Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Just what the opt-out option will be is still undecided, according to the Maryland Public Service Commission.
Marylanders less-than-thrilled at the thought of having smart meters in their homes might appreciate news from the Maryland Public Service Commission on Monday: The commission is requiring Pepco to give customers an alternative to smart meters—devices that send radio signals about a household’s electricity usage to Pepco. Just what that alternative will be is not yet settled, but the commission has narrowed the list down to two "opt-out" options: The commission will be holding proceedings to determine which alternative should go into effect, but in the meantime, Pepco customers who previously told the utility company that they did not want smart meters on their properties (this was allowed via an interim order from the commission in May…
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Just what the opt-out option will be is still undecided, according to the Maryland Public Service Commission.
Marylanders less-than-thrilled at the thought of having smart meters in their homes might appreciate news from the Maryland Public Service Commission on Monday: The commission is requiring Pepco to give customers an alternative to smart meters—devices that send radio signals about a household’s electricity usage to Pepco. Just what that alternative will be is not yet settled, but the commission has narrowed the list down to two "opt-out" options: The commission will be holding proceedings to determine which alternative should go into effect, but in the meantime, Pepco customers who previously told the utility company that they did not want smart meters on their properties (this was allowed via an interim order from the commission in May) "…
Friday, June 29, 2012
Some say meters are ingenious, others say they're dangerous, as 202 Pepco customers opt out of smart meters.
On June 11, Pepco said 70 customers had opted out of smart meters and by Tuesday, June 26, the number had grown to 202, according to Pepco. The number of Pepco customers in Maryland is 531,000, according to Pepco. "We think the low number of customers who want to opt out indicates the majority of our customers have looked at all the scientific data and found nothing to be alarmed about," Pepco stated in an email to Patch Monday night. More than 190 comments have been posted on Patch's initial article about customers who opted out of smart meters. Below are excerpts from what our readers had to say. Readers' Speak out on Smart Meter Pros and Cons "I think the smart meters will be a good idea for smart billing. Rates increase during high-…
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Some say meters are ingenious, others say they're dangerous, as 202 Pepco customers opt out of smart meters.
On June 11, Pepco said 70 customers had opted out of smart meters and by Tuesday, June 26, the number had grown to 202, according to Pepco. The number of Pepco customers in Maryland is 531,000, according to Pepco. "We think the low number of customers who want to opt out indicates the majority of our customers have looked at all the scientific data and found nothing to be alarmed about," Pepco stated in an email to Patch Monday night. More than 190 comments have been posted on Patch's initial article about customers who opted out of smart meters. Below are excerpts from what our readers had to say. Readers' Speak Out on Smart Meter Pros and Cons "I think the smart meters will be a good idea for smart billing. Rates increase during high-…
Monday, June 11, 2012
Pepco said customers opting out won't get a smart meter installed, and those who already have one installed, can get their old meter back.
As of Monday morning, 70 Pepco customers have submitted written requests to opt out of their smart meters, according to Myra Oppel, Pepco spokesperson. "If they already had their meters installed, we will go and switch out that meter," Oppel said, explaining that Pepco will put back in a traditional manual-read meter. Pepco will defer the installation of a smart meter once a written request is made to the company to keep the existing meter, according to Oppel. In addition to the 70 requests, Pepco has received phone calls about the smart meters, according to Oppel, who did not have the number of calls at press time. Pepco's actions are temporary, pending a final decision on opt-outs by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC). On May …
Friday, May 25, 2012
Marylanders may request that utility companies defer installing smart meters in their homes or businesses, pending a decision by the PSC on whether customers will be able to opt out of receiving the smart meters.
In a small score for those against the installation of smart meters in their homes, the Maryland Public Service Commission decided Thursday that Marylanders may request utility companies defer the installation of smart meter devices in their homes or businesses, pending a final decision by the PSC on whether customers may opt out of receiving smart meters. "The [PSC]’s order is effective immediately and affects customers in the Baltimore Gas & Electric, Potomac Electric Power Company [Pepco] and Delmarva Power service territories," according to a PSC statement. "Also, customers who already have smart meters installed, but do not wish to have one, may inform their utility in writing. The utility cannot activate those customers’ smart meter …
Friday, March 23, 2012
Currently, there is no "opt-out" option for customers.
Are Pepco’s new “smart meters” a tool to help us monitor—and hopefully lower—our electricity use? Or, are they potentially dangerous radio frequency-emitting devices that expose households to cyber-hackers and carcinogens? Many attendees at Wednesday night’s Pepco presentation about the new smart meters to be installed in Chevy Chase-area homes this summer were of the latter camp, and they expressed strong disapproval for the new meters. Smart meters are similar in size to standard meters, but do not need to be read every month by a meter reader. Instead, smart meters send radio signals about a household’s electricity usage to Pepco. Once the meters have been installed across the region and the new digital system has been activated, …
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Pilot project aims to make it easier to pay for parking.
Parking meters that take credit cards? It's long been a dream for quarter-weary Bethesdans, but now, it looks like dreams do come true. Forty-one meters that take payment via coins, cell phone, and yes, credit cards were installed today along Norfolk Avenue as part of a county pilot project, according to Ken Hartman, director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. The "smart" meters accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discovery cards and are located on Norfolk between St. Elmo and Delray avenues. They don't accept cash keys, however. The goal is to make paying for parking a bit easier, Hartman said. It's not the first time the county has aimed to provide parkers with payment options other than spare change -- a pay…
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Smart meters will help households to monitor electricity usage, and will let Pepco know when the power is starting to fade (or when it's out completely).
Measuring your household’s electricity usage will soon get a lot easier, thanks to Pepco’s new “smart meters,” which the utility company has begun installing on Maryland properties. Smart meters are electronic devices that send low-powered radio signals to Pepco to report on electricity usage at 15-minute intervals, reported Maria Cowan, a Pepco engineer, and Ken Farrell, a Pepco manager, at a meeting of the Village of North Chevy Chase Council on Tuesday, Nov. 15. While current electric meters must be read every month by a meter reader, the new smart meters will send the data directly to Pepco, and—once the region’s meters have all been replaced and the system is up and running—customers will be able to access that data through their …
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Pepco will begin switching out its Maryland customers' old analog electricity meters and installing new digital ones this month.
Pepco begins installing new “smart” meters for all of the utility company’s Maryland customers this month. As of yet, there is no timetable for when Pepco will install the new meters in the various communities that it serves, says Pepco spokesperson Andre Francis. The new smart meters are digital replacements of the older analog units, Francis says. And, for right now, the new smart meter will be “just a meter”—there will be no additional benefits that often come with a smart meter, such as reduced electricity rates for off-peak usage to encourage customers to shift some activities requiring electricity (such as using the washing machine) to off-peak hours so as not to overwhelm the region’s power grid. But, “as time rolls on, (we may be…
Judy Fiml
5:06 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Question. Might sound simple,but how would this affect my furnace? The earlier Energy saver blew out the control board on my furnace...and, charge me more than you already do for reading my power? Anything else you can charge me for! ?? more ›