ENERGY: SDG&E and SoCal Edison customers can get smart meter removed

By ERIC WOLFF ewolff@nctimes.com | Posted: Thursday, April 19, 2012 2:00 pm

Customers of San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison may get rid of their computerized smart meters thanks to an approval from the California Public Utilities Commission Thursday.

Under an initial program approved by the commission, customers who want to get rid of their meters will pay a fee of $75 plus a $10 monthly charge. Low-income customers pay $10 to have the meters removed and $5 a month. The monthly charge pays for sending meter readers to individual houses, the utilities said. The commission will take a second look at the costs of removing smart meters later this summer.

"Meter technology worldwide is transitioning from analog to digital technology, but our customers come first," Erwin Furukawa, senior vice president of customer service at Edison, said in a written statement.

Utilities began installing smart meters in 2008, with regulator approval, and by 2010 nearly every residence in North San Diego and Southwest Riverside counties had one installed. The utilities say the computerized meters allow them to more accurately measure electricity usage and to send that data wirelessly from houses. But customer complaints drove the commission to start proceedings for a program that would let customers get their analog meters back, for a fee.

Opponents of the smart meters said the program is a start, but not enough.

"It is an incomplete plan which will help reduce some of the exposure to radiation and it will help some of the people who are concerned about privacy issues and personal security issues," said Susan Brinchman, who runs the grass-roots Center for Electrosmog Prevention in La Mesa. "We would like to see a no cost analog opt-out, so that everyone who wants to can opt-out."

SoCal Edison's opt-out program will be up and running on May 9, and customers who wish to have their meters replaced with traditional rotary meters can call 1-800-810-2369, Edison spokesman David Song said in an email.

SDG&E is still working out the details of their removal program.

The commission will take a longer look at the costs of the removing smart meters and consider neighborhood-wide opt-outs starting in June.

Call staff writer Eric Wolff at 760-303-1927, follow him on Twitter at ericwolff, or find energy stories on Facebook at High Energy North County Times and The Californian - Media/News/Publishing - Escondido, CA | Facebook.

ENERGY: SDG&E and SoCal Edison customers can get smart meter removed