On Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:31:29 -0600, HeyBub wrote:

"[WASHINGTON] Millions of households across America are taking a first step
into the world of the "smart grid," as their power companies install meters
that can tell them how much electricity they are using hour by hour - and
sometimes, appliance by appliance. But not everyone is happy about it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/us...ef=instapundit

Hmm, might it be that the new meters aren't measuring the load in
the same way as the meters they're replacing?

I suppose I wouldn't mind a meter with an RS232 or (spit!) a USB port on
it, so *I* could query consumption at any time...