In an indirect response to Mr. Bone”s letter of May 10 about SmartMeters I”d like to say this: We use propane for heating water and space, in the summer the price is low, in the winter the price rises. Propane is a by-product of oil production, it”s a gift from mother nature. The cost to the consumer is dependent on the weather.
PG&E touts all the advantages of knowing what your charges will be modified if you change your usage habits. So we, as a consumer group can switch our appliances to early in the morning and later in the evening, But, we cannot change the time we need to run our air conditioners.
So PG&E has found the way to make more money using the weather to its advantage. This technique is the same one used by the propane distributors.
The smart thing about SmartMeters is the sting they will cause on your electric bill.
If my bill is going up $50 a month, I will seriously consider buying a home generator (not a GE product) with an automatic kick in feature to supplant our needs. This would also enhance my reliability on the power grid.
Jim Walters
Kelseyville
