I have heard from several sources that after getting a smart meter their monthly bills went up rather more than that $35.
Probably because the old analog meter was out of calibration, and was reading low. That doesn't happen to electronic ("smart") electric meters.
Actually the analog meters do go out of calibration ,, you see they have magnets inside that slow/stop the rotation of the mechanism (braking magnets) , and when they get old (or damaged by lightning or whatever) they typically start reading HIGHER than they should ... a common way to lower your meter readings is to place a STRONG magnet on the side of the box... also those screw adjusters you commonly see that are labeled F and S (fast / slow) they indicate the METER is FAST or METER is SLOW ... if you crank the “SLOW” adjuster you SPEED UP the meter..