PG&E Submits Smart Meter Opt-Out, But Wants to Charge for It
In an effort to appease critics of the wireless devices, utility giant serves up proposal that would force those who don't want to use them to pay for it.
PG&E has submitted a proposal that would charge customers an upfront fee, plus monthly fees and an exit fee, for those who want to opt out of the utility's SmartMeter program.
The company submitted its proposal on Thursday to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in response to a March 10 order from the commission's president requiring PG&E to provide options for residents with concerns about the SmartMeters.
Opponents of the wireless devices, which are meant to reduce energy consumption by monitoring utility use and transmitting the information in real time, argue the radio frequency waves emitted by the meters are detrimental to their health.
PG&E's proposal would give customers the option of having PG&E turn off or disable the radios inside their SmartMeters, which would eliminate the radio frequency, according to company.
The utility proposed charging $135 to $270 upfront to have an employee turn off the meters, plus a $14 to $20 monthly fee to keep it off. Customers could choose to pay a per-kilowatt-hour fee instead of the fixed monthly fee.
PG&E would also charge customers an exit fee when they terminate service so future customers could use the SmartMeters.
The utility estimated that about 145,800 customers could choose to have the meters turned off over the next two years, causing an estimated $84.4 million in capital costs and expenses.
The costs include sending personnel to turn off the meters, sending meter readers to manually check the modified meters every month, and upgrading the rest of the SmartMeter radio frequency network to compensate for any network degradation caused by the turned-off radios.
According to the proposal presented by PG&E, customers can also ask to have their SmartMeters moved to different locations on their property at estimated costs of $2,500 to $4,500 for overhead-meter customers and $6,000 to $11,000 for underground customers.
PG&E's net income in 2010 was $1.1 billion.
As of March 1, the utility had installed 7.7 million gas and electric SmartMeters in the state, which it says only transmit radio waves for milliseconds at a time and for very short durations.
The company estimates exposure to the low-frequency waves total about 45 seconds every 24 hours — much less than cell phones and microwave ovens. Read about how the meters work here.
Some residents remain skeptical of PG&E's estimates, though, and say a more thorough independent review should be done before the SmartMeters are thrust upon them.
Speakers packed a CPUC meeting in San Francisco on Thursday and described health conditions they and their loved ones had suffered since the SmartMeters were installed. Many called the proposed charges a form of extortion.
"I shouldn't have to pay more for the right to opt out of irradiation," Petaluma resident Dana Davis said before details of the proposed fee structure had been released.
Davis said she didn't have a SmartMeter and didn't want one, while other residents described experiencing migraines, heart palpitations, and sleep problems after receiving the devices.
Some speakers questioned the effectiveness of the proposed opt-out program in reducing radiation given that other meters would be modified to compensate for those that had been disabled.
--Bay City News Service
paul schepis
9:36 pm on Sunday, March 27, 2011
Every electric appliance, automobiles ,trains ,planes ,cell phones,pc's,laptops tv's,cordless phones,lights,etc emit emf's.This is mass hysteria fueled by the irresponsible media.You will have to live as the Amish do to get away from emf's.Get over it.No one will give up any of these modern appliances!Emf's from Smart meter are hundreds of times less than cell phones!Electric and hybrid cars have high emf's also!Go sell those too!Mass Hysteria!
Inside9
11:10 pm on Sunday, March 27, 2011
PiG&E now wants the Public Utilities Commission to godfather an extortion game on the lucky people of California. They demand my analog meter for a shiny new possibly toxic smartmeter. They say I have no choice. I must then pay them 270 dollars to turn off (disable) the wireless so that it functions like my old meter plus 20 dollars or more a month in perpetuity. Oh, and when I move or die, whichever comes first, I must pay them a substantial "exit fee". I think if the truth were ever revealed, at this point PiG$E might admit they would rather break my kneecaps.
I know how easy it is to disable a smartmeter's "radio function" (pulsed microwave radiation). It takes about a minute or less. But the gangsters at PG&E want to triple dip me with costs and fees. There are people who for personal and/or health reasons prefer not to have this piece of technocrap on their homes. What about apartment dwellers who have 10 of these mounted outside their bedroom wall and have an aversion to 24/7 wireless? Yeah, even if they can personally afford to cough up the big bucks (over $500 extra dollars the first year), how do they get all their neighbors to help them out and buckle under this extortion scheme? What a MISERABLE company! Hold on to your old meters, complain to our government, don't encourage these gangsters!
Elmer Vailoces
2:48 am on Monday, March 28, 2011
1. INSURANCE COMPANIES WON'T INSURE THE HEALTH PROBLEMS FROM WIRELESS Smart Meters
And Insurance companies don't sacrifice insurance premiums ($$$) for no reason.
TV NEWS VIDEO - Insurance Companies Won't Insure Wireless Device Health Risks (3 minutes, 13 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382
2. WIRELESS SMART METERS TRANSMIT RADIATION APPROXIMATELY 25,000 TIMES PER DAY, 24/7, not 45 seconds per day as claimed by PG&E.
VIDEO - Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE
3. CELL DAMAGE, DNA BREAKS & BREACHES IN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER observed in laboratory tests from low levels of pulsed RF signal radiation as emitted by Wireless smart meters - reported by Top Wireless radiation scientists in the world at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Nov 18, 2010:
VIDEO - http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/cc-video/
4. THE KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE IN STOCKHOLM THAT GIVES NOBEL PRIZES ISSUES GLOBAL HEALTH WARNING AGAINST WIRELESS SMART METERS.
2-page Press Release:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48148346/Karolinska-Institute-Press-Release
DisgustedAussie
8:50 pm on Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Smart meters were installed WITHOUT consent, it is well within the occupants right to have it ripped out and thrown out and not be charged for it. No-one signed a contract for these, so the fees associated with the switching off and early exit are all illegal and invalid. This is merely another way the companies will rort the citizens and it is up to the people to take a stand against this and use their voices as one and throw out the smart meters.
Ursula
6:06 pm on Friday, April 1, 2011
In my little town here in Canada (north of Toronto, Ontario), they've installed smart meters on every residence. Nobody was asked if we wanted them, we had no choice at all.
They're making us pay a lot more during the day, wanting us to wash laundry, use the dishwasher etc. after 9:00 pm, or before 7:00 am. So, are we now supposed to do our housework on nightshift, to not pay a lot of money for electricity?
I don't work outside the house. Obviously I normally do my laundry etc. during the 'peak hours'.
In reality, they don't want ordinary people to run their air conditioners and appliances during the daytime, because that is when the Honda and Baxter factories in town use all that electricity. I am being punished for that.
We don't even GET the option of having the damn thing turned off.
Shawn Lee
8:08 pm on Thursday, August 11, 2011
THAT is exactly why there is such a push to get these things installed.
I get up at 4:30 am and leave for work at 6:30. I go to bed @ 9. So when am I expected to do my laundry etc.
freepatriot
6:32 pm on Saturday, April 2, 2011
Anyone wishing to outsmart the smart meters it is very simple and inexspensive. At the service panel location in the home you need to install an Isolation transformer, 120/208/240 line to 120/208/240 load and the problem is solved. The power compnay dirtbags can't monitor or control across the inductive coil, it's up yours PG&E !
Paul Hannick
4:35 pm on Friday, April 29, 2011
Paul
Freepatriot--Where can I get a schematic of your suggestion??
Shawn Lee
8:15 pm on Thursday, August 11, 2011
On Monday PGE installed a SMART meter on false pre-tense and did it over a 6 ft locked gate. They left a msge when most people are working stating they were coming in 3 minutes. They had a damaged meter report..............There was no damaged meter. They have been manipulating and twisting the truth. They state they can enter our property anytime they want to "access their equipment". PROBLEM, we have a 100 lb shepard mix dog! When we asked for a letter releasing us from liability IF our dog should bite their staff........of course not. Even if they don't have a chance in haites to win the court case, because they entered unannounced via a 6 ft locked gate, it could bankrupt the average joe defending themselves. PG&E is out of control and we need to stop them in their tracks.