You keep on saying that as if it is a good thing.
I would agree. The arrangement is that the utility dictates and the customer has to take it.
That doesn't mean it is a good thing.
The fact that I may be a long-standing customer in good standing and a homeowner counts for nothing. If the utility wants to come in and unilaterally change the deal, they can and will do so. According to you, I should just lick the hand and take it.
Well I see you're changing the subject away from non-existent agreements to a new straw man. It is neither a good nor a bad thing. It is simply the nature of reality. Do you think that the customer should be able to set the terms of an agreement with the utility? I'm sure the BLM crew would set the terms so that they got power for free because they's owed. If she doesn't like that deal she can pay the opt out charge. Frankly I don't care what sort of meter I have. There are thousands of things in life more worthy of attention than that. Some old crackpot worrying about a smart meter is sort of on the fringe of nutty.
If she wants to worry about something let her worry about the fact that your smart phone can tell Verizon or T-mo or AT&T where you are every day. Or better still let her worry about the "mind control rays" that the cable company uses from their set top boxes, after all that's the next step on the ladder from eccentric to neurotic to psychotic
You may decline the service. Utilities are privately owned businesses. You do not have to purchase their product.