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Originally Posted by O2HeN2
Word on the street is that a lot of people has seen their bills skyrocket, so maybe I would be better off paying the extra $$$ and stay with my old analog meter.
But it looks like they will change the unit regardless, so it's a moot point...[Mad]
My opinion is your shouldn’t be worried about the smart meter. It’s the next step after the smart meter. Fort Collins started with smart meter, then tiered rates, then the latest and greatest 2 years ago was point of time use. 2-7 in the summer and 5-9 in the winter it’s something ridiculous like 7x more than non peak hours. And they keep making the gap larger. But hey at least they came and tore up everyone’s yard to put city owned and ran internet in, why wouldn’t you want the city to control media that your taxes and electrical bill paid for, it’s only slightly more expensive than Comcast.
Did you get the option to stay with your previous rate?Quote:
Originally Posted by fitterjohn
They told me this morning that the "point of time use" is going to be optional, that I can stay with my current rate even after the smart meter install, if I choose to.
Nope we have city of Fort Collins power, so they just mandate what we need. But from what I remember we have had smart meters for a very long time.
Mountain View Electric outside CoS sent notice last winter that they would be installing new smart meters this spring/summer, capable of being read from their office. To opt out was going to cost IIRC $75/ month. Since my bill averages about $120/month that would have been a prohibitive fee. They claim that they will neve use the system to control individual usage, but did not deny that they 'could' do so. I have not seen any rate change, only somewhat higher bill last two months because of running more A/C. The new meter is all digital.
$11.84 monthly fee to opt out in the Denver metro area.
I couldn't find anything in writing about having the option to stay at my current rate with a smart meter, so, being the trusting individual i am, I opted out.
Fuck them.
I have had a smart meter on my last two houses and haven't seen any weird fluctuations or high bills. All houses up this way have had the smart meters for approx 10 years.
Not an issue where I am at but dang...
The solar tax credit was extended back in Dec of 2020 for the record. It was going to expire at the end of this year. Instead, it's 26% through the end of 2022. I'd be leaning towards a solar install if I was dealing with all that B.S. - nice thing about solar is peak hours hopefully are often when solar would be peak right?
Or am I wrong and peak hours are like 6-9pm or something? The stupidity spreads so I like to plan in advance...
I was talking to a contractor that was putting these in. They are way more sophisticated. They keep track of time, peaks, can throttle houses, and do remote power disconnects. He said they no longer get drive by readings. Xcell id converting some street lights to a 5G style antenna that will have fiber run links. Near as I can figure the new light are a wireless link to the meters on the houses. Kinda cool kinda scary.Quote:
Originally Posted by hollohas