Arcata asks PG&E to stall SmartMeter installations for unwilling customers
Allison White | The Times-Standard | 12/16/2010
The Arcata City Council requested at its Wednesday meeting that Pacific Gas and Electric respect the requests of residents who don't want SmartMeters installed on their homes. SmartMeters are PG&E's new digital meters designed to transmit power and gas use data wirelessly instead of having a meter reader physically come by each home or business. The plan is to eventually allow customers to see how and when they are using power, if they choose, so they can find ways to use less and save money, according to PG&E**. About 20 people came before the Arcata City Council, with all but one person against the installation of the meters. Many of the commenters said they are sensitive to the radio frequencies emitted by some electronic devices and that they go to great lengths to eliminate the sources of those in their home. But with the SmartMeters, they currently cannot opt out and it causes them distress. Others were concerned about the privacy and security of customer information and the accuracy of the new meters.
Cont.: times-standard.com 
**fac: putting aside some of the flaky reasons why some homeowners are objecting to smartgrid meters in their homes, the question I have is, When are the utilities going to own up to the fact that smartgrids will save them, the utilities, themselves, a great deal more money, proportionally, and in a more timely manner, than the residents they serve, albeit the latter will ultimately pay the tab in any event... they're not quite engaging in legerdemain, IMO, but at the same time they're being a lot less than straightforward in this regard... in an almost insulting kind of way, as though their supplicants, the ordinary subscribers, don't have enough intelligence to comprehend what they're actually doing... at best, this entire smartgrid affair, as currently being administered in relation to residential homeowners, is turning out to be a colossal experiment of massive scale, with no assurances that it will ever bear fruit for the ordinary billpayer, while a number of recent disclosures coming from consumer groups, and in some cases a utility, or two, themselves, have suggested just the opposite ...
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