A freeze on Texas smart meters
A Texas lawmaker is calling on state officials to freeze the installation of new smart meters, saying too many of his constituents are seeing spikes in their bills with the installations.
Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) is calling on the Texas Public Utility Commission to order a stop to installations “until independent testing of the meter and software can be conducted” according to the letter he sent (see it below). He also calls on the companies installing them to do a number of side-by-side digital and analog installations to test for accuracy and to suspend the monthly fee customers are paying while the testing is being done.
In the Dallas area the grid operator, Oncor, has already said it will start a Smart Meter Verification Plan after some of the 700,000 customers with new smart meters complained, according to the Dallas Morning News:
It will offer free verification to customers in the Killeen area if they contact Oncor by March 12 and will offer free in-home monitors to 100 customers in the area.
The utility wants a side-by-side comparison of old and new meters in homes of customers who volunteer. The project will start in the Killeen area to help persuade customers that the meters work correctly.
Read the entire article on NewsWatch: Energy.
