Smart Meters - Public Service Commission

installation in Florida has been going on since 2009 and is expected to conclude in 2013.
In Port Orange, Anderson said about 7,000 meters already are installed — about 25
percent of customers — and that a contractor hired by the power company will finish the
job in October.
Anderson said smart meters automatically monitor electric usage and provide
customers immediate billing information online, as well as offer FPL the ability to
pinpoint faulty equipment in advance that could lead to a power outage.
“One of the bigger benefits we’re all going to see is enhanced reliability,” he said. “… Just
like the old meters, we’re measuring how much and not how you’re using (electricity).
The meter is idle 99 percent of the time. On average, our meters transmit two minutes a
day and send data four times a day.”
But 10 opponents of the meter installation Tuesday night said they were worried about
possible breaches of privacy, the risks of low-level radiation and someone hacking into
the computer files.
Peggy Black, a Port Orange resident, said the decision to switch to a smart meter should
be the customer’s.
“Ninety-nine percent of people don’t know smart meters are in existence,” she said of
the current installation policy. “We’re looking for an opt-in (homeowner permission)
because no one knows they’re coming.”
Florida’s Public Service Commission is having a workshop Sept. 20 to discuss smart
meters. Volusia County already has passed a resolution requesting the PSC adopt an
“opt-in” provision for customers, which Port Orange also is expected to adopt.
“There’s a certain level of discomfort that comes from new, unknown technologies until
they’re proven, until there’s a decent track record,” Burnette said. “Because of that, a lot
of people won’t accept it. They haven’t seen it in action.”
He added: “It’s hard to say to people, ‘You don’t have a choice.’ This is
America. I’d like to give people a choice.”