Duke Energy Indiana Court Ruling on Smart Meter Privacy Concerns, RF Radiation, and Opt-Out Fees

By B.N. Frank

Duke Energy has installed – and continues to install – utility AMI “Smart” Meters in 6 states. Customers in all 6 states have experienced and continue to experience all kinds of horrible problems with them. Over the years, many media sources – including Activist Post – have reported about Duke customers trying to get these meters off their homes and businesses. (See 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

This new court ruling is very good news for Indiana customers who DO NOT want Duke’s problematic meters and DO NOT want to be forced to pay unreasonably priced “opt-out” fees. Duke customers in other states have not been as fortunate.

From The Indiana Lawyer:

When Duke Energy filed a petition in July 2017 related to its deployment of smart meters, the key issue was a surcharge tacked on to homes that chose to opt out of the program. But bubbling below the surface were concerns over privacy.

Officials from the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor advised that the utility should be required to offer more information to consumers about data security, privacy, safety and health effects. Also, Danville attorney Robert Glennon and his wife, Janet, as part of Concerned Duke Energy Indiana Customers, echoed the apprehensions about the smart meters’ invasion of private residences, as well as the impact of their radio wave radiation on human beings.

A settlement was reached whereby Duke lowered the monthly opt-out fee and even eliminated it for customers who read their own meters.

“Nothing is more sacrosanct than the home in which you live. It’s where you go for rest, relaxation and recovery,” Robert Glennon told The Indiana Lawyer. “To the extent that new technology causes you distress, then you should have the right to say, ‘I do not want that new technology attached to my home.’

Duke customers have every right to be concerned about privacy issues with these meters as well as health effects from exposure. The company was recently fined for 127 cybersecurity violations – more than any other utility company.

Utility “Smart” Meters are problematic everywhere. There was a documentary produced about them in 2013 – Take Back Your Power – which was updated in 2017 and is free to watch online. Filmmaker, Josh del Sol, recently released more updates on a 2015 video about these meters as well.

Utility companies knew these meters were problematic years ago. They installed them anyway and continue to do so at customers’ expense.