A couple weeks ago, Hick got an email from the electric company saying they would be coming to install a smart meter. We don't want a smart meter. They've been pushing it for a while, with inserts in our bill. Since we don't want one, we didn't try to make an appointment to have one installed.
I am no fan of "smart" things. Why should I give the electric company the ability to control my power? Hick says it's just a conspiracy theory. That they won't have control of our thermostat, and besides, they can cut power to any home they want, whenever they want. Hmpf! It's not like they haven't TRIED to control our thermostat, trying to give out free Nest contraptions, or big rebates for getting one. What's in it for THEM, I say! No business gives out something for nothing!
Anyhoo... the email told Hick that an electric company representative would be here sometime during business hours over the next 10 working days. That nobody needed to be home for the smart meter installation. That the worker would have proper identification, and would knock on the door to let us know he had arrived. Well. What's the point, if nobody needs to be home?
I think the notice also said to not have animals running loose. Who do they think they are, anyway? To tell me how to handle my pets for 10 business days on the off chance they might show up to install something I don't want??? I am not tying up my little dog Jack for 10 days. He'd hang himself trying to get loose! And besides, that would still leave the neighbor dog, Copper Jack, roaming free. He's the scary one, with his bark. Never bit anyone that I know of. But I can't tie up my neighbor's dog, and he's here all the live-long day.
Anyhoo... I'm here all day, every day, except for an hour when I go to town, and two hours on Thursdays when I do my errands. Nobody from the electric company showed up. So then Hick got ANOTHER email this week, telling him the same thing. No mention whether they'd made an attempt. Only that somebody would be here within the next 10 business days.
As you might surmise... I will not be sitting at home with Jack on a rope, eagerly awaiting their arrival.
Hick has a buddy who told the electric company flat out that he did NOT want a smart meter, and they better not show up and install one. They told him that he would be billed an extra $40 a month until he got one.
Doesn't sound to me like a company that is doing something nice for the customers...
This is just another example of taking our rights to choose, regardless of what it is. We had the same thing with our water meter, but were able to actually schedule an appointment and I will say, not only were they timely, but he wore a mask, put disposable covers on his boots, and was in and out in record time. The downfall? It's noisy, compared to what we used to have. Our cats do not like it when it clicks on. One of our cats would stop eating her food and go look down in the basement every time it clicked. (she has gotten used to it but it took several weeks) Our basement is semi finished, so I do not spend time down there. It's more my husbands domain, and I think he has gotten used to hearing it now. If they had been as vague about when they were coming to install it, I would have been very unhappy because I am not always "people ready" as far as my attire goes. I like it that way.
ReplyDeleteWe also looked out our window one day, to see some fella digging a trough in our back yard. My husband happened to be home, so he went out to find out what was going on. It was for a rerouted natural gas line. We had no warning or card or any information that this was happening. And, as it turned out, they did need people to be home to relight their hot water heaters, and check anything else hooked up to natural gas. The reason my husband was home, was we were going to go for a drive to just get a break from the daily drag. Ended up taking a lot shorter drive because we had to wait until they were done. I will say, again, they seemed to be very efficient. Didn't dig a hole and then go to lunch for an hour, but got busy and got it done and came in and checked our appliances etc. Still, bugs me that we had no warning. What happened to the households that had no one home? Did they come home to no hot water? Anyhow, good luck on the smart meter installation. Maybe if they show up to dogs in the yard a few times and no one home, they will schedule an appointment? Ranee (MN)
At least we don't have to worry about a water meter, since we have a well. I can't believe you didn't get a notice about the gas line!
DeleteHick also got an email saying our "new smart meter" had been installed. I sent him out on the porch to check, but it was still the old one. We assume it was the meter at the Double Hovel flip house, since we don't get The Pony's electric bill. In a perfect world, that would be the only smart meter we should be expecting, but the second notice came AFTER the one saying it had been installed. I need to have Hick check those emails to see if they list the account number, so we can make sure.
I don't remember exactly what a smart meter is or does, there were plenty of stories about them a few years ago and how much the electric companies recommended them, but I live in public housing and if "they" want to install smart meters I can't stop them. As far as I know they haven't yet.
ReplyDeleteI am suspicious of any gadget that will cost me $40 per month to NOT have one. On the electric company's website, it says this is to offset the cost of sending out a meter reader every month to assess your usage for the bill. As Hick pointed out, we haven't had a meter reader on our property for over 10 years. They read our meter by satellite or something, according to Hick. I wasn't paying attention...
DeleteIf they've been able to bill us without a meter reader person for so long, I don't know why all at once that would stop. The website also said the smart meter will allow you to check your usage and change some of your activities to off-peak times. But if everybody starts running their dishwasher and doing laundry at midnight, won't that change when the peak time is? Besides, there is only so much you can change. Nobody will cook their supper at midnight, or turn off their air conditioning/heat/TV during the evening when they're home from work, living what little personal life they have.
This is why I want solar panels! Bad enough the gas comapny fills our tank when it needs very little propane, but they charge all the additional expenses that come with filling it when it is ready to be filled. Just another way to over charge.
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that they will eventually find a way to tax sunshine!
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