[Watchdogs] ‘Smart’ Electric Meters Draw Complaints of Inaccuracy - NYTimes.com

[Andy Wilson]

The more important part of that article is THIS:

Chris Schein, a spokesman for Oncor, the company that installed the
Robertsons’ smart meter, said a prolonged and unusual cold snap last winter,
when the new meters were being introduced, had caused residents to use more
power than normal. That, Mr. Schein said, contributed to what some consumers
might have perceived as problems with the new meters.

An independent study
<http://www.puc.state.tx.us/nrelease/2010/080210.pdf>commissioned by
(Texas) state regulators and conducted by the consulting
firm Navigant came to the same conclusion. And while the Navigant analysis
did uncover a few faulty meters, the study also found that *the smart
devices were actually more accurate than the ones they replaced*.

Still, both Navigant and Mr. Schein suggested that better consumer education
and outreach — and a streamlined way for dealing with questions and concerns
— was necessary. “We’re looking at all of our processes and asking, how can
we improve things?” Mr. Schein said.

Pedernales has already been installing smart meters.  We have the MyUse
program which, to my knowledge, has been an overall plus to customers, not
negative.  The rollout of smart meters in Texas has been positive in the
muni and co-op world and only problematic in the competitive markets and
mostly boil down to one REP, Oncor, and one meter manufacturer.  In
instances where people are seeing their bills go up from more accurate
meters, we should see this is a positive, not a negative:  people are now
paying for the power they actually use, rather than have their unmeasured
use be paid for by their other neighbors / member-owners of the co-op.

But here's a change of pace-- I AGREE, Milton.  We should have an accounting
of the cost of the smart meter program.  I believe this cost analysis will
show the savings in this type of valuable efficiency program and why it
should not only be continued, but expanded.

On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 7:55 PM, Milton Hawkins <milton.hawkins at gmail.com>wrote:

> ‘Smart’ Electric Meters Draw Complaints of Inaccuracy - NYTimes.com<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/business/13meter.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
>
> From the article:
>
> But because of faulty technology in some cases, and more often through
> general shortcomings in consumer education and *customer-service support *by many utilities, smart meters are leaving many customers dumbfounded.
>
> In Maryland earlier this year, state regulators, aware of the discontent
> around the country, temporarily blocked a utility’s smart-meter proposal,
> citing inadequate planning and the *potential cost to consumers*.
> Let's be sure we count all the costs, like increased support services,
> before we venture too far, too soon.
>
> Milton
>
> - Sent using Google Toolbar
>
> _______________________________________________
> Watchdogs mailing list
> Watchdogs at pec4u.org
> http://pec4u.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/watchdogs
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://pec4u.org/pipermail/watchdogs/attachments/20101112/4dadc2e1/attachment.html>