Lansing, Michegan, USA - A small but outspoken group of residential customers vows to continue battling Michigan’s largest utility company over the freedom to opt out of having “smart” meters installed outside their homes.
State regulators’ days-old decision to approve an opt-out provision — if residents pay $67 upfront and nearly $10 a month to DTE Electric — has sparked outrage among those concerned about the two-way wireless electricity meters for privacy or health reasons. Consumers Energy, the state’s other dominant utility, has a similar request pending before the Michigan Public Service Commission.
“For them to say this is an opt-out is just like slapping the public in the face,” said Dominic Cusumano, who was sued last year by DTE for removing a smart meter from his house in Addison Township 35 miles north of Detroit. His wife, Lillian, said the device caused her to have extreme headaches, achy muscles, anxiety and sleep problems.
“If you want to opt out and pay the fees, they will send someone out to your house and turn off the transmitter,” said Dominic Cusumano, who contends residents should be able to keep their old-style meters. “You will pay them an exorbitant fee for someone every month to come and read it.”
Utilities across the country have been replacing analog meters in recent years partly to better manage demand on the power grid. The advanced meters – which monitor usage via radio frequency– give more accurate readings, eliminate in-person checks from utility workers and help utilities to better pinpoint and respond to power outages.
By giving real-time feedback on energy use, smart meters also can promote conservation. Utilities, for instance, may move toward charging residential customers more or less in peak or off-peak hours. As a start, DTE is offering to remotely cycle customers’ air conditioners off and on in heat waves – potentially saving 30 percent on their cooling bill.
“We don’t want to put our customers in a situation of having them use appliances when they don’t want to. This will be totally voluntary,” said DTE spokesman Scott Simons.
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