PG&E Smart Meter Opt Out on CPUC Table

After months of public protests and community moratoria on “smart meter” installations, PG&E proposed having residential customers pay for disconnections and on-site meter reading. “We wanted to be responsive to our customers but there is a cost associated with this [opt out] option,” said PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith. The utility submitted its plan providing alternatives to household wireless meters to the California Public Utilities Commission March 24. That was after regulators listened to more than two hours of ratepayer objections to “smart” electric and gas meters. For more than a year, members of the public have regularly objected at the CPUC meetings to digitized meter installations. Fears of health impacts from the meters’ radio frequencies, as well as accuracy and privacy issues have been key issues. Customers who opt out would pay new charges for associated costs, according to Smith. Those include turning off the radio transmission, opting out of a digitized grid infrastructure, and having on-site meter reading. Those who choose to opt out would pay a one-time fee of $270, plus a monthly charge of $14, if approved by the CPUC. The other option for customers wanting to turn off their smart meter is to pay a $135 upfront cost and add $20 to their monthly utility bill. Low-income customers in the CARE program would face lower costs, paying $215 in place of $270 upfront, or a $105 one-time fee in place of the $135. “For the choice to be meaningful it has to be affordable,” said Mindy Spatt, The Utility Reform Network spokesperson. She noted ratepayers paid for the digitized meters, pay ongoing rates of return on them and the old analog meters, and now have to pay again. Earlier this month, regulators called for offering ratepayers alternatives to wireless meters. “It’s clear the time has come for some sort of customer opt-out,” said CPUC president Mike Peevey March 10. Marin, Mendocino, Lake, Santa Cruz, and several other counties declared moratoria on digital meters. PG&E refuses to recognize municipal bans on “smart” meter installation. PG&E noted again this week that their smart meters are “safer than many household products, including cell phones and microwave ovens.”

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PG&E Smart Meter Opt Out on CPUC Table

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