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05-11-2010, 10:04 PM
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PG&E admits problems with SmartMeters | PressDemocrat.com (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100511/articles/100519877?p=all&tc=pgall)
PG&E admits problems with SmartMeters
By DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 7:41 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 7:41 p.m.
A chastened PG&E now admits that more than 43,000 of its so-called SmartMeters have malfunctioned, and the giant utility company has announced new customer service initiatives to address growing concerns about the accuracy of the high-tech devices.
“We don’t feel that the way we’ve handled customer concerns was adequate. We’re stepping up the process to do that,” company spokesman Paul Moreno said Tuesday.
In Sonoma County, concerns that the new wireless gas and electric meters may not be as accurate as advertised and emit radio frequencies that some worry may be harmful to their health have led to community forums and calls for a moratorium on installation of the devices locally.
The California Public Utilities Commission, acting largely on complaints about the devices from PG&E customers who live in the Bakersfield area, last week ordered the utility to release monthly updates that are provided to the agency as an overview of the progress and setbacks related to the meter program.
Four years’ worth of reports, totaling 667 pages, were posted to the utility’s Web site on Monday and can be found at www.pge.com/SmartMeterCPUCreports (https://www.pge.com/SmartMeterCPUCreports).
The company simultaneously announced the new customer service initiatives, which include adding call centers and employees to answer questions specifically about the new meters.
But in Sebastopol, a hotbed of SmartMeter skepticism, it may take more than these steps to allay worries.
PG&E has installed 76 new meters at homes and businesses with a Sebastopol address, but has yet to roll out the devices in any significant numbers in the West County. Moreno could not provide a timetable for when that will begin to happen.
Countywide, about 14 percent of the 379,592 old-style, analog meters have been replaced.
“I am not ready today for them to be installed,” said Sebastopol Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer, who said her concern is with the accuracy of the devices. “I will talk with PG&E to make sure these changes are instantaneous with the installation. Once I feel comfortable with that, I’m fine with one being installed at my house.”
When some Bakersfield customers began complaining last summer that their bills had suddenly skyrocketed after installation of the new meters, PG&E responded by blaming higher temperatures and an increase in electricity rates.
But the documents released by the utility on Monday reveal instances of technical problems with the devices, not necessarily with those installed in Bakersfield but in various locations as millions of the devices have been rolled out.
The company now estimates that 43,300 meters, out of the 5.7 million that have been installed, have malfunctioned, for reasons ranging from problems transmitting the data on wireless networks to human error.
The reports also reveal that in March, PG&E placed a hold on 290,000 meters after a Redwood City company that supplies SmartMeter components found a problem with a component that helps transmit the data.
About 7,800 meters were installed with the component in question. But Eric Dresselhuys, executive vice president of Silver Spring Networks, said the devices likely will work, and if they don’t, that they will be replaced. Neither he or Moreno could say where the units were deployed.
Dresselhuys said the discovery of the faulty component is proof that testing procedures are working, and that consumers “should have absolute confidence that the meter is accurate.”
“Our expectation is a failure rate of a fraction of a percent,” he said.
Moreno noted that about three percent of the old analog meters are inaccurate and outside the accepted margin of error of plus or minus two percent. He said the problems are mainly due to aging components.
By comparison, he said only about one percent of the new meters have had problems.
He said customers can arrange for a side-by-side test of their new meter with the old one to ensure that their energy use is being accurately tracked.
As for concerns about the radio frequencies emitted by the new meters being potentially health hazards, Moreno repeated the company’s position that the devices fall well within FCC guidelines.
Moreno did not answer directly whether customers can opt out of getting a new meter or
request a delay. He instead directed customers to call the SmartMeter hotline at 1-866-743-0263.
PG&E admits problems with SmartMeters | PressDemocrat.com (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100511/articles/100519877?p=all&tc=pgall)
PG&E admits problems with SmartMeters
By DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 7:41 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 7:41 p.m.
A chastened PG&E now admits that more than 43,000 of its so-called SmartMeters have malfunctioned, and the giant utility company has announced new customer service initiatives to address growing concerns about the accuracy of the high-tech devices.
“We don’t feel that the way we’ve handled customer concerns was adequate. We’re stepping up the process to do that,” company spokesman Paul Moreno said Tuesday.
In Sonoma County, concerns that the new wireless gas and electric meters may not be as accurate as advertised and emit radio frequencies that some worry may be harmful to their health have led to community forums and calls for a moratorium on installation of the devices locally.
The California Public Utilities Commission, acting largely on complaints about the devices from PG&E customers who live in the Bakersfield area, last week ordered the utility to release monthly updates that are provided to the agency as an overview of the progress and setbacks related to the meter program.
Four years’ worth of reports, totaling 667 pages, were posted to the utility’s Web site on Monday and can be found at www.pge.com/SmartMeterCPUCreports (https://www.pge.com/SmartMeterCPUCreports).
The company simultaneously announced the new customer service initiatives, which include adding call centers and employees to answer questions specifically about the new meters.
But in Sebastopol, a hotbed of SmartMeter skepticism, it may take more than these steps to allay worries.
PG&E has installed 76 new meters at homes and businesses with a Sebastopol address, but has yet to roll out the devices in any significant numbers in the West County. Moreno could not provide a timetable for when that will begin to happen.
Countywide, about 14 percent of the 379,592 old-style, analog meters have been replaced.
“I am not ready today for them to be installed,” said Sebastopol Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer, who said her concern is with the accuracy of the devices. “I will talk with PG&E to make sure these changes are instantaneous with the installation. Once I feel comfortable with that, I’m fine with one being installed at my house.”
When some Bakersfield customers began complaining last summer that their bills had suddenly skyrocketed after installation of the new meters, PG&E responded by blaming higher temperatures and an increase in electricity rates.
But the documents released by the utility on Monday reveal instances of technical problems with the devices, not necessarily with those installed in Bakersfield but in various locations as millions of the devices have been rolled out.
The company now estimates that 43,300 meters, out of the 5.7 million that have been installed, have malfunctioned, for reasons ranging from problems transmitting the data on wireless networks to human error.
The reports also reveal that in March, PG&E placed a hold on 290,000 meters after a Redwood City company that supplies SmartMeter components found a problem with a component that helps transmit the data.
About 7,800 meters were installed with the component in question. But Eric Dresselhuys, executive vice president of Silver Spring Networks, said the devices likely will work, and if they don’t, that they will be replaced. Neither he or Moreno could say where the units were deployed.
Dresselhuys said the discovery of the faulty component is proof that testing procedures are working, and that consumers “should have absolute confidence that the meter is accurate.”
“Our expectation is a failure rate of a fraction of a percent,” he said.
Moreno noted that about three percent of the old analog meters are inaccurate and outside the accepted margin of error of plus or minus two percent. He said the problems are mainly due to aging components.
By comparison, he said only about one percent of the new meters have had problems.
He said customers can arrange for a side-by-side test of their new meter with the old one to ensure that their energy use is being accurately tracked.
As for concerns about the radio frequencies emitted by the new meters being potentially health hazards, Moreno repeated the company’s position that the devices fall well within FCC guidelines.
Moreno did not answer directly whether customers can opt out of getting a new meter or
request a delay. He instead directed customers to call the SmartMeter hotline at 1-866-743-0263.