  Not that the official PowerMeter story isn’t a good one. 
Google has invented these devices that will be distributed to
users to measure the electricity consumption of their homes or
apartments in real time, encouraging residents to conserve
power, which is good for everyone.  I’d love to have one of
these gizmos, which in most cases won’t only report to the
residents but also to the electric utility.  And eventually that
utility may be able to directly control electric heating and
cooling systems through the PowerMeters, turning them up or down
as needed to reduce total demand during high-use periods,
perhaps in exchange for lower electric rates for the consumer.
This power consumption shaping would be very similar to programs
already in place with many industrial users, the idea being that
if maximum consumption can be kept down below a certain level
then the utility won’t have to fire-up expensive gas turbine
generators that are often used for peak additional power.  And
in extreme cases utilities might