The argument probably boils down to: the net economic loss in productivity from having every micro-power-user spend time worrying about whether it's a good or b

The argument probably boils down to: the net economic loss in productivity from having every micro-power-user spend time worrying about whether it's a good or bad time to flip the switch, out-weighs the added market efficiency from what you describe. Large users on the other hand, can devote a team to ensure optimal usage around complex / time-dependent tariffs. Great point about smart appliances tho: that will have to wait for full integration of the smart grid and there will have to be a clear incentive to buy expensive appliances... since the overall savings could be fairly minimal (e.g. one less peaker plant) it's harder to provide benefits for millions of users. Again "demand response" e.g. turn-down-on-demand for large power users (perhaps even large building airconditioner loads) makes sense to target first. There is no doubt a lot of interesting tech potential in this area... but utilities move so so slow.