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Smart Meters Falsely Accused of Raising Energy Bills

Smart meters have caused some controversy recently in America as customers of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) complained that rather than lowering their gas and electricity bills, the smart meters actually increased utility bills.

The whole point of smart meters is that they are supposed to make customers more energy efficient. The smart meters replace the old analogue energy monitors with a digital display that gives information in real time about how much gas and electricity is being used in the home.

The need for smart meters arises out of a need to modernise and replace an ineffective technology which is a surviving relic of a past era. Old energy meters require regular checks and maintenance from members of the energy companies. The new smart meters will make the current meters defunct.

The real benefit of smart meters though is that customers can use them to monitor their energy consumption and then adapt their practices to reduce their energy bills. The problem with PG&E customers is that their bills were rising despite the implementation of smart meters.

One of the limitations of smart meters is that they are not magic wands, they cannot control electricity prices nor can they make energy cheaper on their own. PG&E said that rising gas and electricity bills had nothing to do with the smart meters but were caused by higher energy prices as a result of a rate hike in March.

A lack of communication on behalf of the company led to confusion and a resultant lack of trust in the smart meters from customers. Company officials from PG&E said: 'We should have done a much better job in explaining to customers that this rate increase is taking place when you get into these summer months and start using more energy that could have a dramatic impact on your bills.'

Smart meters are not the issue, rising energy prices are the problem. What was not mentioned by PG&E was that without smart meters, customers' energy bills would almost certainly have been even higher. The best way to combat increasing electricity prices is to start using technology like smart meters to help make savings wherever possible.