A group of organizations, led by the GridWise Alliance in the USA, have formed the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative. The SGCC is a non-profit group that aims to engage consumers in the evolution of the smart grid by conducting consumer research, education and establishing best practices.

The consumer outreach comes at a time of debate inside the industry. Some say consumers could drive the evolution of the smart grid by adopting systems and services that let them lower utility bills by managing their energy use. Others argue that only new regulations will motivate utilities to upgrade their systems to digital networks.

Some early trials of smart electric meters have faced consumer backlash in California and Texas. In a study commissioned by GE, 79% of American consumers said they are not familiar with the term smart grid. About 69% said they did not know whether they were connected to a smart grid, but 80% said they are willing to learn more about the topic.

The founding members of the SGCC are the GridWise Alliance, Best Buy, Control4, Ember, General Electric, IBM, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel and Silver Spring Networks. The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition and the Future of Privacy Forum have joined as affiliate members.

The group hopes to field consumer research as early as April. It will conduct public service campaigns to build consumer awareness about smart grids and organize a symposium in Washington D.C. on September 20.