On March 4 the Texas Public Utility Commission (TPUC) agreed to test the accuracy of smart meters that are currently being installed by the millions throughout the state. The regulator decided to hire an independent auditor to ease the public’s concerns that smart meters will raise energy consumers’ bills.
Smart meters installed by both Oncor and Centerpoint Energy will by tested. TPUC intends to hire the auditor within the next two weeks to begin the tests.
Smart meters will be tested extensively in Bell County, north of Austin, because the region has lodged a large number of complaints. Any customer who wants to have their meter tested can do so and Oncor and Centerpoint will waive the $25 charge.
“We will ride herd over this process because we want to be unbiased, third party, objective,” said TPUC Chairman Barry Smitherman to the Dallas Morning News.
The testing program has been launched after consumers and legislators raised concerns that smart meters have caused electric bills to rise. The meters allow energy providers, such as Oncor and Centerpoint, to share information bi-directionally with their customers. The power companies can restore power outages much more quickly with this level of detail and customers can learn precisely how much electricity they are using.
Customers have complained that their smart meter “is running faster” than the old meter, implying charges are racked up more quickly. Some claim that their bills have doubled or tripled since the new meters were installed.
Troy Fraser, a state senator, sent a letter to the TPUC that said installations should stop until the meters are tested for accuracy. Fraser is the chairman of the Business and Commerce Committee, the group that handles energy industry issues.
Oncor says that bills are probably higher over the recent months because of the bitterly cold winter. That seems to be the consensus throughout the energy industry. Record low temperatures have been set throughout the United States this winter. Snow fell as far south as Houston.
Chris Schein, a spokesman for Oncor, said the company normally gets around 400 requests each month for a meter request but that number passed 4,000 in January and February of 2010. Schein said that of that number, three-quarters don’t even have smart meters installed yet.
Oncor hasn’t found a meter yet that isn’t measuring energy consumption accurately, Schein explained. In 1 case out of 100 the meter installer incorrectly read the old meter. Oncor can usually detect these mistakes without a test.
Schein went on to explain that consumers typically don’t understand how much energy it takes to heat their homes during a particularly cold winter. Space heaters can demand several dollars’ worth of power a day. Central heating systems can lose some efficiency when the temperatures are very low. Some retail electric providers that purchase power from Oncor may be charging high rates.
Pat Hammond, spokeswoman for retailer Reliant Energy, said her company is getting similar complaints. “We’re seeing high bill inquiries across the board, from people with smart meters and without,” said Hammond. Many of the consumers that file complaints have electric heating systems installed in their homes.
“We’re enthusiastically embracing the meter testing because we have to overcome any seed of doubt that’s in the minds of customers so that we can focus on what the real problem is here,” said Schein.
Oncor Electric Deliver Company
PO Box 660476
Dallas, TX 75266-0476
http://www.oncor.com
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
P.O. Box 4567
Houston, Texas
http://www.centerpointenergy.com
Reliant Energy
P.O. Box 3765
Houston, TX 77253-3765
https://www.reliant.com
Smart meters will be tested extensively in Bell County, north of Austin, because the region has lodged a large number of complaints. Any customer who wants to have their meter tested can do so and Oncor and Centerpoint will waive the $25 charge.
“We will ride herd over this process because we want to be unbiased, third party, objective,” said TPUC Chairman Barry Smitherman to the Dallas Morning News.
The testing program has been launched after consumers and legislators raised concerns that smart meters have caused electric bills to rise. The meters allow energy providers, such as Oncor and Centerpoint, to share information bi-directionally with their customers. The power companies can restore power outages much more quickly with this level of detail and customers can learn precisely how much electricity they are using.
Customers have complained that their smart meter “is running faster” than the old meter, implying charges are racked up more quickly. Some claim that their bills have doubled or tripled since the new meters were installed.
Troy Fraser, a state senator, sent a letter to the TPUC that said installations should stop until the meters are tested for accuracy. Fraser is the chairman of the Business and Commerce Committee, the group that handles energy industry issues.
Oncor says that bills are probably higher over the recent months because of the bitterly cold winter. That seems to be the consensus throughout the energy industry. Record low temperatures have been set throughout the United States this winter. Snow fell as far south as Houston.
Chris Schein, a spokesman for Oncor, said the company normally gets around 400 requests each month for a meter request but that number passed 4,000 in January and February of 2010. Schein said that of that number, three-quarters don’t even have smart meters installed yet.
Oncor hasn’t found a meter yet that isn’t measuring energy consumption accurately, Schein explained. In 1 case out of 100 the meter installer incorrectly read the old meter. Oncor can usually detect these mistakes without a test.
Schein went on to explain that consumers typically don’t understand how much energy it takes to heat their homes during a particularly cold winter. Space heaters can demand several dollars’ worth of power a day. Central heating systems can lose some efficiency when the temperatures are very low. Some retail electric providers that purchase power from Oncor may be charging high rates.
Pat Hammond, spokeswoman for retailer Reliant Energy, said her company is getting similar complaints. “We’re seeing high bill inquiries across the board, from people with smart meters and without,” said Hammond. Many of the consumers that file complaints have electric heating systems installed in their homes.
“We’re enthusiastically embracing the meter testing because we have to overcome any seed of doubt that’s in the minds of customers so that we can focus on what the real problem is here,” said Schein.
Oncor Electric Deliver Company
PO Box 660476
Dallas, TX 75266-0476
http://www.oncor.com
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
P.O. Box 4567
Houston, Texas
http://www.centerpointenergy.com
Reliant Energy
P.O. Box 3765
Houston, TX 77253-3765
https://www.reliant.com
