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We've been warning for a while now about the dangers of consumer backlash. The story below points out how bad it is already in one service territory. If your utility isn't yet up to speed in basic consumer marketing, it urgently needs to add that skill. PG&E can't catch a break: Angry Bakersfield customers filed a class action suit against the utility in November alleging that newly-installed smart meters were responsible for overcharges in their electric bills. Now, some Sebastopol customers are bashing PG&E because they're afraid the new meters are health hazards. Specifically, those customers in laid-back liberal Sebastopol are wondering very loudly if radiation from the meters' electromagnetic fields could cause serious health problems, like cancer. "I want the city of Sebastopol to be the first city to say 'hell no,' to the utility meter program," resident Madison Baker was quoted as saying in the Press Democrat newspaper. PG&E would do well to listen up because it's not the first time the good citizens of Sebastopol have risen up against the threat of radiation. Free wireless service for the town was initially approved in 2008, then rescinded after the city council was showered with criticisms that the wireless equipment, cell phones and other related devices could be health hazards because of their radiation emissions. While the council said it would bring the wireless question back for reconsideration, it hasn't done it. As in Bakersfield, the utility also faces criticisms from Sebastopol residents about inflated utility bills. Katie Romans, PG&E spokeswoman, told the newspaper after a city council hearing earlier this week, "We don't believe there are health hazards associated with the smart meters. But we do want to address the community's concerns fully. We'll be taking those concerns back to our experts." And before we reach for our tin foil hats, another PG&E official said studies conducted earlier made it clear that radiation emitted from the meters falls within FCC standards. While the utility tells customers the new Smart Grid, including smart meters, will allow it to locate failures more quickly, eliminate the need for meter readers to enter private property and give customers access to their energy use in near real time, the skeptics scoff at the need for the new technology. Elizabeth Fuller, also quoted in the newspaper, said "Who is this good for? Will I send tweets to my refrigerator?" The city council hasn't defined what it will do at its Feb. 16 meeting, but Mayor Sarah Gurney said it could set up a town hall meeting, bring state legislators into the fray and lobby the California PUC if necessary. PG&E has deployed just under four million smart meters in its service area and plans to have 10 million in place by 2012. From the source ...
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I am Chengrui Cai who is a PhD graduate student with major in Power and Energy System. Now my research lies in SmartGrid. As far as I know, one of the important goal of the SmartGrid is to bring distributed generation to homes in US, which aims to install solar panel and small wind turbine in homes. However, ...