Power company showed up and changed out the meter to a "smart" meter. I can opt out for 20 dollars extra monthly. Any feedback on these ? Some sites claiming all kinds of negative health effects

I would be skeptical of health issues.

Not sure but I think smart meters enable them to more easily implement TOU rate plans. If so, may be a good or bad thing depending on your situation.

Why would you pay to not have one? All they do is send your monthly electric use data over the air to the power company so that they don't have to have a meter reader come out each month now. If anything your bill will be more accurate and no more of these "estimated" readings like they used to do around here.

Power company gets some significant savings in labor. Some systems permit a quick drive by others can be read some distance away. They are more accurate than Gomer the meter reader.

quote:

I can opt out for 20 dollars extra monthly.

WTF????

Yeah, they're gonna charge you for making a special trip out to your house, reading the meter, and delivering the read back to the office.

Depending on what system the electric company installed, the meter can also report a power outage, and notify the company when power is restored. Really nice if you happen to be on vacation.

A lot of folks in Texas didn’t realize they had somehow ended up with an electric plan that when the temperatures are very high or low the electric company can throttle your feed and cut your a/c way back when it is 110 outside because they have smart meters

It is a two-way meter and they can control it.

We think you are using too much power and we asked for a voluntary cutback on usage.

Not enough people volunteered so for you your smart meter is cut back anyway.

If they can determine that they say that you are using too much electricty and they "throttle back" on what is available and equipment in your home or business is damaged then who is responsible for the repair or replacement cost due to damage because of "throttled back" service available.. And what about commercial accounts???? Will they be subject to the same conditions................ drill sgt.

Define " throttle back " as it applies to this situation .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Define " throttle back " as it applies to this situation .

^^^^^ Limiting how much power allowed thru the meter causing the items trying to do work with less electricity causing equipment to overheat and possible failure.... ....... drill sgt.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Define " throttle back " as it applies to this situation .

^^^^^ Limiting how much power allowed thru the meter causing the items trying to do work with less electricity causing equipment to overheat and possible failure.... ....... drill sgt.

What are you talking about? No, a smart meter will do nothing of the sort.

Many models have the capability to cut your service (or restore after the meter cuts it) , but that's it, other than reading your usage.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Define " throttle back " as it applies to this situation .

^^^^^ Limiting how much power allowed thru the meter causing the items trying to do work with less electricity causing equipment to overheat and possible failure.... ....... drill sgt.

Yeah , that ain't happening .

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
Some sites claiming all kinds of negative health effects

What sites? and what negative health effects?

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
Some sites claiming all kinds of negative health effects

What sites? and what negative health effects?

Various cancers, infertility, palpitations, headaches, tinnitus, etc.... The claims are that the RF radiation they put out is so extreme that we're all going to die.

I have an RF detector/meter and mine (in a rural area where one would think it would need a strong signal to get out) barely even registers. Additionally, I pick no RF noise from it on my Ham antenna.

It's a non-issue. You're more likely to die from contrails.

They are not cutting power capacity with a meter.

I see no issues with health by having one installed.

I remember when C-band (big 8-12') satellite tv dishes come out, they were going to make you sterile, cause cancer, etc... yeah, ok.

I like it.
They know instantly if you have an outage and you can look at a map and see the outages, number of affected and where… and number restored so far, all in real time. No more wondering if it is just you out or thousands! When they first installed it they erected a new taller pole at the corner of my lot with an antenna on it to transmit the data in for the area.

My only beef is they left ruts in my yard when setting the new pole.

Don’t know about elsewhere, but APS can, in fact, shut down power to your house if you stupidly signed up to get a few dollars off a month in exchange for letting them do that, and it is done by the so called smart meters.

Many new appliances (Heat Pumps, Water Heaters, Washer/Dryers) have the ability to hook up to these "smart Meters" and if you sign up for the "discount" the Power Company can selectively shut off these devices or override your commands to suit the grid needs.

Maine switched to these meters a while back. Luckily we don't have the big push to hook up our device controls, though the web sites mention the "benefits" it could provide.

One feature I do like is being able to see the breakdown of energy usage, seeing the difference a longer shower takes, or how much is being spent compared to the average outside temps for better heating awareness... We've made some minor changes that have cut out bill 10-15% since monitoring it closer.