LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas & Electric Co. says it will begin upgrading electric meters across Lake County to the new SmartMeter technology beginning this month.
In announcing its plans PG&E said the technology will provide customers with more information about their electric and gas usage and options to save money, while also helping utilities make better use of renewable power.
PG&E said it will host SmartMeter Education Centers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, at its Clearlake customer service office, 14730 Olympic Drive, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the company's Lakeport office, 325 N Forbes St.
A SmartMeter expert will be available for customers to speak with individually. Customers can drop in anytime during the educational center hours to ask questions one-on-one.
PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said the local rollout should take a few weeks, and all PG&E customers eventually will have them.
So far, PG&E has installed 7.5 million of the devices, and plans to reach 10 million installations by 2012, Smith said.
The technology's future benefits will include better power outage detection and the ability for customers to get real-time energy usage information, according to PG&E.
However, PG&E's use of the SmartMeters has led to controversy and concern in communities around the state, including here in Lake County.
Last month the Board of Supervisors hosted a lengthy meeting during which citizens spoke against the technology.
The outcome was that the board agreed to draft a letter to the the state Legislature to ask that options be included in current legislation for opting out of the technology.
While it's been reported that studies have found the amount of radio frequency used by SmartMeters is low compared to cell phones, citizens groups across the state are nonetheless opposing the meters for a variety of reasons, including worries over potential impacts on health. They also have raised issues of inaccuracy.
The group Stop Smart Meters! reported that 26 local governments in California – including the county of Mendocino and the Sonoma County communities of Sebastopol and Cotati – have called for a moratorium, a ban or have voiced opposition to SmartMeters.
Citizen concerns about the devices run the gamut from privacy breaches and billing inaccuracy to health problems ranging from sleeplessness, tinnitus, headaches and nausea, the group said.
According to a report last week, the group alleged that a former employee of a company under contract by PG&E said the company is risking public safety, stating that the meters pose a fire risk – producing an arc that could ignite any gas leaks that may be present – and that installing technicians weren't adequately trained.
While the California Public Utilities Commission conducted an investigation into SmartMeters, consumer advocacy group The Utilities Reform Network has criticized the CPUC for not going far enough in its inquiry.
The group reported that it “skeptical that Smart Meters are a smart investment for consumers. The meters have failed to provide customer benefits commensurate with their costs, which are $2.2 billion for P&GE customers alone.”
On her blog The Smart Grid Library (www.smartgridlibrary.com/), consultant Christine Hertzog has emphasized the need for security and privacy in dealing with the energy and consumer data the devices produce.
Smith said PG&E has been focusing more on communicating with its customers.
“It's been really important that we do outreach to our customers” to let them know the changes are coming, he said.
PG&E said that utilities around the nation and the world “are utilizing SmartMeter technology with great success and there is a nationwide push to modernize the power grid to make it more efficient, reliable and sustainable.”
SmartMeters are intended to provide customers with information such as their hourly energy usage and daily natural gas usage, the company reported.
The meters also are supposed to assist with new programs like Energy Alerts, which let consumers know by phone call, text or e-mail when they're moving into higher-priced electric tiers so they can manage energy use and save money.
Smith said the company is working to communicate the devices' benefit to customers, who he said have been receptive to the information.
Initially, as the SmartMeters were rolled out, “We did not do an adequate job” of outreach, Smith said.
He said analyses conducted by outside firms found that PG&E could have done a better job of discussing the use of the devices. That was also the finding of the CPUC-commissioned study.
“It's really our responsibility to make sure we're responsive to our customers,” he said.
The customer education centers – such as the two planned this week in Lake County – have been beneficial in getting out the word, Smith said.
A previous “answer center” for consumers was held in Lakeport on Dec. 17, as Lake County News has reported.
PG&E said it will notify customers by letter about two weeks in advance of the meter upgrades. The letter includes information about the upgraded meters as well as the phone number customers can call if they have any questions or need to make special arrangements.
Regarding the installation process, prior to upgrading the meters, a PG&E employee or a PG&E contractor will knock on the door to check with the homeowner or business before installing the new meters, the company said. If no one is home the meters will be changed out as long as the installers can get access to the meters.
A brief power outage will occur during the electric meter upgrade, but there is no interruption in gas service for a gas meter upgrade, according to PG&E's statement.
After installing the meters, the company said a door hanger will be left behind with information about the upgrade.
While the regional network of SmartMeter devices is established, the new meters will continue to be manually read for about three months before PG&E transitions to billing by remote reads, PG&E reported.
PG&E has established a 24-hour SmartMeter hotline for customers who have questions about the program, 1-866-743-0263.
More information also is available online at www.pge.com/smartmeter.
Information about the concerns over SmartsMeters is available at http://www.turn.org/article.php?id=875 and http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/ .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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