Electricity prices in Western countries will climb 400% by 2050 if adequate investment in smart grid isn’t made now. That’s the assessment from Guido Bartels, chairman of the Global Smart Grid Federation and general manager of IBM’s Global Energy and Utilities Industry. Israel is embarking on a pilot smart grid program to make power consumption more efficient and plans eventually to deploy 2.5 million smart meters to replace existing meters. Bartel stated, “We estimate that if the current grid is not upgraded, electricity tariffs will be 400% higher by 2050. Introducing a smart grid makes it possible to reduce this rise to just 50%.”