Comment Re:No surprise (Score 1) 269
Generally no, the consumer never sees this price. The price-per-MW is going to be for transmission system exchanges ("power highway"), instead of distribution system customers ("local streets"). Odds are that the customers will see their bills go up in a month or two, as the power company exercises clauses in their utility contracts to 'cover their costs'.
In practice, it heavily depends on the customer's billing schedule. Here in Portland, OR, I have a fixed residential rate. Some companies, such as Pacific Gas & Electric (CA), Southern California Edison, and Hawaiian Electric, use (optional?) time-of-use (TOU) pricing, where the residential prices are higher during 'peak hours', when everyone is getting ready for work, or returning home and turning on their televisions. These TOU programs often have "if it didn't save you money, we'll bill you the fixed per-kWh rate" options. Real-time pricing for residential customers has been tested a few times, but hasn't been rolled out, for both technical and programmatic reasons. Check out the Olympic Peninsula GridWise Demonstration and the Pacific Northwest SmartGrid Demonstration from PNNL, starting here: http://bgintegration.pnnl.gov/...