Price Increases
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From 2009 to 2011, SCE customers paid an additional 1.6% fee to implement the Smart Grid.
In addition, now that the Smart Meters are deployed, many Orange County customers experience their bills going up. "...Electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket..." under a Cap and Trade system admits President Obama. Are Smart Meters part of a larger scheme? |
When a commodity becomes scarce it's price will go up. Smart meters are designed to ration and control energy use through a penalizing rate structure (TOU rates) and remote kill switch (Demand Response). Charging different rates throughout the day people will change the way they view energy. Will it be considered a luxury to be doled out by Big Utilities?
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Proof of Skyrocketing Bills
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Did your electricity bills go up after a Smart Meter was installed?
Take a look at this customer's San Diego Gas & Electric bill for 40 months; 20 before and 20 after an Itron Smart Meter was installed. (Note: SCE uses the same meters.) Customers complain that not only do their bills go up the amount of electricity used mysteriously has gone up as well. Can a 50% increase be considered a skyrocket? Want proof? Below are copies of this customer's bill. 
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Analog Vs. "Smart"
Electromechanical Analog Meter
How it Works
The old, trusty (and ugly) analog meter attached to the side of a house has a series of dials or gauges that move electromagnetically with the home's electrical usage. It does not use power to operate. There is a starting point and an ending point on the manual gauges. Usage is easily calculated as the difference between these two numbers....just like putting miles on a car. In fact, you can watch these dial move and audit your own usage. The movement can be verified by the homeowner to ensure it's accuracy. Analog Meter Pricing Analog metering systems apply a pricing structure based on a 5-tier graduated rates system for that month's electrical use. The more electricity you use the higher tiered rate is applied. For example, currently first-tiered winter rates may start at $0.13 per kWh and fifth-tier starts at $0.31 per kWh. The incentive is for you to use less electricity over the one month period of time. Projected Higher Cost For those customers still owning an analog meter, tiered pricing remains. However, we understand that the power companies would like to penalize the analog customers by slowly removing the tiers on their way down to one rate for all electrical usage. Would this new one rate imposed be set at a penalizing level? |
Smart Meter
How it Works
This is the shiny, new digital Smart Meter flashes numbers periodically as it calculates electrical usage. It uses your home's power to operate. It digitally calculates real-time usage then transmits this data wirelessly through the Smart Grid mesh network. Just like your cell phone bill, a Smart Meter accumulates usage digitally and sends you a bill. However, unlike a cell phone bill you cannot know where or how the numbers were calculated. There is no beginning or ending gauge to verify your electrical use. Do we just trust this computer? Is it accurate? Can the numbers be verified? There is no way to know. Smart Meter Pricing Smart Metering calculates electrical usage based on Time Of Use (TOU) pricing by applying changing hourly rates. For example, since the heaviest time for electrical usage takes place between the hours of 2pm to 6pm a penalizing high rate will be applied to discourage use during those hours. Lower rates apply in the late evening and extreme early morning. That way you can do your laundry at midnight. Projected Higher Cost As a result to TOU pricing, those that are home during the day will be most effected like seniors, retirees, unemployed, those on medical support systems, small work-at-home business owners, and parents with small children. Also, low-income and fixed-income households that are unable to shift the time of day that use energy will also see their bills skyrocket. |
Skyrocketing Complaints
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Consider Australia where they have been living with Smart Meters since before 2011.
This video is about an Australian family that was being charged 60% more for power that she was not consuming. However, the power company stood their ground and said their Smart Meter is correct. Unlike analog meters where you want watch the dial rotate as the homeowner consumes energy Smart Meters are digital computers. |
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