By Dana Hull
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 02/01/2012 03:53:52 PM PST
Updated: 02/02/2012 07:20:49 AM PST
Despite a chorus of complaints by “smart meter” opponents, state regulators voted Wednesday to give PG&E customers the right to opt out of having the wireless meters and to 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 smart meters, primarily because of alleged health effects.
PG&E customers who want to opt-out of having the utility’s 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.
The fees are to cover the costs of installing analog meters on homes that have SmartMeters but want to switch back, as well as the cost of paying workers to read the analog meters each month. PG&E and others have argued that if one house on a block chooses an analog meter, instead of a SmartMeter that automatically reports electricity usage, it is not fair to expect neighbors who keep their SmartMeters to have to pay for the cost of the meter reader.
In Marin, where the SmartMeters have been particularly controversial, the decision by the California Public Utilities Commission, was not popular.
“Simply opting out of one’s own SmartMeter does absolutely nothing to address the problem of being exposed to the continuous pulsing of neighboring SmartMeters 24/7,” said Katharina Sandizell, a mother arrested for blocking smart meter installation trucks coming into Inverness in December 2011.
Marin Supervisor Steve Kinsey said, “Given the longstanding indifference PG&E has shown to local concerns regarding SmartMeters, it falls upon the shoulders of the CPUC to require full respect for local moratoriums until all of the issues have been publicly considered. To do less will only add cost and increase public disdain.”
Edward Segal, chief executive of the Marin Association of Realtors, said, “While we are pleased the commission decided that customers can refuse to have SmartMeters installed, we do not think ratepayers should be forced to pay additional fees so they can keep their old analog equipment. This should be a basic consumer right, not a fee-based privilege.”
The opt-out decision is widely viewed as a compromise on the part of state regulators and PG&E, who have been flooded with consumer complaints.
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