One of the major potential benefits of smart meters is their ability to give consumers access to detailed data on their electricity usage via an in-home display (up-to-the-minute) or the Smart Meter Texas Internet portal (with data from up to 24-48 hours before).Studies show that making usage data easily available to consumers does encourage them to make energy-saving changes in usage.

In-home displays are not yet widely available but should become available with a variety of options in a range of prices in the future. CenterPoint Energy will make a limited number of in-home displays available free of charge to consumers with smart meters and is developing a plan to provide in-home displays to qualified low-income consumers.