It seems that the center-of-the-earth (New York City) is going to be hot  this week. Accordingly, the American public will no doubt be treated to another round of Green Spin with respect to global warming, climate change, grid "fragility", the Smart Grid, conservation, consumption restrictions, Smart Meters and so on.

In honor of this occasion, and to get ahead of the pack, I offer you something that will no doubt warm your heart...or perhaps boil your blood.

Con Ed Smart Grid animation

Have a look. It's worth the 2 minute investment.

The narrator introduces the animation by enthusiastically offering - "At Con Edison, we always have an eye on the future." Unfortunately, there's no subsequent mention of when Con Ed will add conventional power plants to assure ample future electricity supplies during the hottest days or coldest nights. Instead, what follows is a fanciful account of the Smart Grid Greenware that's coming to consumers connected to the Con Ed system.

This is not simple marketing glitz or a futuristic vision.  Look around the Con Ed website and you'll find that the utility was awarded $136 million in "smart grid stimulus funds" back in October of 2009, then another $45 million a month later.

The green dream is happening and it's not peculiar to the Con Ed system nor is it awaiting Cap & Trade legislation. Not knowing the details, I hesitate to dump any further on the good folks at Con Ed. In fact, it's likely that Con Ed is simply responding to pressures from the NY Public Service Commission (PSC).

To be clear, Public Utility/Service Commissions across the nation are often populated by Green enthusiasts. Some are zealots. Others are simply wishful thinkers. Either way, the results are the same: they are pressuring utilities to "go green" often delivering unfunded mandates in the form of Renewable Portfolio Standards. Of course, the cost of those mandates eventually ends up at the feet of taxpayers and consumers.

To avoid "skyrocketing" energy costs, it will not be enough to stop Cap & Trade legislation, conservatives must also work to overturn the "greenness" of state Commissions.