Las Vegas Sun NewsFees OK’d for opting out of NV Energy smart meter program
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27 November 2012
2:25 p.m.
Hair loss, insomnia, birth defects, dead pets and terrorist attacks.
These are some of many concerns Nevadans have had about NV Energy’s new electronic “smart meters,” which transmit power-usage data from a home or business directly to the utility.
The fears are largely unproven, but there is at least one confirmed side effect of not having a smart meter: It will thin your wallet.
The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada on Tuesday approved NV Energy's plans to charge Southern Nevada customers an estimated $98.75 as a one-time fee and, over a four-year trial period, $8.14 per month if they want an alternative meter that can only be read on-site.
Northern Nevada electric customers who shun smart meters would pay an estimated $107.66 upfront and $8.04 per month during the trial period.
The commission approved the measure 2-1.
Commissioner Rebecca Wagner dissented, saying there wasn’t enough information on the reasons for discarding the old analog meters.
Before the vote, Chairman Alaina Burtenshaw said the analog issue also troubled her, and she pointed out that interested parties can seek more hearings.
During nearly three hours of overwhelmingly critical public comments Tuesday, people in Las Vegas and Carson City told the commission they want to keep analog meters, alleging smart meters pose serious health risks.
They also said they should not have to pay to bypass a system they didn’t want in the first place.
“Please, do the right thing for once,” Biruta Nelson, a 70-year-old Summerlin resident, told the commission before the vote.
Las Vegas-based NV Energy, which serves about 90 percent of Nevada’s population, plans to replace all 1.35 million of its analog meters with digital ones. Some 1.22 million smart meters have been installed statewide, including roughly 849,000 in Southern Nevada, the company says.
If these and other customers do not want a smart meter, NV Energy would install a digital one that cannot send out data.
NV Energy officials have said in regulatory filings that the opt-out charges reflect the costs — including labor, supplies and customer support — of providing the “non-standard” option. Some 9,000 customers statewide do not want smart meters, according to the utility.
It will cost about $301 million to replace the analog meters, with almost $140 million of that tab covered by a U.S. Department of Energy grant program.
Utilities across the country began replacing old-style electricity meters about seven years ago as part of an effort to better manage the demand on strained power grids. Supporters say the new meters’ data feeds can help prevent grid overloads and cut utility companies’ operating costs, as there would be fewer technicians driving around reading meters in person.
The Federal Communications Commission has rated smart meters as safe, saying they are considered unlikely to cause bodily tissue heating or electric shock. But critics have cited an Energy Department report that said many companies had not done enough to protect smart meters from hackers.
Additionally, a branch of the World Health Organization last year called radio-frequency radiation from cellphones, utility meters and other devices a “possible carcinogen.”
In Nevada, residents have voiced a range of health, privacy and quality concerns.
They alleged smart meters can cause fertility problems, DNA damage and brain-wave alteration, saying people in other states have complained of migraines, depression, anxiety, uncontrollable sweating, heart palpitations and mental confusion, according to a March report from the Public Utilities Commission.
What’s more, they alleged smart meters can monitor a person’s behaviors and activities, and that terrorists could hack in and shut off the power to a large region.
In the report, PUC staff did not say whether the health concerns were valid. But NV Energy dismissed those fears, saying partly that anecdotal health reports and complaints “are notoriously unreliable for establishing cause-and-effect relationships.”
The commission said NV Energy has taken “all reasonable measures” to protect customers from privacy and security breaches, but “no system is totally safe.”
Software must be continually upgraded to prevent hackers from installing viruses or obtaining personal data, though NV Energy has addressed these concerns, the commission says.
Nevadans have also complained that smart meters may not be as accurate as analog and would actually increase their power bills. By early March, there were 60 high-bill complaints among the nearly 600,000 smart meters installed at that point. The purportedly troubled meters were all tested and “proven to be accurate,” the commission has said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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I will pay the extra and opt out. Not for fear of "health" reasons, I think the meters are perfectly safe, but because I don't want NV Energy to be more of a "Big Brother" than it already is.
Works for me. If people want to spend the money and not have the meter let them. I've had zero problems and couldn't care less that NV energy knows more about my power usage. They already knew how much I used and so now they know my peak usage times. Big deal. As far as heath concerns - I hope these people who are so worried are also getting rid of their TV, computers and microwaves.
Just who ARE these people who comprise the PUC??? These people seem to NEVER be able to say NO whenever NV Energy asks for MORE MONEY for ANY REASON whatsoever! I am really curious who these people are and WHY they are SO WILLING to CONSTANTLY say YES every time NV Energy wants more money from us. Do these people get their electricity for free or what?? Makes a person wonder, that's for sure.
" I don't want NV Energy to be more of a "Big Brother" than it already is."
They haven't installed cameras in your house. It's an electric usage meter. Who gives a crap?!?!?
I give a crap because eventually if they deem you are using more than your "fair share" I can see them turning it off when the "deem" necessary.
"Supporters say the new meters' data feeds can help prevent grid overloads and cut utility companies' operating costs, as there would be fewer technicians driving around reading meters in person."
Does anyone actually believe this will lead to lower rates?
The switch to a smart meter has resulted in lower usage readings for me. Happy to have it. And, if you are using the internet, you already have given up on the idea of privacy, anyway.
The electric company does not have any thoughts about "fair share" on the amount of electric you use. You will just pay for all you use. The more you use the happier they are, more money for them.
Seems your tin hat is a bit tight on this one.
Been called a lot of things before but never a tin hat guy. Anyway, NV Energy is now GIVING away free "smart t-stats" to go with the smart meters. I'm not sure, but I believe they will have the ability to control your thermostat from their office.
If so, thats why I don't want it.
Years ago, 20+ you could get a control set so the power company could control your AC. They still have that if you want it I believe but it is nothing new.
Need to keep up on current technology if you want to make decisions about it.
One cost savings to NV Energy, which I did not see addressed at all, is allowing people who use a non-transmitting digital meter to log into their account with NV Energy and enter in their digital meter reading say the 1st of every month and that way NV Energy would only have to send a company meter reader out once a year or when a consumer is preparing to terminate service such as a move. This would greatly reduce man-hours and save on vehicle wear-n-tear. It would also be a way of avoiding the additional fee that NV Energy wants to charge for meter reading.
Comment: I have not seen any studies or reports that show a non-transmitting digital meter is any more or less accurate than our current analog meter. Why can't we keep our current analog meters?
NV Energy received a $138 million DOE grant using our tax payer dollars.
That is essentially a $138 million free money/profit as these are funds NV Energy did not have to invest in the smart meter program.
Why can't part of that profit be returned to the consumer in the form of NO CHARGE non-transmitting meters? A smart meter was already slated for our property and a non-transmitting digital meter costs less than a smart meter...so I am at a loss as to how NV Energy is out any money if someone opts-out since we already gave them $138 million of free money.
Example a smart meter may cost $200 and a non-transmitting digital meter may cost $100. So if NV Energy is saving $100 est., how are they losing money where we have to pay nearly $100 to get the digital non-transmitting meter?
I would recommend that if a medical doctor/physician (MD or DO) specializing in the field of neurology (or related field) issues a health certificate indicating that a non-transmitting meter is medically necessary due to neurological RF sensitivity that all costs/fees be waived. It is not that they want a non-transmitting meter, it is that they medically require one and cannot not be penalized (with fees) due to a medical condition.
Source: American With Disabilities Act Office, US Dept of Justice 800-514-0301 Opt 7.