LAKEPORT — The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday became the latest local government body to impose a moratorium on SmartMeter installations, even as a PG&E representative reiterated that the company would not honor such decrees.
“I want our voices to go on the record that we don”t like how we”re being treated,” Councilman Tom Engstrom said during an hour-long discussion at Tuesday”s regular meeting.
PG&E spokesman Austin Sharp told the council that the company does not honor locally imposed moratoriums because the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has jurisdictional power over the installations, not local governments.
“We are still under the (CPUC) mandate to install,” Sharp said.
The SmartMeter is a device that would help PG&E and its customers better track individual energy use, Sharp said. The SmartMeter uses a wireless radio signal to relay usage information to a receiver and PG&E stores the information, he said.
Customers could then access hourly, daily and monthly usage information online or by calling PG&E, Sharp said. Customers could only track monthly usage under the old metering system.
Citizens in many areas of northern California have expressed concerns about having the devices installed on their property, primarily citing privacy, health and rate-price concerns.
“PG&E doesn”t seem to care about those concerns,” Councilman Bob Rumfelt said.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors shared some its citizens” concerns and in March ordered a moratorium on installations in the unincorporated areas of the county. PG&E, and installation contractor Wellington Energy, have continued to put in SmartMeters across the county.
SmartMeters are “setting the stage for increased rates,” District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington said at Tuesday”s council meeting.
Sharp said customer rates would not increase based on information the company receives, but customers could choose different rate plans by analyzing their own usage.
Sharp also attempted to discount health concerns about the devices” wireless radio signal, saying exposure from SmartMeters is significantly less than other widely-used devices, such as cell phones, and that the SmartMeters” radios transmit less than a minute per day.
On March 24, PG&E submitted a proposal to the CPUC that would allow some customers to pay fees to have the devices” wireless radio capabilities shut off.
The “radio off” option was formalized after the CPUC president ordered PG&E to develop a program by which customers could opt out of having SmartMeters.
Standard residential customers choosing to “radio off” would be required to pay an upfront fee of either $135 or $270 and a standardized monthly fee, either a fixed fee or a fee based on energy usage. Renters would be required to pay the upfront fee each time they move to a new property, according to Sharp.
Sharp said the fees were proposed solely so the company could recover the costs of having those customers go back to the old “meter reader” system.
“The bottom line is it”s about choice,” said Farrington, who called the “radio off” proposal a “slap in the face” and an “extortion plan.”
PG&E will continue installing SmartMeters until the CPUC makes a decision on the “radio off” proposal, Sharp said.
Customers can request to be put on a temporary delay list, which will remain active until the CPUC decision, Sharp said. SmartMeters would still be installed for all customers under the “radio off” option; the radio capability would merely be shut off.
Six city residents voiced opposition to SmartMeters being installed at their homes or neighborhoods, while more than 20 people in the audience applauded several times when council members and Farrington openly questioned the legitimacy of the devices.
The council voted unanimously to pass a resolution stating the council”s position against PG&E installing SmartMeters for customers who wish to opt out, impose an ordinance establishing a moratorium of installations in the city, issue letters to state legislators and the governor supporting Assembly Bill 37, which calls for a SmartMeter opt out, and support a letter denouncing the “radio off” option.
“It will probably be useless, but I want my voice heard and those of the people that are here tonight,” Engstrom said of the council”s actions.
PG&E asks customers with questions or concerns about the SmartMeter program to call the 24-hour SmartMeter hotline at 866-743-0263.
