Pacific Gas & Electric is gearing up to expand its industrious-yet-controversial Smart Meter project into Santa Maria in late November.
In anticipation of the change, the utility will begin to send letters to its customers in the city, notifying them of the upcoming switch.
According to PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno, installations are expected to begin for the city’s 43,000 electricity customers at the end of November. The project is expected to wrap up sometime in spring 2011. Moreno said customers will receive notification in the mail at least two weeks before the new meters are installed.
Unlike traditional analog meters, digital Smart Meters send a signal to the local billing office, allowing the utility to remotely gauge electrical use. Representatives for the company say this remote monitoring will help it to manage demand and improve service by allowing customers to monitor electricity usage online.
“There has been a nationwide push to update the power grid, and these Smart Meters will provide the foundation for that updated grid,” Moreno said.
Moreno told the Sun a small number of the new meters have already been installed at locations throughout the city—mostly new construction sites and properties that have undergone panel upgrades—for logistical reasons.
The new meters have attracted their share of controversy, however, over questions about their accuracy and health and hazard risks. Customers in other cities have complained of unexplainable spikes in their electricity bills since their new meter installation. The utility has said discrepancies were likely due to inaccurate analog meters and a hot summer.
Health concerns focus on emissions from the radio frequencies used to transmit information to PG&E offices on an hourly basis. Thousands of customers have complained of headaches, dizziness, and insomnia, and many more are concerned with long-term risks of cancer. Others have reported interference with electronic household devices such as cordless phones and home security systems, many of which rely on the same free 900-megahertz band the Smart Meters use.
PG&E says Smart Meter emissions comply with Federal Communications Commission and World Health Organization standards.
“Radio frequency issues have been studied extensively, and it’s been concluded there are no health risks to low-level frequencies such as those you find in Smart Meters,” Moreno said, adding Smart Meters only transmit a total of 45 seconds a day.
Moreno also said the meters are designed specifically not to interfere with common electrical devices.
Results from a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)-funded study found that the meters and their associated software and billing systems were consistent with industry standards and functioned properly. However, the study said poor customer service by the utility was to blame for many of the Smart Meter-related complaints. Moreno assured the Sun the utility has ramped up its communication efforts with customers.
“We have been engaging customers in new creative ways and improved the amount of communication before and after installations are made,” he said, pointing to increased information on PG&E’s website, increased hours and staff on the consumer hotline, and community outreach in areas new to Smart Meters.
PG&E’s $2.2 billion project is eventually expected to see approximately 10 million Smart Meters installed across the state. About 5,300 electricity customers in Lompoc are set to get their new meters sometime in 2011.
Not all cities are quick to welcome the new technology. San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Fairfax, and Watsonville, for example, have issued moratoriums on Smart Meter installations until further studies on emissions and hazards are completed.
To respond to residents’ concerns about the new meters, PG&E hosted a question-and-answer session on Nov. 1 at Santa Maria City Hall. Another answer center will run from 5 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the Santa Maria Library.
Contact Staff Writer Matt Fountain at mfountain@santa mariasun.com
This article appears in Nov 18-25, 2010.
