Smart meters have gone electric throughout region, state
This is a close-up of a digital “smart” electric meter.
Photo courtesy of FirstEnergy
A FirstEnergy worker installs a “smart” electric meter.
It has been a lengthy process, but smart meters are taking over the commonwealth. They are a byproduct of Pennsylvania Act 129, which was enacted way back in 2008, with the florid stroke of Gov. Ed Rendell’s pen.
These digital devices are designed to collect information a few times a day about electricity usage at a residence or business, then send that data to the local utility. The automated meter readings result in energy savings, financial savings, quicker notification of power outages and enhancing the environment.
“Act 129 is not about smart meters. It’s about energy reduction and use,” said Dave Hixson, deputy press secretary for the state Public Utility Commission. “Smart meter technology is designed to save energy, lower monthly bills and cut carbon emissions.”
That technology also, essentially, makes meter readers obsolete, reducing personnel costs for companies.
Smart meters, according to the FirstEnergy Corp. website, do not invade privacy by letting utilities know whether a residence or business is occupied. Nor do they limit the amount of electricity available. And as these meters become more prevalent, companies will likely offer options to customers such as time-of-day plans, enabling them to pay lower rates for electricity usage during non-peak production times. Example: running a dishwasher at midnight.
Act 129 requires each of the seven large electric utilities in Pennsylvania – with 100,000-plus customers – to install smart meters on every residence and business it serves. That work has to be completed by 2023.
West Penn Power provides electricity to Washington and Greene counties. It is one of four subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. that serve the commonwealth, along with Met-Ed, Penelec and Penn Power.
Hixson said the large utilities have completed “about 61 percent” of their smart meter installations statewide. The process is further along in Washington County, where West Penn has installed “about 90 percent” of its meters, according to Aaron Ruegg, spokesman for Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy. He said the company began working in the county last May 17, has put in about 100,000 meters there, and plans to finish May 18.
Ruegg said FirstEnergy’s utilities have installed about 1.5 million smart meters throughout the state. He added that, “We expect to complete work for about 99 percent of nearly 2 million (Pennsylvania) customers by the middle of 2019.”
Installation doesn’t require a bounty of energy, said Todd Meyers, spokesman for West Penn Power in Greensburg. “I had a smart meter installed at my house, and they were here and gone in less than five minutes,” he said. “They used the same socket, but instead of dials, it has digital readings. And as time rolls on, there will be many more things you can do with a smart meter.”
As an example, Meyers said a customer may be able to sign up for a program through which “a computer in Akron can send a message that no one is home on a summer day. The air conditioning would keep the house cool, but it would not run all the time.”
There is a segment of the population, though, that is dumbfounded by smart meters. Some have complained that their electric bills became shockingly expensive following meter installation. FirstEnergy’s Ruegg said that isn’t supposed to happen.
“Through Act 129, customers are required to pay for equipment and installation,” he said. “We designed the program so that the impact is minimal. Costs are spread out.
“If they aren’t happy about their bills, they should contact our billing department and contact a representative to handle this.”
Ruegg said FirstEnergy has granted refunds to some smart meter customers for certain charges.
Other recipients say they have not been billed or charged a small amount for the meters.
A number of area residents have complained on Facebook that their bills bumped up dramatically after receiving a smart meter. None of them responded to an Observer-Reporter Facebook request to be interviewed for this article.
Kurt Torpey did respond, and he has no issue with the meters. He said he got a smart meter in 2016 after renovating his home in the Eldersville section of Jefferson Township, then the second one in November that was required following installation of solar panels.
“In both cases, there were no out-of-normal ranges that would cause our electric bill to spike,” Torpey said.
He said he has seen many of the aforementioned Facebook postings and is not dismissing the points posters make. But he questions why some bills may be inflated.
Torpey said some customers who complained on social media about their January bills may not have been aware that this was a colder, harsher – and more expensive – month than the previous January. Others, he said, may have glimpsed an inflated bill and simply thought “utility companies are out to get us” – without investigating. And, Torpey acknowledged, “People could get a defective meter. Am I one of the lucky ones, or is there something to this?”
Torpey did cite a study from the Netherlands that found some smart meters give readings that are six times too high. That, of course, would result in an exorbitant bill.
Smart meters are not universally loved, and undoubtedly not flawless. But they have been built for accuracy, efficiency, economy and convenience. And they are now a Pennsylvania staple.