By B.N. Frank
People worldwide DO NOT WANT “Smart” Meters – electric, gas, and water (see 1, 2). Tens of millions have been installed and millions more are planned despite all their problems – electrical issues, fires, explosions, measurement errors, serious cybersecurity risks (see 1, 2), and much more.
Customer rates are usually increased for their installation (see 1, 2) and frequent replacement (see 1, 2, 3). They DO NOT save meaningful amounts of energy.
Some Americans still aren’t allowed to opt-out of these horrible meters. Pennsylvania residents went to court and recently won the right to refuse them. That hasn’t deterred PECO from offering “Time of Use” rates for customers who still have them.
From The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Peco plans hourly rates to encourage customers to shift energy use to off-peak periods
Peco next year will start selling electricity to residents at cheaper rates at nonpeak hours, such as overnight, in a change that could cut bills for customers who are smart about when they use power, like the owners of electric cars who charge them after midnight.
The shift away from the current system, under which rates are the same around the clock, was approved Thursday by Pennsylvania regulators. It would also be an option for operators of shops and other commercial businesses.
While utilities have supplied variable pricing to commercial and industrial customers for many years, residential customers have not warmly embraced the option when it was offered in pilot programs.
Peco’s plan calls for three price tiers. The highest prices would be charged during peak hours, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The lowest prices would be available during “super off-peak” from midnight till 6 a.m. every day. A middle rate would apply in the mornings and evenings.
Peco has not yet worked out exactly what to charge for the various tiers. The rates will go into effect in September 2021, and Peco will host a “collaborative meeting” four months before that to let people comment on its outreach plans.
Peco said the new policy was designed to comply with a sweeping 2008 energy efficiency law, known as Act 129, that mandated that large electricity utilities adopt conservation plans and install smart meters.
Despite all the problems, utility companies continue to install and promote “Smart” Meters because they are VERY PROFITABLE. Unlike original analog meters, they are 2-way transmitting. This allows utilities to collect minute-by-minute customer usage data 24/7. Utilities collect and analyze this data so they can market more products and services to customers and/or sell data to 3rd parties.
Activist Post Recommended Book: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
These meters also allow them to remotely turn off services as well as ration energy. Because these meters are 2-way transmitting, they emit high levels of harmful electromagnetic radiation that can make people and animals sick (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Documentary Take Back Your Power reveals more details about “Smart” Meters and Grids. Offering customers TOU rates isn’t likely to fix any of this.
Activist Post reports regularly about “Smart” Meters and other unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives and the following websites:
- Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
- EMF Safety Network
- StopSmartMeters.org
- SmartMeterHarm
- Smart Grid Awareness
- Smart Meter News
- Take Back Your Power
- The People’s Initiative
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