Green Building Law Blog : Green Building Lawyer & Attorney : Shari Shapiro: Calliope Communications, LLC

Despite the promise of $200 million Smart Grid stimulus grant to BG&E in 2009 from the Department of Energy, according to BuildingGreen.com:

The Public Service Commission of Maryland rejected implementation of “smart grid” metering proposed by Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) in June 2010. The commission based the rejection on fears of rate increases and tiered pricing that would increase costs for consumers.

Other people have sued utilities in California and Texas over perceived issues with Smart Metering, notably the objectors said that they were being overcharged for their electrical usage.

Others suspect a more nefarious purpose for the smart meters.  The MasterResource Blog, which bills itself as a "A free-market energy blog" had this objection to the proposed Maryland smart meters:

And last but not least, smart meters are intrusive. Big Environmental Brother lurks behind each smart meter to tell you what to do and when to do it. Civil libertarians take note of this government-dependent machine.

 Are the concerns over smart metering legitimate? Another argument can be made that smart meters are no different than the current electrical system.  With standard meters, electricity is measured by electrical meters, and the electrical utility reads the meters, albeit in the form of a "meter maid". 

 Critics are especially concerned about smart meters' capacity to regulate usage depending on demand--higher prices when demand is high, lower prices when demand is lower, and to regulate the flow of electricity when demand exceeds supply.  But, it can be argued that the utilities do this already, albeit in a cruder form.  For example, when demand exceeds supply, there are brown- and black-outs.  This is simply restricting the flow of electricity on a broader scale. 

As for pricing, if demand exceeds supply, utilities raise electricity prices for everyone.  Rate caps prevent utilities from raising prices in some places, but can this legitimately be considered the "free market" regulating electricity prices? I think not.  It is the government regulating electricity prices.

It strikes me that smart metering is as close as you can get to free market allocation of electricity.  When demand is high, prices increase, when demand is low, prices decrease.  Individuals have the capacity to decrease their bills by using less of the constrained resource. 

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Earth2Tech ran two stories recently on backlash by customers against utility companies for unusually high electricity bills after smart meters were installed. 

In Bakersfield, California, a homeowner actually sued Pacific Gas and Electric on behalf of himself and a class of smart meter recipients:

The original plaintiff, Bakersfield resident Pete Flores, filed the suit after his electric bill tripled fro $200 to $600 a month — right after having a new smart meter installed in his home. Objecting that PG&E described the meter as a money-saving device, he decided to sue for fraudulent advertising, negligence and unjust enrichment

The complaint is available here.

The only evidence of the alleged fraudulent, negligent and unjust failure to accurtately measure Mr. Flores' electricity was an increase in his bills, with "no change in usage pattern on the part of Plantiff."  Complaint at 5.  Evidence of complaints of fellow class members comes from:

countless complaints on the internet, over 100 complaints to activist group TURN (The Utility Reform Network) and a special meeting led by State Assemblyman Dean Florez...

Complaint at 5.

After reading the Complaint, I have a few questions:

1.  What evidence is there that Mr. Flores did not change his usage patterns other than his electricity meter reading?

2. Is it possible, that, as compared to the meter maid stopping by and checking your traditional meter, a smart meter is actually accurately measuring electricity usage, and Mr. Flores was actually being poorly measured, BEFORE, not after the installation of smart meters? 

3. What is the misreading rate of meter maids? More than 100 complaints across the state of California for the same time period? 

Smart grid technology, and smart meters are grassroots level green building technologies which are likely to effect millions of homeowners nationwide.  It is likely that we will see more lawsuits like Mr. Flores'. 

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