CMP: Smart meter opt-out not feasible
Letting customers opt out of planned smart-meter upgrades would be too costly and undermine the benefits of the new system, Central Maine Power Co. officials argued yesterday.
At a session on the utility's $200 million project to upgrade thousands of electricity meters, CMP officials told the Maine Public Utilities Commission and interveners in the case that allowing customers to keep their old meters or using phone lines to communicate with the smart meters instead of radio transmissions, which have sparked concerns about health effects, is too expensive, according to the Portland Press Herald. The PUC opened an investigation of the company's smart-meter project following consumer complaints about privacy and safety to determine whether requiring people to participate is unreasonable. The only workaround the company said it would consider is installing meters away from bedrooms or other areas of concern, for which a homeowner would have to pay $2,000.
During the session, the state public advocate's office and interveners filed about a dozen requests for information from CMP related to the project, and the public advocate's office said it would look into the company's argument that an opt-out is cost-prohibitive and damaging to the outcome of the project. The digital, wireless meters are intended to save money for both ratepayers and the company, and improve the efficiency of electricity use. The PUC could take several weeks to decide whether to schedule public hearings on the case.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
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