Are smart meters “thieves”? Bakersfield thinks so

There’s a bit of controversy in Bakersfield, California over the smart meters installed by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Residents are blaming the faulty meters for increased utility bills. Read these articles from the San Francisco Chronicle:

* PG&E’s ’smart meters’ make dumb mistakes

* ‘Smart meters’ or cunning PG&E thieves?

* Smart meters are key to a clean energy future

* Smart consumers trump smart technology

PG&E says that the higher utility bills were not caused by defective meters but by the hot weather:

But PG&E has already tested many customers’ smart meters – made by General Electric and Landis+Gyr and networked by Silver Spring Networks – and have not found any problems with how they’re working, PG&E spokesman Denny Boyles said Wednesday. Rather than malfunctioning meters, PG&E thinks the higher bills have come from its two rate hikes in the past 12 months, plus a hot summer that led to many Central Valley residents cranking their air conditioners to beat the heat, Boyles said.

This controversy should be of interest to many municipalities and utilities that are installing wireless smart meters. People are already very suspicious of utility companies and they are also unfamiliar with smart meter technology. Many view the new meters as just another attempt by the utilities to fleece them. The Bakersfield saga continues . . .

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