SMART METERS AND THE TEA PARTY

SDG&E, SoCal Edison Get Smart Meter Opt-Out Orders; Will the Tea Party make trouble for smart meters in Southern California?
Jeff St. John, March 16, 2012 (Greentech Media)

"California’s big southern utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, haven’t had as much trouble with anti-smart meter activists as has their northern neighbor Pacific Gas & Electric…[but,] for Southern California Edison, its smart meter opponents include several local Tea Party groups…"

"…The California Public Utility Commission ruled…that SDG&E and SCE [like PG&E] must offer customers an opt-out to smart meters -- but that they can charge up to $75 per person, plus $10 a month, for the privilege…[The ruling was] meant to stave off a growing customer backlash…PG&E has agreed to leave old analog meters…but says it needs to charge extra for the costs of sending meter readers to those homes and other costs, adding up to an estimated $113.4 million over the next two years."

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"…[V]ocal critics charge that the radios inside the smart meters create a health risk for entire neighborhoods, despite data that shows the typical smart meter emits far less radiation than do cell phones and other devices permitted by law…CPUC’s proposed decision on SCE’s opt-out notes that initial opposition to smart included several local Tea Party groups…[but] didn’t make clear just what complaints the Tea Party raised. But a quick Google search reveals that… Tea Party complaints mix copious amounts of health risk talk and invasion of privacy concerns…

"…PG&E has reported only about 4,400 customers choosing to opt out of having a smart meter, or about 0.08 percent of their 5.4 million residential electric customers…[There are] similarly low numbers from Maine, where Central Maine Power is also offering opt-out for a fee. No doubt utilities around the country are keeping their fingers crossed that the numbers will stay low. Perhaps they’d better keep an eye on their local Tea Party websites."