details from a story in SF Chronicle pages D1 & D5, 5/6/11
 
Back in The Day....public utilities were public!
Utility means "useful" and public utility, well
that should be useful to the public, not stockholders
first, and public last.
 
Anyway, seems that PG&E gets a $1.9 Billion rate
increase over next 3 years, and our rates go up in
January 2012. I recall the cost of putting in 16 million
SmartMeters was just about $2 Billion. Hummmm.

Apparently, since the Public Utilities Commission
came up with the Green flavored SmartMeter idea
on its own, and forced PG&E to take out the old
DumbMeters, and now WE get to pay for both of them.

The DumbMeters can last up to 18 years, but
Green is Green, and PG&E stockholders, didn't want
to be caugh hold the bag on the switchover, so we do.

So where are the old DumbMeters now? Did they sell
them to some NotSoSmart DumbCounty or
DumbCountry somewhere?

GOOD NEWS:  There's a consumer rights group called
   The Utility Reform Network, so that will be homework
   on the nightshift tomorrow.
                                                 Lights Out!

                                                 

nightshift, we consumers get "screwed" coming as well as going. I used to think the dollar stopped with us. Evidently NOT these days. I lived in another world when I thought that. No matter how we conserve today, we always have to take the hit!

Smart Day/Smart Rate

Smart Rate is what PG&E calls their program to reduce electrical use in peak times.

If you can turn things off between 2 PM and 7 PM on the days which PG&E calls Smart Days, PG&E offers about $0.03 (three cents) per kilowatthour price reduction (the carrot) for all the power you use at times other than the Smart Times..

PG&E offers several ways to notify you in advance of smart days.

There will be a maximum of 15 smart days (75 hours out of 2853) during the time Smart Days is in effect. June 1 to Sept 30.

The downside is that if you use more, rather than less electricity, during the Smart Time hours, the rate goes to sixty cents per kilowatthour. ($0.60 per KWhr, the stick).

This is the first year of the program. As an incentive to get people to try Smart Days, PG&E offers a refund if your bill under Smart days is greater than regular billing.

Call 866-PG&E-0263  (866-743-0263) for details.

DickBoyd@aol.com

I just want to know what happened to the idea that monopolies were illegal? If I am willing to live in a cave with no light or heat then I can quit paying PG&E. It's not a matter of stock payers, utility commissions, old meters new meters or even smart days (if there is such a thing) but more if you want to be comfortable then you WILL deal with me and that ends that discussion.

oleguy, monopolies are not illegal.

One of the functions of government is incorporation. Incorporation means the creation of an entity with certain rights. Such as doing business as, or licensing to practice medicine, or engineering, or teaching, or law, or phone service, certain patents and copyrights. Certain municipal and government functions have inherent monopoly rights. Building and maintaining roads, sewers, electical power, water delivery, police and arrest powers, tax collection to name a few.

Our definitions of monopoly may be different.

The monopoly is granted in some areas to ensure consistent delivery of service. To serve and protect the customers, government regulates the corporate bodies that have monopoly rights. But then the regulations are removed under the premise that government is evil. Early experience allowing competition in the inherently monopoly areas resulted in chaos. No standards, no interface, cutthroat competion which ruined both the incumbent and the wannabe. Recently, the Judge Green ruling on telephone deregulation resulted in higher prices and the destruction of the phone company research arms.

nightshift, the numbers you quote suggest that smart meters cost $125. That sounds about right. $40 per meter, $85 for installation labor. Compare that to the cost of meter reading with the previous meters. Me estimates are about $8 per month rural, $1 per month urban. Pay back in about eighteen months rural, ten years urban. Smart meter of conventional meter, either one, the customer pays for the meter.

There are nine additional charges that PG&E can collect on a bill. These charges are the price that PG&E pays for the monopoly rights. The charges which PG&E passes on to its customers.

Look at your electical bill. I am on Rate Schedule E1 Residential Service. Before I draw the first ampere, before I consume the first Kilo Watt-hour, I am billed $28.08 for 29 days service. The $28.08 pays for five of the nine items.

Ranked by dollar value:

Item one. Pulic Purpose Programs. The non-by passable charge that funds state-mandated assistance programs for low-income customers and energy-efficiency programs. $12.44

Item two. CTC. Competition Transition Charges.The cost of purchased power agreements, signed prior to December 20, 1995, in excess  of a CPUC approved proxy of the market price of electricity as well as a portion of electic industry restructuring implementation costs as authorized by the CPUC. $7.16

Item three. DWR. Departmetn of Water Resources Bond Charges. The charge that recovers the cost of bonds issued to finance a portion of the historic cost of power purchased by California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and do not belong to PG&E. $4.11

Item 4. Energy Cost Recovery Amount. These charges are apporved by the CPUC and authorized by California Public Utilities Code Section 848 et. seq. The purpose of these charges is to pay the prindipal, interest, and other costs associated with Energy REcovery Bonds (Bonds) that were issued by a Special Purpose Entity (SPE)...the description goes on, if you are interested, look at page two of your bill for a complete description. $3.84

Item 5 Nuclear Decomissioning. The non-by passable charge that collects collects the funds required for site restoration when PG&E's nuclear powere plants are removed from service. $0.58

These five items represent 17% of my bill of $139 for 813 Kwh. Why so much? I live on a hill. Water pumped from the well is the tall pole in the tent for me.

There are four additional charges which are allowed but do not show on my bill. I suppose that is because some of the charges apply to other rate schedules.

I hear a lot of people saying they pay about $40 per month for electicity. I assume they are paying the same 17% per month for the five fixed items, $7 per month and 83% for the actual electricity, $33.

This is about 330 Kilo Watt-hours of consumption (11 Kwh per day). Tier one for summer rates at $0.12233 per Kilo Watt-hour for the first 16.5 Kwh per day.

The smart day rate might save about $10 per month unless you exceeded the use during a smart time. Then it costs you an arm and a leg.

Not enough carrot, too much stick.

Compare your useage, please.

More info on 'smart' meters-
http://rense.com/general95/mresmm.html

This is esp. good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JNFr_j6kdI

We used less energy last year than the year before and paid thirty percent more on our electric and gas combined.

 

 My uncle had his whole house refitted to be more efficient and save energy. The same thing happened to him. He used less and payed more.

Show on C2C tonight is on smartmeters for anyone who can't sleep- and it may be yours or your neighbor's smartmeter keeping you awake-

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2012/02/29

YAY ")))))))
We just got rid of all of ours !
Had to pay to do it and I'm holding out for a class action suit or some such to get that cash back but at least we're not being attacked 24/7 with the damn things at such close range any more. Still not sure how far away one's neighbor's SM has to be away to be free from them though they do transmit data to each other- SPAWN OF THE BORG- They are!!!

some reasons why you may not want one- but then maybe you don't care

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=235666