PG&E customers can opt out of SmartMeters -- for $75, plus $10 a month

[roody]

By Dana Hull [e-mail]

Despite a chorus of complaints by SmartMeter opponents, state regulators voted Wednesday to give PG&E customers the right to opt out of having a SmartMeter and keep their old meters -- for a fee.
The decision, which is being closely watched by smart grid advocates and utilities across the country, came after a year of highly organized protests by consumers who oppose SmartMeters, primarily because of alleged health effects.
PG&E customers who want to opt out of SmartMeters will be required to pay a one-time $75 fee and a monthly charge of $10. Low-income customers would pay an initial fee of $10 and a monthly charge of $5.

---snip---

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19869073

[jeff47]

1. /sigh. Where do they find people gullible enough to believe radio signals hurt them?

And can I get in contact with such people to sell them bogus solutions to non-existent problems?

[rsmith6621]

2. There The Same People Who Live in a.....

...a home with WiFi, carry and talk on a cell phone non stop.....the fee sounds like a nice scam bread in fear.

[Sirveri]

4. The issue was that they weren't setting the zero points correctly.

Basically they would install these things, then the next month the residents would get a bill for 30k or some other insane amount. So as a result a lot of people think they're broken.

Then there's the other issue that they're only installing these to toss people out of their jobs.

[jeff47]

6. Because meters read manually are always 100% accurate?

According to the article, the objection is over the radio link between the meter and the utility.

[Sirveri]

8. yeah, those people are a bit paranoid.

But there are legit reasons in addition to the silly ones.

[msongs]

3. PGE effing everyone over as usual. corporate scam for their own profits at no value to customers nt

[roody]

5. Who is making money off of this?

I buy 10 dollars worth of natural gas per month from PGE and they plan to force me to have a 'smart' meter. Who is getting richer? Who is getting laid off?

[jeff47]

7. Meter readers are getting laid off.

The point of smart meters is to not have to have someone come by and read the meter.

[jeff47]

9. Just to add to that post...

There's lots of benefits to smart meters too.

Those meter readers were burning a lot of gas, and driving a lot of miles. Not doing that is a good thing for the environment.

Older meters can't run backwards, so solar/wind installations generally required a new meter. Not a huge cost increase when you factor in the cost of buying the panels/turbine, but every bit helps.

Smart meters enable smarter use of power. If you opt-in, and the power company has the infrastructure, they can do things like turn off your A/C if there's a spike in power demand. Thus reducing CO2 from power plants - the power company doesn't need to have as many plants already up and spinning to absorb the spike.

[roody]

10. My electricity comes from my local municipality.

All I get is gas to heat water and cook. They could ask customers to read the meter.

Somebody is making a lot of money off of this.

[jeff47]

11. Unless your city owns a power plant, no it doesn't.

And I'm not aware of many cities that own their own power plant. Sure, there's a municipal utility, but they're selling someone else's power.

Anyway, yes someone makes a lot of money. The power company saves a lot of money. As I said above. Their saving money also has beneficial environmental effects.

[NYC_SKP]

14. The utility company can't find good workers. The meter readers are being retrained.

There's plenty of work for them, it's just not reading meters anymore.

[AndyTiedye]

12. Everybody's Electric Bill Went Up by At Least 30% When they Installed Smart Meters Here

and they stayed up, so it wasn't just "forgetting" to zero the meter.

[demosincebirth]

13. When I got my smart meter installed, my PG&E bill has been lower. People can complain all

they want about them, but I like mine. My old one must have been way off.