Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Too Smart By Half   [Greg Pollowitz]

With President Obama's $3.4 billion giveaway today to supposedly upgrade the U.S. electric grid, let's take a look at the implementation of "smart" meters in California. The Fresno Bee reports:

More than 100 people packed a hearing at the Hugh M. Burns State Building in downtown Fresno tonight to vent their frustration with PG&E's newest metering technology, which customers say has led to unwarranted spikes in utility bills.

Dozens more stood outside the meeting room. Several people held signs that read, "PG&E are a bunch of theives" and"PUC ripoffs."

"You deserve answers," said Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, who held the hearing amid concerns that the SmartMeter technology — funded largely by consumers — has failed to deliver on promised savings.

SmartMeters are supposed to give consumers real-time information on their energy usage so they can make adjustments to save on their bills. But that technology will not be in place for years, Florez said.

PG&E has blamed the higher utility bills on summer heat and has said that much of the increase has come from rate hikes approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.

At the hearing, PG&E officials, as well as the regulatory body that pushed forward the company’s implementation of SmartMeters, are expected to defend the technology.

Florez said so far only the utility itself seems to be saving money by eliminating the labor costs of manually reading older meters. Meantime, many consumers say their bills have increased dramatically, even if they have cut back on energy consumption.

The California Public Utilities Commission has ordered a "third-party" investigation to determine if the "smart" meters are working as advertised. Stay tuned.

10/27 12:00 PMShare