With its hands in every cookie jar in the kitchen, there doesn’t seem to be anything that Google isn’t doing or planning to do. It’s gotten to the point where even the slightest hint or rumor that Google is planning to enter a new market is making established players worry. But do utility companies have any reason to fear Google? As far fetched as it may seem, the truth is that, in a way, they very well may have, though the search giant is eager to dispel any worries.
Google was represented by Ed Lu, the company’s program manager for advanced products at the GreenBeat 2009 conference, focused green technology. There’s a very good reason for Google to be present at such a conference, aside from building operating systems and selling ads, it also has a big focus on alternative energy and manages several “green” projects through its philanthropic arm Google.org.
Google also offers PowerMeter, an power-usage monitoring software designed to work with so-called “smart meters” giving users an easy way of keeping track of their energy usage. It’s this tool and the partnerships which Google has with several device manufacturers that lead to the inevitable question of whether Google was trying to squeeze its way as a middle man of sorts between utility companies and the consumers.
read more)