Preposterous Propositions III: Personal Energy Meters // Bringing Energy Use Closer to Home

This installment of Preposterous Propositions is based observation, assumption and intuition (a winning combination).

The Preposterous Proposition.
Place "sub-meters" on all residential energy meters requiring consumers to purchase energy in small "installments." The meters act as "gas tanks" for home energy consumption (not large oil tanks filled once every few months). The digital meters would provide analytics on energy use and the current rate. Users would use a credit/debit card or online account to refill the "tank."

The Observation.
When gas prices go up, travel goes down. We self regulate when can directly we see the implications of our consumption on a small scale.

The Assumption.
Our current payment model for energy use is archaic and makes energy consumption an ambiguous number on a bill. Consumers are only concerned about the bottom line and keeping that number in an acceptable (aka affordable) realm.

The Intuition.
In order to change our behavior we need models that support our behavioral patterns. Asking consumers to change habits without providing proper support for doing so is like asking us to drive a 55 on the autobahn and enforcing the speed limit only using signs.