Has your PG&E bill increased? If you're in California and no longer want a Smart Meter, call PG&E to get on the opt out list... and ask for an analog meter! 866.743.0263

sure and they charge you a monthly fee for a reader to come and read it plus you pay the service man's day to change you back. It's not FREE!!! I kinda like not having a reader come on my property ever month. And my bill never changed, I was waiting for a increase but it never happened thank God!!

The fee to have it changed out is $75, which used to be $280... but some of the public went to protest meetings to get it lowered. The meetings will continue to also get the $75 fee waived, as well as the $10 per month for a meter reader. We've had appliances short out, and our bill has doubled. Worth it for us to have the analog meter back!

I hate to suggest it, but an increase in PG&E bills might just be a result of the meter reading accurately. For example, three family units on a single meter in Olivehurst saw their bill tripled when the new meter was put in. When compared to average bills of comparable family units it was determined that the old meter was not reading right. Not saying everyone is like that but as a PG&E customer, I don't want to be paying for other peoples bad meters. I agree that if the new meter increases the cost without justification, dump it. But if it makes someone pay what they should have been paying, I'm all for it.

Our bill has stayed pretty much the same, in fact one month we had a $25.00 decrease!! Plus I always worried about my dogs harassing the meter reader. As long as there are no health issues then we are for it.

Health Complaints -
http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?page_id=2292

Thanks "chevy" I'll check this link out.

I've had them on my house for a year now..........when comparing my use and costs month by month, I saw no change.......and if I don't have to pay a monthly fee for a meter reader to come out, then that is money in my pocket.

Here's another option to cut your PG&E ties a little.

http://www.sunrunhome.com/landing-pages/landing-page-upgrade-solar-video?_kk=SunRun&_kt=f8f65ada-9a6e-46d3-ac62-608e9bae19e6&gclid=CJT28q7Klq4CFRJThwodhw_8Hw

I am having Solar installed from this company in a couple weeks. I'll update everyone as I progress.

Mine was never changed out. I opt'd out before they ever could change it. So I have always been analog. There is no fee either for them to come out. That whole fee idea is BS. If they don't have to have a crew to check meters anymore then they can lower the rates for everyone else. All a scam.

They claim the analog meters don't read as accurate as the digital and some people saw increases. If that's the case it's PGEs fault and they need to lower their rates to reflect not soak up all the extra revenue.

Let me know how the solar goes Rog.

btward79--just an fyi that I received a letter via certified mail yesterday from PG&E giving me the opportunity to "opt-out" from the SmartMeter Program with the following additional fees: initial $75 setup charge (even though I never had a SmartMeter to begin with and it was reported by the media that that was the fee to change back to analog) PLUS $10 monthly meter-reading charge.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has received such a notice.

Raenglehart--please let us know how the solar works out. My neighbor paid over $50,000 to have his installed a few years ago and I just don't have that kind of upfront money.

Wingnut1991...........me either my friend.......I am hoping this fairly new company will work out. I will be sure to update as it moves along.

I have had smart meter installed and we still have a meter reader come out every month to read the smart meter. Go figure

they still read our smart meter for a while after installation, but they have not been out in months now. we had no increase in monthly bill either. So far the smart meter works well for us

I have recently seen a huge increase in my "use" as in double what i normally use. It even went higher when I wasnt even home!! I have checked everything, and I am still using everything I did last year, and still the bill is ridiculous. AND, the meter reader still comes out. This has only been a problem for a couple of months for me.

Wish I knew I could opt out before they changed it.  Ours is about 3 times what it was before.  Hate it.

 

I got the same Certified Letter although I never allowed them to install the Smart Meter it looks like I will have to pay the 75.00 fee.  I am not worried about the Smart Meter for the same reasons as most of you, I am afraid of fire.  They came and installed a Smart Meter on our rental house on our ranch and a few weeks later it caught fire.  It completely destroyed the panel, wire and pole.  Thankfully the renter was home and got the fire out before it caused any more damage.  I called PG&E and they sent out a service guy who said the Smart Meter was in fact installed wrong and it was the cause of the fire.  I paid an electrician 1400.00 to replace the pole, panel and all the wireing.  PG&E told me to send the bill to them as it was apparent the Smart Meter caused the fire.  When I sent the bill I got a letter back saying they would only pay a portion of the bill as the panel, pole and wire were installed years ago. blah, blah, blah.

 

I blew a cork and fought like hell and finally got them to pay most of the bill.  I had the electrician write a letter stating the pole would have lasted several more years and the panel and wiring would have lasted who knows how long.  The problem I have is I don't trust the Smart Meter and my panel is atached to my house.  Both my husband and I work and if the meter catches fire my house will be burned to the ground before anyone notices.

 

I am going to try to fight the 75.00 fee as nothing has changed and I shouldn't have to pay for the re-install since I never had the old meter taken off, but will probably lose and pay the fee.  Until someone can promise me the Smart Meter will not catch fire, I don't want the darn thing on my house. 

Is there anyone out there having a problem with a humming/pulsating noise from the smart meter or it going thru your home. I am having problems 24/7 with this going thru my bedroom now it's in the front room. Can't sleep for the noise and vibes from it. Have had PG&E and AT&T out they can't find no noise or anything disturbing. thanks for any help or suggestions may need a professional come in to check this out. jp

Have watched our smart meter closely and it knows when I am looking at it and slows down to the proper speed to make me think it is correct. But when I turn my back it speeds up I just know it! HaHaHa!

Yeah I have noticed that my refrigerator started humming and rattling more, but after investigating we found it was working harder trying to keep all those beer bottles cold so we just started drinking more, so now the bottles won't rattle anymore.

Decoupling

Hi All, Why don't we consider starting our own electric utility here in Yuba County? We own the bullards bar power generation plant as of 2016. We should at least negotiate lower rates for our citizens as part of any deal to sell power to PG&E. Anyone interested in looking in to this? Should we consider a ballot measure?

Michael Paul

In case you missed it in Tuesday's newspaper, there was an application filing posted by PG&E for "2012 Rate Design Window" which proposes to adjust the baseline quantities for all customers and to modify the minimumbill charge. In addition, they are proposing changes in the Smart Rate program for residential customers. They state some customers will see bill increases while others will see bill decreases, depending on whether they are basic or all-electric customers and the climate zone they live in.

https://www.pge.com/regulation/RateDesignWindow2012/Testimony/PGE/2012/RateDesignWindow2012_Test_PGE_20120229_230077.pdf

 

 

This links to PG&E filing of Feb 29,2012.

 

87 pages. Read it yourself or wait for the condensed version.

 

Or anticipate the reaction?

 

My guess? Mere mortals will not read it. They don't even read the bills they get now, let alone understand the bill they get now.

 

Third party billing?

Decoupling?

Say something to me in algebra.

this is for DickBoyd first what is Decoupling; second PG&E filing of Feb 12, 2012 is invalid unles you log in.
jp

I have kept records on our usage from the time we moved here 10+ years ago. About 2 years ago I noticed my usage started to go down, not much on a month to month basis but down. As far as I know the analog meter has been on the house from 1972 when the house was built and it seemed to be wearing out. With the installation of the digital meter our usage went back to what it had been before the meter started to slow. The bills were higher because the rates went up over time. The higher rates made it so I justified having a solar installation completed last June. We bought our system but there are others out there that say there is no out of pocket to the homeowner. Given how our bill has gone down, I would suggest that anyone who is tired of paying PG&E should look into it ASAP

I would love solar system but it wouldn't work for me I don't use much electricity now.

jp I also have a humming noise that drives me crazy. My smart meter is  10 feet out my bedroom door and the humming keeps me awake. It started after smart meter was installed. It sounds like a power source is always on, or that noise a flourecent bulb makes right before it burns out. I thought I was hearing things but my kids hear it also.    

jp I also have a humming noise that drives me crazy. My smart meter is  10 feet out my bedroom door and the humming keeps me awake. It started after smart meter was installed. It sounds like a power source is always on, or that noise a flourecent bulb makes right before it burns out. I thought I was hearing things but my kids hear it also.    

After signing up for the opt-out program, our Smart Meter was removed and replaced with an analog meter. We now no longer hear the humming noise, our motion lights have stopped flashing and appliances are working correctly again.

I had my smart meter removed for about an hour to see if the problem was with it. It was proved it was not so I googled radio frequency (RF) and Tinnitus. I was amazed at all the things that go on with Tinnitus. The humming and pulsating ringing in the ears. Try it it is worth a try.

JP: Have you been to an ear doctor? The RFs and radiation that come from the Smart Meter can cause Tinnitus. It could take a month or longer to notice improvement with symptoms once your Smart Meter is removed, since it can damage your ear drums. Did you get a chance to read the health complaints from the link I posted above?