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Politics & Government

Analog Meters May Be Included In SmartMeter Opt-Out

A barrage of pressure from public officials and new opposition tactics may have caused PG&E to change their tune.

A new tactic from opponents of Pacific Gas & Electric's SmartMeter program may have led the company to recommend that the by the California Public Utilities Commission include the option to keep analog meters, PG&E Spokesperson Jeff Smith said Monday.

According to Smith, the CPUC will have the final say on whether analog meters will be an option, and their decision which is expected sometime in January.

"We made this recommendation to the CPUC today that any opt-out decision has an analog option,” said Smith.

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Public officials ramped up pressure after PG&E turned off the power to some in a group associated with Stop SmartMeters!, who were  for attempting to returning their wireless meters. This led to a tense exchange Last Tuesday between the County Board Of Supervisors and a PG&E representative. Video of the questioning of a PG&E representative present at the meeting can be seen here.

“You know why people don't like your company? The inflexibility to deal with issues,” said Supervisor John Leopold.

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was one local resident who returned her wireless meter to PG&E's Capitola payment office. In response, the utility shut off her power for part of last week when she refused to have her SmartMeter reinstalled. Her power was turned back on last Friday without any meter at all and was told by PG&E that she would be billed based on average usage from previous months. No one from PG&E had told her yet that analog meters may be an option.

“I have not gotten a call from PG&E. I find it interesting that every day it's a different story,” said Carn. “If they are going to tell newspapers they are offering people something they need to actually offer it to us and let us know.”

The move is a reversal of the previously stated SmartMeter program goal to update the power grid uniformly statewide. But Smith said Monday that the change will not jeopardize this goal.

“I would suggest it is a pretty small number of our customers that have this concern ... At the end of the day we are trying to be responsive to their concerns,” said Smith.

Karyn Samz—a Boulder Creek resident that had her SmartMeter removed—now has a digital meter that PG&E calls a “radio off” meter. She has been not been offered power without a meter or an analog replacement. The new meter is causing the same health problems she experienced with a SmartMeter, until June when it was disconnected.

“My heart is palpitating, and from what I am reading, these Solid State (radio off) meters are the same,” said Samz. “Whatever it is, it's making me sick.”

Stay tuned to Patch for more on the potential for analog meters as part of the opt-out program.

What do you think of the potential opt-out program? Should customers be allowed to have analog meters? What about radio off meters? Tell us in the comments and vote in the poll at the top of the page!

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