Digital electric meter causes headaches for homeowners

We live in the electronic age, that’s for sure. I know that my residential water company drives by my home and “reads” my water meter by radio as it passes by. I think the bills have been accurate. But,

“Sgt. John Robertson 2nd, an Army mechanic at Texas’s Fort Hood, is fuming about the so-called smart electric meter his local utility has installed on the side of his tidy, 1,800-square-foot home.”

“Like thousands of consumers with the new meters around the country, Sergeant Robertson suspects the device is not as smart as advertised.

“In his case, he says it is inaccurately measuring his family’s power use and driving up his bills — some months by as much as 50 percent, to as high as $320 — since it was installed in December. This, he said, is despite his efforts to cut back on energy use. “

But the system seems to plagued with errors.

“Over the last year, as utilities around the country have installed an estimated two million of the new digital meters, power companies have received plenty of complaints — and in some states have been hit by class-action lawsuits — most of them from consumers saying the smart meters are overstating their electrical usage.”

“Using digital technology and computer networking, smart meters can transmit real-time data that is supposed to enable utilities to conserve electricity and better allocate power during parts of the day when overall demand is high. Utilities can also then vary the price for power, by time of day or time of year, based on when it is being used; some are already offering this option to customers.”

In theory, consumers are supposed to be better able to adjust their electric use. Operative word being theory.

“But because of faulty technology in some cases, and more often through general shortcomings in consumer education and customer-service support by many utilities, smart meters are leaving many customers dumbfounded.”

So, the regulators are taking a closer look, and lawsuits have started. And there’s a lot of money at stake in operating savings for utility companies if the system works correctly.

Read the full report from the New York Times.

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