry faces years of battling to convince consumers to use them to change the way they use electricity. And that comes down to a question of behavior, choice and politics - not technology. Unlike traditional accumulation meters, which simply record the total amount of electricity used and must be read manually, smart meters will record the time of use in hourly or shorter intervals, and each will have its own communications link...
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