Leftists are the real tin foil hat crowd.

Marin shows high interest in SmartMeter opt-out

Marin County is second only to Santa Cruz County in the number of residents who have so far chosen to opt out of having one of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s SmartMeters installed in their homes.

Since the California Public Utilities Commission approved a plan on Feb. 1 to allow PG&E's customers to reject installation of the digital meters and keep their analog meters, 4,400 residential customers have opted out.

Of that group, 450 live in Marin, compared with 706 who live in Santa Cruz. Not far behind were San Francisco County with 302 opt-outs, Santa Clara with 292 and Alameda with 283.

SmartMeters are electronic monitoring devices that continuously measure the electricity and natural gas use at

Taking a pass

Do you plan to "opt out" of a PG&E smart meter?

Total Votes = 192

Yes 31.77 % No 68.22 %

households and businesses and relay data to the utility. Critics have raised questions about health risks from the wireless meters and other concerns, such as preserving privacy. Both the county of Marin and town of Fairfax have adopted moratoriums on installation of the digital meters.

The opt-outs so far are a drop in the bucket when compared with the 92,000 PG&E customers who had previously asked that installation of a SmartMeter in their home be delayed — or the nearly 9 million SmartMeters that PG&E has installed throughout Northern and Central California since 2006.

Fairfax Councilman Larry Bragman said the CPUC's approval of fees for opting out explains why so few people have exercised their option.

"When

you price something too high, you're going to get less demand," Bragman said.

The opt-out program allows PG&E customers to keep their analog meter or switch back to an analog meter for a $75 charge and $10 monthly fee.

"The cost helps cover two separate meter reading programs now at PG&E," said PG&E spokesman Greg Snapper, referring to the added expense associated with maintaining both analog and digital systems. He said low-income customers — households of four earning less than $45,100 a year — are only charged an upfront $10 charge and $5 per month.

But Bragman said the CPUC approved the fees before it verified what PG&E's costs are.

"We have been promised that there will be a phase two of the SmartMeter decision where they will do the investigation into the actual cost," Bragman said. "One of the things we've been complaining about is that they put the cart before the horse."

Bragman said he and other SmartMeter opponents believe that any charge is improper, because CPUC regulations prohibit PG&E from charging a fee related to a customer's health or medical condition.

Barry Smith, director of the Alliance for Human and Environmental Health in Point Reyes Station, also thinks the price tag affixed to the analog meters is having an effect.

But Smith said "it's just too early" to draw any firm conclusions about how many people will ultimately opt out.

Katharina Sandizell of Point Reyes Station, who was arrested in December 2010 for standing in front of trucks delivering SmartMeters to Inverness, said many people still haven't heard about the opt-out program.

Snapper said PG&E has used automated phone calls and, at the direction of the CPUC, certified letters to notify customers on its Smartmeter delay list.

"On February 1st we began taking requests immediately," Snapper said, "even though the CPUC gave us 20 days to get our systems and employees organized."

But Sandizell said there are many people who don't want a SmartMeter who never got their name added to the delay list.

And Smith said some customers may be delaying a decision on the opt-out program because "people are so distrustful of PG&E."

"I've had people call me who were scared to open their envelope," he said, referring to PG&E's certified letters.