By “this particular comment” you meant the comment at the head of this string? I think the reply was misplaced. Correct?

I think there’s a pretty fine line between being sensational and insensitive. I don’t care to be the judge of which side of that line this particular comment falls, but it could certainly be less inflammatory.

It’s so easy to post, but not much harder to be constructive.

Is that really what it costs them to come out and read a meter? One small 40 mpg truck or even better, small car running around reading meters really costs that much per meter?

Did they just pull the number out of their ass? Where did it come from?

If they don’t offer people the discount, then the meter reading is already built into the fees they charge now so there’s no way they can claim it’s going to cost MORE to read the meters.

Why don’t they use that discount as a selling point to the new meters? If they are so great and save so much money, why not use that to get people to opt-in instead?

“You want one of our new smart meters, we will give you $15 every month because we don’t have to come out and read it anymore. Please call and ask us for this new wonderful thingy.”

On the other topic, turning off the transmitter will not solve all the issues that have been presented. (and now you see why all the issues needed to be presented)

Will it still receive? I am sure it will, they have to be able to update the firmware from remote, and want to be able to turn your power off whenever they feel like it.

So the meters will still be hackable FROM REMOTE. And you can bet the physical transmitter will still be in the device. They aren’t going to be able to make the mods to remove just the transmitter. It will be there, it’s part of the same circuits as all the other stuff.

So now all a hacker has to do is send the right commands and turn on the transmitter. Or who knows, maybe the power company will do it because they need to have your meter as part of the mesh to help with billing, so they just turn it on hoping you will never know.

These meters will still be unfair trade due to their re-programmability. How will we know they haven’t changed it to read wrong? Even a small change to millions of meters means big bucks to their bottom line. What if someone drives around sending the commands to change the rates of thousands of meters? Won’t we all have to pay for the difference in the end because the power company just passes it on to everyone?

Won’t these meters make it EASIER for people to steal power by simply re-programming the meters? Thus costing everyone else to pay up?

How will a customer know if the transmitter is really off or not? What if people are paying this fee but yet the transmitter is really on? Who will know? UNFAIR COMMERCE!

What about the Electro Magnetic Pulse EMP problem? I don’t want my community susceptible to EMP attacks. Even a kid with a coil and a battery could wreck havoc on an apartment building with a bank of meters. You people don’t understand how easy it is to disturb an electronic circuit that’s sitting in a simple plastic case.

Someone needs to sit Peevey down and make sure he’s fully informed. Has he read any of this stuff?

And where’s the independent technical analysis on any of this? Peevey doesn’t even know what a transistor is.

Why are we putting our personal health, safety and privacy in the hands of non technical people on this highly technical issue?

Is the PUC depending on the meter manufacturer’s word about the technical issues? Are they that stupid?

And since when is the PUC supporting the stock price of PG&E ? That’s what profits are all about, and that’s what they will get if they get this new fee.

Of course, if I had done my homework, I would have realized that the caption on this headline/picture was *not a remark* by Peevey, but a rather nasty spin by the post’s author. My mistake. The OP might consider a less inflammatory caption, but my knee-jerk reaction is probably just what they’re counting on in order to fuel the fear machine. Am I right?

Donna, here in the U.S., you don’t need a computer or internet connection to phone in your monthly meter reads. All we have to do is call PG&E and give them the readings on the phone.
Many people here don’t have high speed broadband internet connections available, and many people do not want to own computers.
People have been phoning in monthly meter reads for decades here, it works well, is more accurate than anything else, and only takes a few minutes per month.
The utility wants to read our meter at least once a year, to make sure that our readings are up to date. If we got off one way or another, it will be corrected once a year.
It is a very good idea to read your meter often, especially if you have a house full of people that you cannot control, but have to charge them for their share of the monthly bill. You can give each person a “heads up” about conserving energy weekly if you want to. It works for me, and millions of other customers here in the U.S.

Yeah, I have to agree that Peevey seems pretty off-base with that remark…but then we’ve got this to deal with as well: “Can you imagine the torture and hell that a person would be living in if he were that guys son?”

Do you even know Peevey or his family? This is just a prime example of the fear-generating vitriol that does not help your cause. Yet the moderator allows it…and that seems like a “put down” to me. Moderator? Care to weigh in?

“Please enter your meter reading on on line account”

http://www.southern-electric.co.uk/YourAccount/GiveAMeterReading/