Posted on 03/18/2012 3:01:05 PM PDT by RedMDer
Starting in May, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. will begin installing "smart meters" in a huge undertaking intended to modernize Central Maryland's electricity grid and save customers money by helping them control energy use. ...
"We look at this as the most transformational change in the electricity grid in the last 100 years," said Mark D. Case, BGE's vice president of strategy and regulatory affairs. "It is really not overstating it to describe it in those terms."
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
We’ve had those for quite a while down here in Georgia...you know, “Tobacco Road”, “Crackerville”...hey, it’s St. Crackers Day today down here. Hold muh beer!
NJ tried that on a voluntary basis. People signed up and within one year most of them opted out. Why? When one powers down the AC not all AC units can handle that resulting in damaged AC. Other problem is when the AC is powered down that it generates only luke cool air in the ducts, the vent ducts condensate water damaging wall sheet rock and cause mold growth. One customer had drippings from a vent above his electrical panel that he almost failed to sell his house when the inspector found rust spots on his electrical panel. BGE will end up with lawsuits for damage if they impose these smart meters on customers. If mold growth caused health problems to the customer the damage can be even worst.
I pay for a smart meter but don’t have one.
I don’t disagree with you one bit. It should not be mandatory. I however found it was a good fit for me and saved me money as I lived alone and worked. Honestly the times I was a home during the day and worked from home, which was quite often at my last job, I noticed very little difference and had my programmable thermostat programmed such as the heat or air was turned down anyway and if I found it too hot or too cold, I could still override the thermostat and the smart meter and set the temperature to where I wanted. It’s not as if BGE is going to completely turn off the air or heat at their whim.
Good points. It also takes a lot of energy to cool a hot house and warm a cold one. IMHO, it is better to set it and forget it.
It means cutting your arsssss off when they feel like it. New form of civil disobedience punishment when you get out of line. Don't need no stinking court order, just shut up and don't mess with us.
Maryland "Freak State" PING!
With my electric baseboard heat, I do manually turn it down in the kitchen/living room at night (the dog doesn't care) but leave the bedrooms/baths at one temp (somewhere around 60).
We have Delmarva Power and so far we get the offers in the mail for smart meters, but nothing mandatory yet from MD.
I thought I had a smart meter but I am beginning to wonder what I have. What I have allows the electric company to read my meter, first from the street without coming around into my back yard, and now I think they can read it from their office. What I have is great and has nothing to do with turning my a/c or heat off.
We got our smart meters a couple of years ago. That is when we started to research alternative electrical energy systems. We are planning a move out of the burbs soon and have found our alternative system. So when the power company shuts down our electricity because we have exceeded our alotted, rationed KW’s for the month we will just pull a switch and be back in business. Its coming folks.
The transmitter may be tied to a computer with a voter registration data base... just saying.
As crappy as it was to have the power go off a few times a day for short periods I’d rather they did that than being without any for days at a time.
ping
About the same as Moochelle telling you what you can and can't eat.
double-standard-alert.
I shred those offers every single time,
Really IMO the only reason for the so-called “Smart Meters” is to eliminate costly meter reading jobs for the power companies, and to comply with U.N. restrictive energy use goals for AGW aka; “Climate Change”.
Part real in cost reductions, yet quite unreal in the sheer idiocy of the fantasy of AGW.
Getting the U.S. out of the U.N., or at least getting the ICLEI the “H” out of our State’s affairs would be advantageous to remaining a free nation.
I shred them too.
Put them in the White House first since the Dictator in Chief insists on keeping the White House warm while telling taxpaying Americans they are not permitted to just set their thermostat at whatever temperature they want.
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