Smart Meters A dumb Idea?

Here too our bill has more than tripled after the installation of the so-called smart meters. Despite keeping our home so cold you actually have to wear gloves and a jacket inside, our electric bills averaged $300 a month, for just the two of us and despite all the changes we made in our consumption. around $35 a month are added on fees that were put in place after Obama took office. Our rates continue to be hiked at around 1.5% ever 3-6 months. If this keeps up, soon only the very rich and the very poor (government handouts) will be able to afford power.

yep, they are planning on laying off those extra meter readers after all is done. i always turn off lights before bed. the grand kids are forgetful, alas. i am just glad it went back down. thank gosh for the trees here. already told the others here no AC this summer. they get small box fans and i am a firm believer in open windows and fresh air.

We now have some of our lights (in the basement) on a timer, that way if someone forgets to turn out the lights, they will automatically turn out. I wish I could open my windows...the new windows that we just put in allow the bugs free access to the house, can not figure out what the problem is, the man that put them in came and looked at them and could not find out why the bugs are able to get in. So that means closed windows and a lot of time spent outside

I do firmly believe this is for the "convenience" of the power company so that some subroutine could easily click OFF The power to any place the second any payment is forgotten or late (even for a good reason like Hospitalizations) ...

It certainly was NOT About 'protecting' any jobs (it is putting meter readers OUT of jobs) ..
It certainly was NOT about "controlling Costs" .. (it is far cheaper to NOT pay for the meter readers)
It certainly was NOT about 'concerns for the customer' ..

I do believe this is going to have the INTENDED consequence of ...
Potentially .. Causing more harm than good .. especially in the Cold of Winter .. (or the Heat of Summer) for those elderly/disabled who definitely need to have power for their medical devices overall ...
As well as to be a way to 'control' our power usage too .. (What better way to control the population than by having a faceless, nameless 'subroutine' cut off your power just because it can .. (and will) on the flick of a switch or because you are not allowed to have power in the first place).

It's a start. The next phase, smart appliances that communicate with your energy supplier. The smart grid will come last. All three will work together to distribute energy, conserve & better manage our resources.

I know when they were first being installed in the area I live and the surrounding areas, there were all kinds of problems. It was on the news constantly. Investigative reporting going on continuously. Luckily there is an investigative report on our local news that digs deep into all manner of things. Such as this. He digs until he gets answers. He doesn't hesitate to broadcast it all over the area. Customers were seeing huge jumps in their electrical bills for no reason, others were seeing huge drops for no reason. It was a freakin mess. But, it seems the so-called bugs were finally worked out. Only because it was pushed upon the dang electrical company to solve the blasted problems. I know we're stuck with them in a sense. And, they sure can turn your electricity off in a matter of seconds, if they are so inclined. Better pay that dang bill on time. So far, they are not completely installed in the very small towns in our county, yet! But, they will be.
Ye haw! Another way of complete control of your life, and in more ways than one, with that nifty smart meter.

Well said my friend! Ya know, I will just have ta give ya a hat tip on that comment.

Well, now honey, you're quite welcome.

TeeHeeHee!

Gosh dang-it! As usual you've made me LMAO! Good gawd, you never fail to live up to my expectations. I love it!!! Ye Haw! :)

LMAO! It's become so obvious to you guys how slow I am at getting to my comment board and emails. But, since you posted this 3hrs. ago, lol, hopefully you've seen that I have sweetie. Dang, freaky thingy happened twice now didn't it? That's what makes it so dang freaky LMAO!

In theory, they are all right if they really give you lower rates for off-peak usage of washers, driers, irons, etc.

But in practice?

Remains to be seen.

But who does their laundry at 3:00am?
Or only use their heater at 3:00am?

Night owls like me. :)

i do my laundry after midnight myself- the rates are theoretically cheaper on the off peak usage hours. i also am a night owl

I do now, but it really doesn't change a thing

We got stuck with a smart meter shortly after Obama took office, so we altered our routines to try to take advantage of the supposed lower rates. We began doing laundry at 3am when usage and rates were supposed to be lower, did not work. Instead of lower bills, we keep getting higher and higher ones.

i plan to hang most of my laundry this season, if it ever stops raining here. only undies will be dried in the dryer then.

It sounds as if they are changing their rates on you, so that the "off peak" rates now might be as much as (or more than) the regular rates you were previously charged, and the present "peak rates" might be much more than the previous regular rates. You should be able to figure that out by comparing bills, but you might need an accountant to sort it all out.

Maybe that was their plan from the beginning.

It is just a clever way to the power companies to take more of our money.

yes, and GE seems to have monies invested in them. i believe the same co. that fat al gore and pelousi have investments in, also did they not get a tax break while posting a profit?