Customers Ask for Independent Investigation After New Smart Meters Cause Spike in Power Bills

By B.N. Frank

Utility “Smart” Meters – electric, gas, and water – are expensive, unnecessary, and plagued with problems, including measurement errors (see 1, 2, 3), which has sometimes led to the re-hiring of meter readers. A 2017 Dutch study found that “Smart” Meter readings can be inaccurate between 30% and 582% (see 1, 2). Research has determined that they DO NOT SAVE meaningful amounts of energy either.

Utilities companies usually won’t admit any of this though. Instead, they’ll insist that “Smart” Meters are more accurate than traditional analog meters and customers had been underpaying for years. Traditional meters actually lasted on average 40 years, whereas customer rates are often increased for “Smart” Meter installation AND their frequent replacement (see 1, 2, 3, 4). Research has also determined that low-income Americans may pay more for “Smart” Meters. Now Louisiana customers are complaining about their skyrocketing bills.

From WBRZ:

Oversight board wants independent investigation into Entergy’s new meters, surging power bills

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s Public Service Commission is asking for a third-party investigation into Entergy’s new smart meters after customers reported pricey spikes in their electricity bills.

The commission’s call for an independent investigator comes as Entergy is still conducting its own investigation into the meters. Last month, the oversight board asked for Entergy to look into the devices after some customers reported their bills doubled.

“We have asked Entergy to give us a report, and then we’re going to scrutinize that report,” Commissioner Dr. Craig Greene said in January. “We just want to do the math and see if there’s any problems. Or does it make sense?”

About a month ago, 2 On Your Side spoke to Entergy customers in multiple parishes who said their bills spiked after having the new smart meters installed.

Entergy has said the advanced meters would offer improved customer service thanks to better insight into each household’s energy usage, better detection of outages, and faster connection and disconnection of service.

The company previously said it couldn’t offer explanations for changes in each customer’s bill without looking at the different factors for each household. The company also suggested that some older meters may have become less accurate over time and were potentially reading under the actual usage.

American utility companies received BILLIONS in federal stimulus to install “Smart” Grids and “Meters”. Approximately 57% of Americans already have them and utilities plan to install more because these meters are extremely profitable. “Smart” Meters are 2-way wireless transmitting which allows utilities to collect minute-by-minute customer usage data which they can analyze in order to market more products and services to customers as well as sell to 3^rd parties (see 1, 2). Utilities may also remotely turn off services and ration customer usage.

Other problems associated with “Smart” Meters include fires, explosions, malfunctioning and broken appliances, catastrophic cybersecurity risks (see 1, 2), AND MORE. The 2-way wireless transmitting feature creates high levels of harmful electromagnetic radiation (see 1, 2, 3, 4). This has led to numerous reports over many years about health issues in people and animals after “Smart” Meters have been installed (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Before Trump left office, additional federal legislation was passed to address cybersecurity vulnerability.

Activist Post Recommended Book: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Many legislators have taken action against “Smart” Meters for various reasons (see 1, 2, 3). Some utilities now allow customers to “opt out” because of the complaints and lawsuits.

More awful details about “Smart” Grids and Meters are exposed in free online documentary, Take Back Your Power. Opposition to these meters is worldwide.

Activist Post reports regularly about “Smart” Meters and other unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives and the following websites: