Marina Times reader Geoff Wood e-mailed the Clydester some questions about these new technological marvels, so Clyde, with his geek factor of negative 2 on a scale of 1 to 10, passed on the questions to PG&E’s Katie Romans.

Geoff Wood: Do the SmartMeters display how much power is in use, or does PG&E tell us in our monthly bill?

Katie Romans: I suspect the latter – the P.R. guys haven’t gotten to this yet. Customers with a SmartMeter device can view their real-time energy use directly on the meter, and can view daily and hourly energy use online at www.pge.com (about 60 to 90 days after installation). Through PG&E’s SmartMeter program, we also offer our customers “Energy Alerts.” This program helps customers get up-to-the-moment information on energy usage levels during higher-priced periods so they can better manage their bills. Energy Alerts are available via PG&E’s popular web tool, as well as through voicemail and SMS text messages. This means customers will have the knowledge they need to respond to higher energy use in the summer and better control their bills.

Geoff Wood: Is the new meter designed to accept more easily other sources of power, like wind or solar to sell to the grid? Since this is one of the reasons why PG&E is pushing smart meters …
Katie Romans: SmartMeter devices are the gateway to increased energy efficiency, better-integrated renewable energy sources, and they provide support for a whole new generation of innovative appliances and plug-in electric vehicles that will benefit customers. This technology is the cornerstone of the smart grid that will modernize the electrical system to be stronger, smarter and more efficient. The SmartMeter program is essential to encouraging growth in renewable energy sources, laying the foundation for a low-carbon economy, and empowering consumers to understand and reduce their energy use and monthly costs. SmartMeters are the first step in a larger “smart” grid effort that is driving a new green technology industry in California. The Department of Energy estimates that by 2025, increases in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed generation through the smart grid could save an estimated $36 billion.
Geoff Wood: Do the customers pay the cost of the new meters in their rates?

Katie Romans: The SmartMeter program investment is $2.2 billion, an amount approved by the CPUC through a “balancing account,” which is a rate-setting mechanism. Over time, the program will pay for itself through operation benefits and the lower costs to procure power. Under state law, utilities estimate costs and revenues to set rates, and then adjust those rates based on the differences between their estimated and actual costs and revenues. The utilities then reset rates to address over- and under-collections.

Feel free to pop by the PG&E office at 1593 North Point (at Buchanan), call 866-743-0263, or visit www.pge.com/smartmeter if you have questions.

COW HOLLOW REALTOR STEVE HERMANOS KILLS ON KNBR’S “MURPH AND MAC” SHOW

Friend-of-Clyde and Better Homes and Gardens/Mason McDuffie real estate agent  Steve Hermanos (2200 Union Street at Fillmore, 415-497-4480, e-mail [email protected]) is a true renaissance man. The Cornell grad’s book of poems about the world champion San Francisco Giants – O, Gigantic Victory! Baseball Poems: The 2010 Championship Season – is a huge hit and you can buy it at Books, Inc. on Chestnut.

He recently appeared on KNBR’s Murph and Mac show and was really hilarious! Please listen to it online as Paulie Mac plays bongos while Hermanos rocks the mike (www.knbr.com/onKNBR680/MurphandMac).

His good-natured, kid-in-a-candy-store, self-deprecating (seeing Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey on the mound made him feel old – join the club Steve!), erudite-but-not-pedantic poetry is a fun romp down memory lane for a season we all loved. Thanks Steve – where else can you read a poem called “Captain Thong?” Steve is a good guy, for a Yankee fan.

FORGIVE THE WHINERS FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO

 

Steve’s fun-loving project makes Clyde want to reach out to the 50 percent of the Giants’ fan base who have become WHINERS! Yeah, you know who you are. Clyde heard you throw in the towel during the Giants’ August slump. Hey, winners never quit and quitters never win. Clyde heard you moan that the Gigantes would never beat San Diego and win the division. Clyde’s ears burned when he overheard you saying we would never beat Atlanta. And so on and so on and so on. Here’s a newsflash, Whiners, the 2011 Giants are still a light-hitting team with good pitching that no one will ever confuse with the Babe Ruth era Yankees. The 2011 Giants don’t have a Murderer’s Row for hitters (although the starting pitchers and bullpen could be called Assassin’s Alley). So please, stop … and you know who you are: you bitch after every pitch. Internalize it and try this: Enjoy the baseball game. Do yourselves another favor: Go to S.F. Public Library on Chestnut or to Netflix and get Ken Burns’ PBS masterpiece, Baseball. Clyde wished Kuipe never coined the term “Giants baseball … Torture,” because it puts fuel in the tank of the Whiners. In Burns’ acclaimed doco, the first 10 minutes is devoted to how all baseball fans never really get what they want, and that baseball is and always will be torture. The Giants don’t have the corner on that market. So Whiners, it is a free country, but feel free to stay at home and wallow in your own misery while folks like Clyde, who actually get it, don’t have to hear your negative blabbing all season in the bar. We were blessed in 2010, so no whining in 2011.

GOOD FOOD, GOOD TIMES AT BRIXTON

 

Clyde sat down with Brixton partner Andy Wasserman and learned he has a lifetime love of Union Street. “I grew up in San Francisco and I’ve been coming to this neighborhood since I was a little kid. So I followed it closely over the years. It’s a marquis location, one of the best streets in the City, it has the best foot traffic – so for a restaurant, it’s hard to find a better location.”

Oh, but Andy has already encountered some 94123 Whiners. “Some of the people who own property weren’t thrilled that we opened because we drove foot traffic down this side of the street.” Too bad, says Clyde (not Andy), foot traffic is good for the entire street.

The restaurateur continued, “We wanted to create a European English pub – you know, a tavern – but we wanted to bring a little rock and roll into it.”

But not an old school English pub full of retirees.

“We wanted a pub with a rock ’n’ roll aspect of London and we wanted to tie it in to San Francisco and our rich rock ’n’ roll history,” Andy said.

Clyde digs rock ’n’ roll posters and there are plenty on the wall from both sides of the pond. Andy wanted to make one thing clear, though, “We’re a restaurant. We are not a music venue.”
And it’s already working with 94123 locals.

“They love it,” said Andy. Why do they love it asked Clyde? “We wanted to create a warm cozy vibe … a dark, warm place. We have a fireplace.”

Good call with the crummy weather we’ve been having. So, décor? Set. Vibe? Check. Now for the food.

Andy and his partners hired rising-star chef Michele Mah. “We went through a process and she turned out to be the best. We got about 100 resumes and she basically won the competition.” How, asked Clyde? “Her tasting that she did for me and the partners was the best. I like the consistency. I like the home-style cooking. There’s something very homey about her food, kind of like comfort food, which is what we wanted – approachable, good solid American food. She delivers that.”

Clyde tried the roasted chicken and sees why the foodies think her chicken is better than Zuni Café on Market Street. Clyde’s photog, John Lloyd, is an Englishman and enjoyed Brixton’s Brit vibe, and he also devoured the hanger steak saying it was lovely. Clyde had a brief chat with chef Michele, who absolutely loves Union Street. “I’m a girl. I love all the shops and stuff here.”

Michele also likes the menu, which she considers “approachable and well-priced,” a thought echoed by Andy. “If you live in the neighborhood, we want you to be able to afford to come back here a couple of times a week. We want people to have a burger and a beer one night and come back with their buddies a couple of days later. We didn’t want to do fine dining where you can only afford to come once a month.”

By the way, Michele Mah’s last month is March – chef de cuisine John Hara will replace her, so the clock is ticking if you want to try Michele’s food. Don’t worry, she and John finish each other’s sentences, so this will be a seamless transition.

OK, cool – London meets S.F. vibe. Check. Good comfort food by a name chef. Check. What about the drinks? Well, both Clyde and Andy consider the whole mixology thing pretentious. “We didn’t want to be a mixology-type bar. When I think of the word mixology, the cocktails are good but take too long to make and are expensive. We have our own specialty cocktails and they don’t take 10 minutes to make and they cost nine bucks.” Clyde had the Brixton Buck, why don’t you? Brixton is a huge upgrade from Left at Albuquerque, and the folks that run the joint are all about the neighborhood, providing reasonable fare at a fair price, mate.

E-mail: [email protected]