Sony developing authenticating power outlets: pay-to-charge on the way?

[Newsjock]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/14/2796971/sony-authenticating-power-outlets-charge-nfc

Sony is developing power outlet technology that uses IC chips to determine a user's identity or permissions. Possible use case scenarios include managing energy usage in large buildings, device theft prevention, and — yes — the potential for paid access to power. Sony says it expects the technology to be employed in cafes, restaurants, airport waiting lounges, and other public places.

[snooper2]

1. sweet

[hedgehog]

2. You mean the electricity doesn't just magically appear at wall sockets?

[zipplewrath]

3. 10 times the cost

At which point the cafes will charge 10 times the marginal costs of the power.

[TheWraith]

4. Twenty bucks says this is primarily for electric vehicles.

The reality is that other devices like laptops, even desktop computers, don't drain enough power that it would ever make financial sense to do this--even the cost of retrofitting the outlets would be higher than the revenue you could possibly expect from them. Nobody but the most desperate business travelers are going to pay a dollar an hour to charge their laptops--people will do what they do now with WiFi, stop going to businesses that charge in favor of ones that offer it for free. But as a means to provide power to EVs via charging stations at restaurants, offices, etcetera, it makes plenty of sense. You pay maybe $10 a month plus wattage for access to a network of charging stations, then you just plug your car in when you get there. No feeding the station bills, no credit card transactions.