4/26/10 hearings: PG&E under fire from state lawmakers for smart meters

[2Bwacco]

Apr 26, 2010 6:23 pm US/Pacific
PG&E Comes Under Fire Over 'Smart Meters'

https://static.cbslocal.com/Themes/CBS/_resources/img/images_image_280164506.jpg CBS 5 Investigates: PG&E Smart Meters (https://cbs5.com/search?searchstring=smart%20meter&tabid=0)

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / AP) ― <dl class="cbstv_article_images cbstv_img_border"> <dt> https://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/23/2010/01/26/175x131/smartmeter.jpg</dt></dl>Related Stories
PG&E To Test SmartMeters After Complaints (https://cbs5.com/investigates/smart.meter.tests.2.1652598.html)
(4/23/2010)
Vacaville Smart Meter Bill Stumps PG&E (https://cbs5.com/investigates/pge.smart.meters.2.1621094.html)
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(3/9/2010)California's largest utility came under fire from state lawmakers Monday 4/26/10 for billing practices associated with its "smart-meter program," which has generated nearly 1,000 customer complaints to regulators.

Members of the state Senate took Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to task over the 3-year-old initiative, which uses electronic data, rather than meter readers, to determine customers' monthly gas and electric use.

Advocates said smart meters will lower bills, improve billing accuracy and help customers make better-informed decisions about their energy use. Other utilities in the state also are trying the devices, though on a smaller scale than PG&E.

But state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said many of his constituents are complaining of skyrocketing costs and bill estimates that exceed what they owe.

He said Monday's hearing of the Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid was the first of several to address possible flaws in the smart-meter system.

"This is a revolt," Florez said of the angry customers. "The tea party has nothing on smart meters."

The $2 billion program covers 5.5 million households, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley, according to PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno. It will be expanded to about 9.8 million customers in 2012, he said.

PG&E said 99 percent of the meters have performed without problems and that bill estimates are a relatively rare occurrence.

Since the program rolled out in September 2007, only 0.2 percent of smart-meter bills have been estimates, compared to 0.7 percent of traditional meter bills, said Helen Burt, PG&E senior vice president and chief customer officer, who testified Monday.

"Our billing estimate rate is getting better, and our actual estimates are getting more accurate," Burt said. "Smart-meter technology is actually saving people money."

PG&E reports its smart-meter data monthly to the California Public Utilities Commission, which has assigned an independent audit of the program. The report is scheduled to be completed in August.

The commission's director, Paul Clanon, said the audit was necessary to address the almost 1,000 complaints he and his colleagues have received from smart-meter customers. All but about two dozen of the complaints were from PG&E customers, he said, and mainly from people in the valley.

"One thousand complaints might be a relatively small number," he said Monday. "But one bad meter, one bad bill is one too many."

Some smart-meter opponents have called for a suspension of the smart-meter program until the audit is complete. One of those critics, Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, said the consumer advocacy group receives 30 to 40 calls per week from frustrated smart-meter customers.

Clanon said, however, a moratorium was unnecessary at this stage. Representatives from smaller utilities say their smart-meter rollouts have gone smoothly.

"Customer response has been very good," said Genevieve Shiroma, board president of the customer-owned Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which installed 52,000 smart meters so far and plans to extend them to all customers by the end of the year.

For now, SMUD is requiring meter readers to check smart-meter readings in order to boost public confidence in the results, Shiroma said.

(Editor's note: The CBS 5 Investigates team has reported extensively on consumer complaints related to Smart Meters - and the response by PG&E. Click here (https://cbs5.com/search?n=4294964923&tabid=0&dt=CBS+5+Investigates+With+Anna+Werner&searchstring=smart+meter&spargs=Keywords%3dsmart%2520meter%26xargs%3d12KPjg1uhSsIGmmvmnN%252DmZDrDaoAtP0cHwsd5sCpIIXYZL8wZuV%255FV9aOGQxZ5tTpg%255F3w54%255FcHFr7IVWPXaqMs%252E %26hData%3d12KPjg1o1glcONusujfMq7P5Xxxl9%255FlJC39rkbephxaaYthgFpUJN%255FT5Px) to find a complete list of Anna Werner's Smart Meter coverage.)

[broadbandersnatch]

PG&E acknowledges there were thousands of SmartMeter with problems - 4/26/10 - San Francisco News - abc7news.com (https://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7406652)

thank you Sen Flores!

[nicofrog]

Smart Meter = dumb down populace ;
everything now days is about the "upgrade" you never need to "upgrade"
an analog meter with a mechanical wheel system..
now the entire military,all our cars phones fridges,etc are all about
upgrade...they make an engine that will run 2 or 3 hundred thou, but the computer goes out and its back to the mechanic
for get back to the future.

oooh la la, that hybrid gets some good mileage,break a head lite and a new one will cost around $200,because they are extra special.

get a model t ford, outfit it with a tiny bio diesel motor and go SLOW
and you get as good gas mileage, and a safer ride.and cheaper headlights.

all the schools need new computers , all everyone needs a new cell phone,regardless of the fact that Avatar was so popular,no one seems to get that its a true story about the chemicals we need for all those upgrades that have been causing endless war in Zaire for decades.
now if p.g.e. has cell phone meters we need to whack off the tops of
all the tall hills(sacred space to Native Americans) to install more towers so we can have coverage everywhere. and if cell phones really DO mess
up bees,we're doomed kids, so I hate to be chicken little here
but isn't it time to stop letting corporations run our lives??
we don't NEED modern conveniences, some people want them.


I'm ditching my cell phone for a land line. driving a small older vehicle
composting re-cy lets see... lerning to spell?



Apr 26, 2010 6:23 pm US/Pacific
PG&E Comes Under Fire Over 'Smart Meters'

https://static.cbslocal.com/Themes/CBS/_resources/img/images_image_280164506.jpg CBS 5 Investigates: PG&E Smart Meters (https://cbs5.com/search?searchstring=smart%20meter&tabid=0)

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / AP) ― <dl class="cbstv_article_images cbstv_img_border"> <dt> https://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/23/2010/01/26/175x131/smartmeter.jpg</dt></dl>Related Stories
PG&E To Test SmartMeters After Complaints (https://cbs5.com/investigates/smart.meter.tests.2.1652598.html)
(4/23/2010)
Vacaville Smart Meter Bill Stumps PG&E (https://cbs5.com/investigates/pge.smart.meters.2.1621094.html)
(4/9/2010)
PG&E Smart Meter 'Rebellion' Growing (https://cbs5.com/investigates/pge.smart.meters.2.1555294.html)
(3/12/2010)
Regulators To Probe PG&E Smart Meter Accuracy (https://cbs5.com/local/smart.meter.accuracy.2.1547710.html)
(3/9/2010)California's largest utility came under fire from state lawmakers Monday 4/26/10 for billing practices associated with its "smart-meter program," which has generated nearly 1,000 customer complaints to regulators.

Members of the state Senate took Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to task over the 3-year-old initiative, which uses electronic data, rather than meter readers, to determine customers' monthly gas and electric use.

Advocates said smart meters will lower bills, improve billing accuracy and help customers make better-informed decisions about their energy use. Other utilities in the state also are trying the devices, though on a smaller scale than PG&E.

But state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said many of his constituents are complaining of skyrocketing costs and bill estimates that exceed what they owe.

He said Monday's hearing of the Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid was the first of several to address possible flaws in the smart-meter system.

"This is a revolt," Florez said of the angry customers. "The tea party has nothing on smart meters."

The $2 billion program covers 5.5 million households, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley, according to PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno. It will be expanded to about 9.8 million customers in 2012, he said.

PG&E said 99 percent of the meters have performed without problems and that bill estimates are a relatively rare occurrence.

Since the program rolled out in September 2007, only 0.2 percent of smart-meter bills have been estimates, compared to 0.7 percent of traditional meter bills, said Helen Burt, PG&E senior vice president and chief customer officer, who testified Monday.

"Our billing estimate rate is getting better, and our actual estimates are getting more accurate," Burt said. "Smart-meter technology is actually saving people money."

PG&E reports its smart-meter data monthly to the California Public Utilities Commission, which has assigned an independent audit of the program. The report is scheduled to be completed in August.

The commission's director, Paul Clanon, said the audit was necessary to address the almost 1,000 complaints he and his colleagues have received from smart-meter customers. All but about two dozen of the complaints were from PG&E customers, he said, and mainly from people in the valley.

"One thousand complaints might be a relatively small number," he said Monday. "But one bad meter, one bad bill is one too many."

Some smart-meter opponents have called for a suspension of the smart-meter program until the audit is complete. One of those critics, Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, said the consumer advocacy group receives 30 to 40 calls per week from frustrated smart-meter customers.

Clanon said, however, a moratorium was unnecessary at this stage. Representatives from smaller utilities say their smart-meter rollouts have gone smoothly.

"Customer response has been very good," said Genevieve Shiroma, board president of the customer-owned Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which installed 52,000 smart meters so far and plans to extend them to all customers by the end of the year.

For now, SMUD is requiring meter readers to check smart-meter readings in order to boost public confidence in the results, Shiroma said.

(Editor's note: The CBS 5 Investigates team has reported extensively on consumer complaints related to Smart Meters - and the response by PG&E. Click here (https://cbs5.com/search?n=4294964923&tabid=0&dt=CBS+5+Investigates+With+Anna+Werner&searchstring=smart+meter&spargs=Keywords%3dsmart%2520meter%26xargs%3d12KPjg1uhSsIGmmvmnN%252DmZDrDaoAtP0cHwsd5sCpIIXYZL8wZuV%255FV9aOGQxZ5tTpg%255F3w54%255FcHFr7IVWPXaqMs%252E %26hData%3d12KPjg1o1glcONusujfMq7P5Xxxl9%255FlJC39rkbephxaaYthgFpUJN%255FT5Px) to find a complete list of Anna Werner's Smart Meter coverage.)

[broadbandersnatch]

Where are you located? And were you able to stop them?



PG&E's contractor showed up without warning to install our smart meter today. Talked to PG&E, whose representatives talk through a veil of politeness but it is quite apparent they are shoving it down our throats ASAP. Imagine if Proposition 16 passes....

[Runningbare]

Were you already signed up on the deferment/last to install list (Craig Kennedy 577-7097) when all of this came down?



Denied them access. Supervisor called me after 7:30 pm (very uncool timing) and was even more adamant as to PG&E's rights to do whatever they want. Said if we didn't get notification we should take it up with the post office as they do everything perfectly and it was obviously the fault of the post office. After about 15 minutes, I made the mistake of saying the supervisor sounded like a Nazi which gave her license to end the conversation because of my egregious comparison. I withdrew it but she was too busy writing up her justification that she'd been compared to a Nazi so she could now ignore me. For some reason, I had this idea that a PG&E supervisor would have been a little more easy to talk to but she was worse than the lower level. To them, the public is enemy number one, quite clearly. Again, what's the deal here that they want to just treat us so poorly? Definitely poised to take off our heads rather than treat us as customers. No--we're just rate-payers and a necessary evil to them.

[2Bwacco]

i've tried to "warn" folks about doing this sort of thing with PG&E (from experience i've learned how they react).

You have to be the grown-up with them; you can't lose your cool. Act as if you are in court or church... make your case calmly.

i was told the other day that PG&E has to have access to my property at any time of day or night... freaky!

This is what happens when a company gets too big and forgets their number one responsibility is to the customer (not shareholders or the bottom line). ("PG&E dysfunctional and shoots from the hip.")


Denied them access. Supervisor called me after 7:30 pm (very uncool timing) and was even more adamant as to PG&E's rights to do whatever they want. Said if we didn't get notification we should take it up with the post office as they do everything perfectly and it was obviously the fault of the post office. After about 15 minutes, I made the mistake of saying the supervisor sounded like a Nazi which gave her license to end the conversation because of my egregious comparison. I withdrew it but she was too busy writing up her justification that she'd been compared to a Nazi so she could now ignore me. For some reason, I had this idea that a PG&E supervisor would have been a little more easy to talk to but she was worse than the lower level. To them, the public is enemy number one, quite clearly. Again, what's the deal here that they want to just treat us so poorly? Definitely poised to take off our heads rather than treat us as customers. No--we're just rate-payers and a necessary evil to them.

[Veeja]

I just called this number, and the message gave me another number to call. The guy who I spoke to was very nice. He said sure lets get you on the deferment list. He took my information and said you are last on the list to install which would be 2 to 3 years down the road. He also said all the test about the smart meter should be in then and they would know if they were going to keep installing them. Here is that number. 866-743-0263 pick option, for general questions.

<hr>


Were you already signed up on the deferment/last to install list (Craig Kennedy 577-7097) when all of this came down?

[Runningbare]

Did you get the name of the guy you spoke with?

When I signed up they told me it would be 1 to 2 years down the road. Now it's another year longer. I like the direction this is moving.
As a further deterent, we downloaded and printed full size one of the Schmart Meter Free Zone notices from the turn.org website. It looks pretty official out there next to the analog meter.


I just called this number, and the message gave me another number to call. The guy who I spoke to was very nice. He said sure lets get you on the deferment list. He took my information and said you are last on the list to install which would be 2 to 3 years down the road. He also said all the test about the smart meter should be in then and they would know if they were going to keep installing them. Here is that number. 866-743-0263 pick option, for general questions.

<hr>

[Veeja]

Did not get a name.


Did you get the name of the guy you spoke with?

When I signed up they told me it would be 1 to 2 years down the road. Now it's another year longer. I like the direction this is moving.
As a further deterent, we downloaded and printed full size one of the Schmart Meter Free Zone notices from the turn.org website. It looks pretty official out there next to the analog meter.