Looks like there may be some first generation bugs (or maybe revealing problems with the old meters?).
PG&E's $2.2 billion program to install 10 million SmartMeters on homes and businesses throughout California to better monitor energy consumption is off to a rough start.The article also notes the concern raised by one resident on privacy and security - that hackers could determine whether someone was home based on the energy usage. As with everything in the digital age, security matters. Let's hope PG&E is paying attention.
In the Central Valley, several PG&E customers who already have SmartMeters have complained of skyrocketing electricity bills over the summer, leading to widespread complaints that SmartMeters either malfunction or were used to intentionally overcharge.
In the Bay Area, the rollout of SmartMeters has just begun. Consumers in Hayward and pockets of the Peninsula have them, and installation in Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View, Saratoga and Sunnyvale is scheduled to start next month. The new meters also are being installed in Concord and Walnut Creek; Oakland should get them in 2011.
But where the meters have been widely deployed, many consumers are not happy.
One Bakersfield resident who saw his $200-a-month bill rise to nearly $600 after he got a SmartMeter has filed a class-action lawsuit in Kern County Superior Court, asserting PG&E billed him for more electricity than he used.
The flood of consumer complaints led the California Public Utilities Commission to announce that it will require an independent third party to evaluate the SmartMeters for accuracy.
Rafael @www.climateatbay.net
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