Dear Jessica, this just in!

California utilities commission to allow customers to opt-out of smart meters

03/10/2011

By Alison Hawkes

After repeated pressure from groups protesting the rollout of smart meters in Northern California, the California Public Utilities Commission announced Thursday that it will allow PG&E customers to opt-out of the devices on their homes.

California PUC President Michael Peevey said he had spoken with the president of PG&E to allow customers who are averse to smart meters to have their electrical use recorded without the use of wireless technology.

“We’re directing PG&E to prepare a proposal to allow opt-out of the devices at a reasonable customer cost,” said Peevey at a CPUC meeting in San Francisco stacked heavily with an anti-smart meter crowd.

Peevey did not say how much customers would be charged to opt-out or how the money collected would be used. He said PG&E is expected to submit a proposal in two weeks, although it would take the commission time to develop an opt-out process.

The anti-smart meter crowd was largely unimpressed with the announcement. Although they had been calling for an opt-out option, some insisted that nothing short of a moratorium would be safe to the public.