ComEd Proposes Charging Extra For Customers Who Don't Switch to Smart Meters
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 8, 2013 9:45PM
While CTA and Pace continue to stumble into the future, ComEd has floated a proposal to charge customers who opt out of their smart meter program an extra $25 per month.
You may be asking yourself: “we have smart meters?” Not yet, but it is in the works. In 2011, the Illinois Legislature overrode Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act which grants ComEd rate hikes over the next decade in exchange for a $2.6 million plan to modernize its grid and install smart meters. That modernization is only beginning now and isn’t expected to be completed until 2021.
ComEd says the fee is standard to cover the cost of sending an employee out to read the meters of customers who don’t make the switch to a smart meter. David Kolata, executive director of utility watchdog group Citizens Utility Board said the fee is in line with what other investor-owned utilities have charged customers who refuse to switch to smart meters.
The transition to smart meters hasn’t been without hiccups. Three of the meters installed as part of a pilot program by ComEd caught fire and one of the homeowners insisted on sticking with the current analog model. The Illinois Commerce Commissioned determined the fires were caused by faulty connections within the meters’ housings.
The ICC rejected a request by ComEd on Oct. 2 to approve the extra fee immediately, but agreed to hold hearings on the matter before revisiting the proposal.