Smart Grid panel takes on PG&E bill “estimations”
Utility giant admits failure of Smart Meters to transmit data led to practice in question

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) will lead a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid on Monday in Sacramento, investigating the recent revelation that some utility customers are getting “estimated” bills due to a “Smart” Meter defect.  The panel will look into the cost to customers from this practice.

With a much-anticipated public hearing on the horizon, the first signs of Smart Meter testing were reported last week, as PG&E reattached old meters alongside digital Smart Meters on about 150 homes in Kern County to compare the energy usage reported.

The start of testing, repeatedly delayed since it was first promised in October, comes on the heels of an admission by utility giant PG&E that some of its new meters are defective and fail to transmit data, leading to estimated bills for its customers.

Florez has been holding public hearings on Smart Meter installation since reports of skyrocketing bills flooded the Valley last year.  Some residents there reported bills that had so much as tripled, even when their homes were vacant.

PG&E Corporation’s President and CEO, Peter Darbee, has declined another opportunity to represent his company publicly on the issue of Smart Meter technology.  The company will instead be sending a senior vice president who is the chief customer officer.

“As much as I believe PG&E customers will not have confidence in their utility until they hear solid answers from the top, we won’t be deterred from asking the hard questions and getting to the bottom of this debacle,” Florez said.  “As long as these meters continue to be bolted to homes without test results that say they are accurate, I will continue to fight to give consumers a voice in this process.”

Also participating in Monday’s hearing will be representatives of the California Public Utilities Commission, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Division of the Ratepayer Advocates.

Monday’s hearing will be held at 9 a.m. in Room 3191 of the California State Capitol.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** MEDIA ADVISORY *** MEDIA ADVISORY *** 

WHO:             Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter);
                     Chair, Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid
                     Utility Company Representatives and Ratepayer Advocates

WHAT:           Smart Meter Hearing – “Exploring Deficiencies in the Advanced Metering Infrastructure: The Use & Process of Bill Estimation and its Impact on Individual Ratepayers”

WHEN:           Monday, April 26, 2010; 9:00 a.m.

WHERE:         State Capitol, Room 3191; Sacramento, California

For your information, this morning’s Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid hearing on “Smart Meters” will air live on the Cal Channel. For your local listing visit: https://www.calchannel.com/channel/carriage/