CPUC selects ‘smart meter’ investigator

SACRAMENTO
March 31, 2010 12:03am     

•  Picks Texas consulting company
•  ‘The public will be watching’

Are sharp spikes in Central Valley electric bills due to some problem with recently installed “smart meters” or for more mundane reasons? Now an independent investigator is supposed to find out.

State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, one of the most vocal critics of the meters being installed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., says he will take a wait-and-see approach to the decision by the California Public Utilities Commission to pick the independent evaluator. Getting the job is a company called The Structure Group of Houston, Texas.

“I believe that transparency throughout the entire evaluation process will be one of the key components to consumer confidence in PG&E’s smart meter program, and not to mention the PUC’s commitment to ensuring that the system works. Any hint that information was concealed, or if customers’ complaints are overlooked during this evaluation, then I would argue that the PUC’s efforts were wasted,” says Mr. Florez, who was recently named chairman of the newly formed Select Committee on the Smart Grid.

“Structure officials should know that the public will be watching and that a public hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Smart Grid will be forthcoming,” says Mr. Florez. “I’ve said it from day one, simply interviewing customers will not be enough. Structure officials will need to conduct a forensic analysis of individual homes to show what really happened at these locations that resulted in bills doubling and tripling.”

Mr. Florez has held several hearings into Valley residents’ concerns about the new digital meters, which many feel are responsible for dramatic spikes in utility bills. Some of those who testified indicated their bills tripled – or worse – even after installing energy-saving appliances or while their homes were vacant.

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=14771