SmartMeter reports to be made public by PG&E
Bakersfield Californian, The (CA) - Thursday, May 6, 2010
Author: JOHN COX, Californian staff writer jcox@bakersfield.com

The state Public Utilities Commission this week told Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to make public all past and future reports on its rollout of SmartMeters, the remote devices that have generated controversy in Bakersfield and elsewhere.

Under an order issued Tuesday by commission President Michael Peevey, PG&E has until Monday to release what has been, in some cases, private information provided to the commission's Energy Division and its Division of Ratepayer Advocates. The order calls on PG&E to make the reports available within two business days to anyone who requests them.

Among the information required in the documents are installation project status updates, progress reports and data on actual spending versus what had been called for in the project's budget.

Peevey wrote in the order that his intent was to "enhance the (c)ommission and the public's understanding of the (SmartMeter) project". He noted that the commission has contracted a study of the meters' accuracy and customer billing complaints; that study is expected to be complete in August.

A local PG&E representative said the company will comply with the order.

"We are working in the coming days to provide information that we have already provided to the CPUC in a way that is transparent while protecting confidential customer and vendor information," spokesman Denny Boyles said in an e-mail.

State Sen. Majority Leader Dean Florez , D-Shafter, who recently requested the action by the commission, thanked Peevey in a news release Wednesday. Florez called the order "a positive step toward restoring some semblance of public confidence in this long, drawn-out process."

PG&E began rolling out its SmartMeters in Bakersfield in 2006. Last summer Kern PG&E customers began to blame the devices for soaring electric bills, which the company blamed on other factors.

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