Unfair, Over-Priced and Penalizing Opt-Out "Solution"?
Opt-Out Proposal (March 15, 2012) Summary:
Below is a quick and dirty summary of what they are proposing and why it is inadequate.
New Fees:
Customers that choose to retain an analog meter will be double-charged for their electrical metering services. SCE wants to charge customers additional fees of $75 up front and $10 per month thereafter. These fees are on top of the costs that we all will bear for the new Smart Grid. For example, an additional monthly fee of $1.60 per $100 (i.e., almost $5 on a $300 electric bill) will be charged to all customers (both analog and "smart") for the Smart Meter.
The CPUC has allowed SCE to pass on the cost of the new Smart Metering program to ALL customers in the form of increased fees and rates. It is inequitable for those exercising their choice to retain the current analog metering system to bear the financial burden of paying for both metering systems. If we choose one method of metering over the other then our monthly metering fees should reflect that choice.
Customers should not be charged for exercising their Federally mandated choice(1). Nor should they have to pay extra to protect their families from illegal (unconstitutional) personal data collection, cyber insecurity, privacy violations (2), unreliability, lack of billing transparency and discrepancies, fire danger, and negative health impacts(3).
These "Opt Out" fee amounts are only temporary. The CPUC has ordered SCE to recompute how much it really costs to have the Opt Out program. We suspect that higher fees will be proposed with no offsets provided for NOT using the Smart Meters.
SCE specifically designed the Opt Out fees to discourage customers from retaining their analog meters (4).
Rate Changes:
There is no guarantee that our current analog fee structure of monthly graduated (tiered) rates based on kilowatts used will remain the same.
Smart Meter participants will eventually be moved over to Time Of Use (TOU) pricing which sets rates hourly based on the time of day with the 2pm to 6pm slot penalized with the highest rate.
Analog Meter participants currently are billed using a monthly 5-tier graduated rate structure. (For example, currently tiered winter rates on my bill start at $0.13 per kWh for the first tier up to $0.31 per kWh for the fifth and final tier.) We understand that there is talk of removing the 5 tiers down to only one level and then imposing a penalizing rate set at the highest level.
Original Meter:
The proposal states that customers that choose to opt out will have their previous type meter returned to them whether it was an analog or a digital meter. We believe that if a customer wants an analog meter then they should have the right to have one regardless of what type of meter was previously on their homes.
Both Residential and Businesses:
Currently, only residential customers have the option to opt out of the Smart Meter program. We believe this choice should be available for non-residential customers as well.
No Limits on Opting Out:
No limit on opting out should be placed on customers, who have many factors that could influence their opt-out situation, throughout the calendar year. This is especially important for those who develop medical and/or other conditions that cannot wait a year for relief.
Solar customers should be eligible for the opt-out, with analog meters provided that are two-way.
Bank of Meters Not Addressed:
Those customers who live in multi-family housing (1/3 of all Orange County residents), such as apartments, condos and townhomes where there are banks of meters should be afforded special provisions. Even if only one customer requests an analog meter, the bank of meters should be dismantled and changed to analog,
Collector Meters and Wireless Infrastucture:
All citizens and customers should be informed about the location and radiation levels of the large collector meters as well as the other wireless infrastructure that SCE has erected. Collector meters should be removed from homes and businesses.
Establishment of Safe Zones:
A safe zone of at least 2,000 feet should be established around a customer's home where he/she is requesting an analog meter. The safe zone would protect against RF radiation from neighboring smart meters or other wireless utility infrastructure. converted to non-wireless infrastructure or moved outside the safe zone.
Footnotes:
(1) The choice whether to enroll in the Smart Meter program is properly left to the customer, per the Energy Policy Act of 2005, under Title Xll, Subtitle E, Section 1252, (a), (14), (C). It states: "Each electric utility subject to subparagraph (A) shall provide each customer requesting a time-based rate with a time-based meter capable of enabling the utility and customer to offer and receive such rate, respectively."
(2) Fourth Amendment ensures that the "...right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated...". A government may not intrude into an area in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. In our modern age, society views electricity as not just a mere convenience, but a basic human need. There is only one source from which we can receive our electricity and that is from our governmental controlled and regulated electrical company, or SCE. We should not have to expect that as part of our customer/company agreement to receive electricity that we would have to give up all rights to privacy. We do not give my consent to copious amounts of data being collected, permanently stored and sold to the highest bidder.
(3) The vast and growing consensus supported by independent researchers, including the May 31, 2011 World Health Organization, conclude that microwave radio frequency radiation emitted by wireless products, including Smart Meters operating in conjunction with a Smart Grid, pose a serious and unwarranted public health hazard.
(4) SCE's market research performed in September 2011 provided that 41 percent of residential customers expressed interest in an opt-out program given no information on fees. The participation rate decreased to 2.4 percent assuming a monthly charge of $20. Those rates decreased even lower to 1.4 percent assuming a monthly charge of either $25 or $30.
Below is a quick and dirty summary of what they are proposing and why it is inadequate.
New Fees:
Customers that choose to retain an analog meter will be double-charged for their electrical metering services. SCE wants to charge customers additional fees of $75 up front and $10 per month thereafter. These fees are on top of the costs that we all will bear for the new Smart Grid. For example, an additional monthly fee of $1.60 per $100 (i.e., almost $5 on a $300 electric bill) will be charged to all customers (both analog and "smart") for the Smart Meter.
The CPUC has allowed SCE to pass on the cost of the new Smart Metering program to ALL customers in the form of increased fees and rates. It is inequitable for those exercising their choice to retain the current analog metering system to bear the financial burden of paying for both metering systems. If we choose one method of metering over the other then our monthly metering fees should reflect that choice.
Customers should not be charged for exercising their Federally mandated choice(1). Nor should they have to pay extra to protect their families from illegal (unconstitutional) personal data collection, cyber insecurity, privacy violations (2), unreliability, lack of billing transparency and discrepancies, fire danger, and negative health impacts(3).
These "Opt Out" fee amounts are only temporary. The CPUC has ordered SCE to recompute how much it really costs to have the Opt Out program. We suspect that higher fees will be proposed with no offsets provided for NOT using the Smart Meters.
SCE specifically designed the Opt Out fees to discourage customers from retaining their analog meters (4).
Rate Changes:
There is no guarantee that our current analog fee structure of monthly graduated (tiered) rates based on kilowatts used will remain the same.
Smart Meter participants will eventually be moved over to Time Of Use (TOU) pricing which sets rates hourly based on the time of day with the 2pm to 6pm slot penalized with the highest rate.
Analog Meter participants currently are billed using a monthly 5-tier graduated rate structure. (For example, currently tiered winter rates on my bill start at $0.13 per kWh for the first tier up to $0.31 per kWh for the fifth and final tier.) We understand that there is talk of removing the 5 tiers down to only one level and then imposing a penalizing rate set at the highest level.
Original Meter:
The proposal states that customers that choose to opt out will have their previous type meter returned to them whether it was an analog or a digital meter. We believe that if a customer wants an analog meter then they should have the right to have one regardless of what type of meter was previously on their homes.
Both Residential and Businesses:
Currently, only residential customers have the option to opt out of the Smart Meter program. We believe this choice should be available for non-residential customers as well.
No Limits on Opting Out:
No limit on opting out should be placed on customers, who have many factors that could influence their opt-out situation, throughout the calendar year. This is especially important for those who develop medical and/or other conditions that cannot wait a year for relief.
Solar customers should be eligible for the opt-out, with analog meters provided that are two-way.
Bank of Meters Not Addressed:
Those customers who live in multi-family housing (1/3 of all Orange County residents), such as apartments, condos and townhomes where there are banks of meters should be afforded special provisions. Even if only one customer requests an analog meter, the bank of meters should be dismantled and changed to analog,
Collector Meters and Wireless Infrastucture:
All citizens and customers should be informed about the location and radiation levels of the large collector meters as well as the other wireless infrastructure that SCE has erected. Collector meters should be removed from homes and businesses.
Establishment of Safe Zones:
A safe zone of at least 2,000 feet should be established around a customer's home where he/she is requesting an analog meter. The safe zone would protect against RF radiation from neighboring smart meters or other wireless utility infrastructure. converted to non-wireless infrastructure or moved outside the safe zone.
Footnotes:
(1) The choice whether to enroll in the Smart Meter program is properly left to the customer, per the Energy Policy Act of 2005, under Title Xll, Subtitle E, Section 1252, (a), (14), (C). It states: "Each electric utility subject to subparagraph (A) shall provide each customer requesting a time-based rate with a time-based meter capable of enabling the utility and customer to offer and receive such rate, respectively."
(2) Fourth Amendment ensures that the "...right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated...". A government may not intrude into an area in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. In our modern age, society views electricity as not just a mere convenience, but a basic human need. There is only one source from which we can receive our electricity and that is from our governmental controlled and regulated electrical company, or SCE. We should not have to expect that as part of our customer/company agreement to receive electricity that we would have to give up all rights to privacy. We do not give my consent to copious amounts of data being collected, permanently stored and sold to the highest bidder.
(3) The vast and growing consensus supported by independent researchers, including the May 31, 2011 World Health Organization, conclude that microwave radio frequency radiation emitted by wireless products, including Smart Meters operating in conjunction with a Smart Grid, pose a serious and unwarranted public health hazard.
(4) SCE's market research performed in September 2011 provided that 41 percent of residential customers expressed interest in an opt-out program given no information on fees. The participation rate decreased to 2.4 percent assuming a monthly charge of $20. Those rates decreased even lower to 1.4 percent assuming a monthly charge of either $25 or $30.