San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera.
From the Office of San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera
June 17, 2010
City Attorney urges CPUC Commissioners to ‘do their job,’ halt deployment of problem-plagued electric meters during investigation
City Attorney Dennis Herrera today petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission to immediately suspend its authorization for PG&E to continue installing so-called “SmartMeters” until state regulators conclude their investigation into whether the problem-plagued meters currently being deployed by the state’s largest utility are accurate. Mounting evidence points to disturbingly high error rates with the devices, which are supposed to measure power usage and wirelessly transmit the data to PG&E. But since the SmartMeter deployment program began last summer, increasing numbers of PG&E ratepayers have blamed the new devices for dramatic and inexplicable spikes in their utility bills, and PG&E has itself acknowledged problems with the meters.
PG&E's not so smart SmartMeter.
PG&E has already installed some 5.8 million SmartMeters throughout its service territory, and plans to install another 3.9 million — despite CPUC’s independent and ongoing investigation, which it launched after receiving hundreds of consumer complaints statewide. The petition Herrera filed with the CPUC today notes that PG&E has admitted to problems with SmartMeters that could affect the accuracy of their readings, effectively acknowledging in their own disclosures that no fewer than 60,000 PG&E customers are currently receiving inaccurate bills.
“Common sense should argue against installing millions of defective SmartMeters until their problems are fixed, and questions about their accuracy are fully resolved,” said Herrera. “Unfortunately, when a company lacks common sense, it means regulators need to do their job to protect the public interest. The CPUC is charged with policing utility services, and making sure that ratepayers can be confident that what they’re charged for electricity service is just and reasonable. Until CPUC’s investigation is concluded, prudence dictates that PG&E’s ongoing SmartMeter program be halted, so we can be confident that the problems are fixed.”
The City’s petition, which requests that the CPUC modify its 2007 decision authorizing PG&E to include the costs associated with SmartMeters in its rates, describes the accuracy of billing ratepayers as a “fundamental responsibility” of both the utility and the commission charged with its oversight. According to Herrera’s petition:
“Ensuring the accuracy of electric bills is a fundamental responsibility of PG&E and the Commission under California law. Receiving a timely and correct bill from PG&E is the least a customer is entitled to expect. Customers should not be in the position of wondering whether their bills are accurate or whether the equipment installed by PG&E is working properly. The Commission is required to ensure that utility customers pay just and reasonable charges for electric service. Until the Commission concludes its investigation, and determines that the problems with PG&E’s SmartMeters have been resolved, the Commission cannot vouchsafe that bills based on SmartMeter readings are just and reasonable.”
Though Herrera’s is the first formal petition to the CPUC seeking to suspend PG&E’s authorization to continue installing SmartMeters, a number of consumer protection advocates have urged similar regulatory remedies. Among those pushing state regulators to be more aggressive in protecting consumers from the defective and inaccurate metering devices are California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter); the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, The Utility Reform Network, or TURN; the City of Cotati, Calif.; the Town of Fairfax, Calif.; and the City and County of San Francisco.
The petition and motion for expedited treatment are made in the “Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Authority to Increase Revenue Requirements to Recover the Costs to Upgrade its SmartMeter Program,” before the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California, Application No. 07-12-009, filed December 12, 2007. A PDF copy of the petition is available on the City Attorney’s Web site at http://www.sfcityattorney.org/
The Hunger Site
June 20, 2010 at 8:58 am
Patrick’s comment did not show on my screen when I wrote mine, and even tho I thank Mr. Herrera for fighting PG&E, and also for taking on the Post Office so that people in SRO’s can have their own mailboxes, I do agree with Patrick that he is not doing enough.
June 20, 2010 at 8:55 am
This is great. Thank you Dennis Herrera. I know many low income seniors who have had their energy bills triple with these “smart” meters!
June 19, 2010 at 12:38 pm
This man is not to be believed or trusted. Despite his ‘latino’ sounding name, he is nothing more than yet another corrupt racist member of the patriarchal plutocracy. Like his bosom buddy gavin, he is a blowing in the wind political opportunist. Big deal, he ‘takes a stand’ against PG&E . I wonder if his cojones would be on display if the recent ‘vox populi’ had yielded a different result.
He has done absolutely nothing to instigate any kind of investigation into the years of rampant corruption and collusion between City ‘officials’, Lennar, the RDA, DPH, coopted Union ‘leaders’, sacrireligious invested Irreverends and their ilk. The only action of any consequence that he has taken in relation to this disastrous boodoggle urban renewal, much of which may well be subaquatic in 10 or 20 years, has been to disenfranchise over 30,000 registered voters ( at the bidding of his corporate paymasters) when they simply requested full and complete disclosure and to allow the Sunshine in.
There are so many ‘issues’ that we are confronting in these challenging economic times. The prospect of yet another business as usual toady in Room 200 is truly disheartening.
Pat Monk.RN. Noe Valley.
PS.
Hey, Senor Herrera, wassup with the BS at LHH, you gonna look into it or is Sean the designated sacrificial surrogate and sheep.