Having to pay a fee for something that is not mandatory

[FarmerJ]

to be required to pay 360. a year for a meter that only needed to be read by a reader once a year is just assinine. Up here for I think the first 12 years up here we had to read the meter our , write it on a space on the bill when sending payment in and do that for 11 months then the 12th month a meter reader actually came out to read the meter then the next 11 months every month again we would read it, they even had a telephone number where we could call it and enter our account number and it used caller ID to get customers number too and then on push button again enter the reading. so serious question , is your meter socket on the house or out on a meter pole ? is it possible to move the meter so it is farther away from the house like say way out in the yard near the utility pole or underground electric box in order to get it farther from the house ?

 

[quincy]

to be required to pay 360. a year for a meter that only needed to be read by a reader once a year is just assinine. Up here for I think the first 12 years up here we had to read the meter our , write it on a space on the bill when sending payment in and do that for 11 months then the 12th month a meter reader actually came out to read the meter then the next 11 months every month again we would read it, they even had a telephone number where we could call it and enter our account number and it used caller ID to get customers number too and then on push button again enter the reading. so serious question , is your meter socket on the house or out on a meter pole ? is it possible to move the meter so it is farther away from the house like say way out in the yard near the utility pole or underground electric box in order to get it farther from the house ?

The amount of fees being charged by utilities to opt-out consumers vary significantly from state to state. I imagine the fees depend in part on the costs of having meter readers (e.g., a state’s minimum wage laws) and the driving distance between houses choosing to opt out of the smart meters.

Meters are read monthly, by the way.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Meters are read monthly, by the way.

But not each month by the utility itself. There are some places that have the customer read the meter and provide the reading to the utility each month and then the utility sends out their own reader on a periodic basis — where I once lived it was every 3 months — to verify the reading to ensure the consumer wasn't underreporting the readings. That cuts down on the costs to read the meters. Even with that, however, it's more expensive to read and bill for the analog meters than for the new smart meters.

 

[quincy]

But not each month by the utility itself. There are some places that have the customer read the meter and provide the reading to the utility each month and then the utility sends out their own reader on a periodic basis — where I once lived it was every 3 months — to verify the reading to ensure the consumer wasn't underreporting the readings. That cuts down on the costs to read the meters. Even with that, however, it's more expensive to read and bill for the analog meters than for the new smart meters.

I misspoke. Actually around here it is generally one month actual reading, next month estimate, then actual reading again. But the meters are certainly read more than once a year. I don’t know of any area here where the homeowner provides the reading, though. I suppose it’s possible.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I misspoke. Actually around here it is generally one month actual reading, next month estimate, then actual reading again. But the meters are certainly read more than once a year. I don’t know of any area here where the homeowner provides the reading, though. I suppose it’s possible.

Having lived in a variety of places in my life I've dealt with a number of utility companies over the years and they each have had different ways of doing it. One used a system much like you described. Another used the method I mentioned earlier of customers supplying readings. Every place was a bit different; they each have their own quirks to the system they use. With smart meters the customer experience may start to be a bit more uniform with the the meters and computers doing all the work to read meters and do the billing. Whether that's a good thing depends on your perspective, I suppose. Overall I see a benefit to the new meters, but others are more resistant to them. Part of that may simply be a fear of change itself. A lot of people are uncomfortable with change, especially as they get older.

 

[quincy]

I think people are more aware of, and concerned about, the personal information being gathered about them. The concerns are not entirely without good reason.

But, yes. I imagine meter readings can vary in significant ways from state to state.

 

[Watcher77]

While getting the new meters may not be mandatory, it may also be the case that no federal or state laws prohibit the utility from charging you extra fees to keep the old style meters. Ask the consumer rights attorney about that first before charging on with trying to challenge the fees. It may be that you'll find there isn't any good legal challenge to make.

Bear in mind that traditional meters require a utility employee to actually go to the meter and read it — an extra cost that the utility will have if you keep the old meter that it would not have with the smart meter. It is not unreasonable for those opting to keep the old meters to be the ones to pay that cost rather than hiking up the cost of the electric for everyone to pay for those holdouts who don't, for whatever reason, want the new meters. What problem or issue do you have with a smart meter?

A have alot of things wrong with the new wireless smart meters - my husband and I had a nightmare experience in our health. Our previous home we had to sell and move out due to this issue. When we got the first electric smart meter we could not sleep thru the night and our dog would not come in our room any more. They put the second gas smart meter on when we were not home and then nose bleeds started for me daily, heart palpitations, ringing in my ears, severe headaches, dizziness, severe fatigue, severe dry and burning eyes and more - before the meters my husband and i were in fit shape - I had my eye doctor confirm it was the high frequency being emitted from the meters drying my eyes and making them burn, there are peer reviewed studies on this he gave me to read -
My husband and I both have been to the PUC and testified to this and it was like talking to a bunch of idiots on white thrones they could care less, there were 4 doctors there that testified as well and same response to them - WHY because it is all about the almighty dollar, they dont care about people plain and simple we witnessed that. We have a video we did to show how the utility companies attorney lied to us about how many times the meters transmit - he told us a couple times thru the night - LOL - we bought a meter to test them and it is every 10-15 seconds 24/7 -

 

[Watcher77]

Having lived in a variety of places in my life I've dealt with a number of utility companies over the years and they each have had different ways of doing it. One used a system much like you described. Another used the method I mentioned earlier of customers supplying readings. Every place was a bit different; they each have their own quirks to the system they use. With smart meters the customer experience may start to be a bit more uniform with the the meters and computers doing all the work to read meters and do the billing. Whether that's a good thing depends on your perspective, I suppose. Overall I see a benefit to the new meters, but others are more resistant to them. Part of that may simply be a fear of change itself. A lot of people are uncomfortable with change, especially as they get older.

Analog meters have been the standard forever and a decade - funny how all of a sudden the utilities refer to them as non-standard meters now

 

[Watcher77]

These add-on utility fees for those opting-out of smart meters are permitted in Texas.

I think it is criminal - if it is not mandatory and no law =- why would you pay to not have one -

 

[Watcher77]

In Texas, although smart meters were introduced in 2005, the issue of opt-out provisions was pretty much settled in 2013, when the Texas Public Utility Commission opened up discussion to the public and weighed their concerns.

Although it appears there is little left to litigate, there is probably some lawyer somewhere who will take a consumer’s money to research the matter more fully.

We were there in Austin Texas 2012 and 2013 and testified along with 2 rooms full of others along with medical professionals as well - it was a joke - pretty much a waste of breath because all they care about is money just be honest - they could care less about advanced technology and its safety.

 

[Watcher77]

I hadn't heard of any health or fire risk issues with these meters when they were rolled out where I live. There were some concerns about privacy, but the utilities have addressed those. Eventually these meters will likely end up being installed for each electric & gas user. The old meters are too costly to read and the new meters will allow companies to bill at different rates depending on the time of day that the service is used. That will encourage people to do things that use more electric & gas during off peak times. That's more efficient and more environmentally friendly, too.

Yes sure the utilities address your concerns with industry funded information! You will not hear not one of them tell you the truth - there are hundreds if not more peer reviewed medical studies proving they are dangerous - they all spew out the same song and dance and the sheeple eat it up like - they are green - they save money - they are safe - no they don't cause fires - it is all a dog and pony show to make money

 

[quincy]

Because of your health issues (if you are able to document them), you could see about getting a smart meter installed a distance away from your home or, as another option, you could opt-out of the smart meter installation and use your medical documentation to have opt-out fees waived.

You might want to explore with an attorney in your area the cases in other states where these arguments were successfully used.

Good luck.

 

[Just Blue]

How does a digital meter cause health issues?

 

[quincy]

How does a digital meter cause health issues?

A research study out of Australia in 2013 showed that a small percentage of the population reported experiencing insomnia, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive disturbances, abnormal sensations and/or dizziness after exposure to the radiofrequency fields from smart meters.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25478801/

 

[NeilTheCop]

A have alot of things wrong with the new wireless smart meters - my husband and I had a nightmare experience in our health. Our previous home we had to sell and move out due to this issue. When we got the first electric smart meter we could not sleep thru the night and our dog would not come in our room any more. They put the second gas smart meter on when we were not home and then nose bleeds started for me daily, heart palpitations, ringing in my ears, severe headaches, dizziness, severe fatigue, severe dry and burning eyes and more - before the meters my husband and i were in fit shape - I had my eye doctor confirm it was the high frequency being emitted from the meters drying my eyes and making them burn, there are peer reviewed studies on this he gave me to read -
My husband and I both have been to the PUC and testified to this and it was like talking to a bunch of idiots on white thrones they could care less, there were 4 doctors there that testified as well and same response to them - WHY because it is all about the almighty dollar, they dont care about people plain and simple we witnessed that. We have a video we did to show how the utility companies attorney lied to us about how many times the meters transmit - he told us a couple times thru the night - LOL - we bought a meter to test them and it is every 10-15 seconds 24/7 -

The FCC says it's safe, and as the transmitter frequency band is the same as used by cell phones, baby monitors and your home WiFi system, and the transmissions are in a burst only lasting between 12 and 120 milliseconds, I would tend to believe them.
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7022311412.pdf