RESA Cautions Pa. Lawmakers on Smart Meter Opt-Out, Seeks EDC Exit from TOU Service

Allowing Pennsylvania utilities to forego installation of smart meters would, "stifle innovative products and services from the emerging competitive marketplace," the Retail Energy Supply Association said in testimony to lawmakers on House Bill 2188 yesterday.

HB 2188 would provide customers with the ability to opt-out of smart meter deployment, but Ron Cerniglia, newly named Pennsylvania Electric Chairman of RESA, noted that there may be some interest in allowing not just individual customers but entire utilities to opt-out of smart meter installation altogether. Cerniglia is the Director of National Advocacy and Government and Regulatory Affairs for Direct Energy, and was previously the director of the New York PSC's Office of Retail Market Development.

"Given that PPL and PECO have already or are in the process of successful [advanced metering] installation efforts, RESA feels that it could be counter-productive to system reliability, would stifle innovative products and services from the emerging competitive marketplace, and ultimately would reduce customer benefits that could be realized, if the remaining utilities are permitted to forego this obligation. Accordingly, RESA opposes any provision to permit an EDC to opt out of smart meter deployment," Cerniglia said.

Cerniglia also raised concerns with allowing individual customers to opt-out, noting that it could be, "costly and operationally difficult to maintain a separate consumption measurement and wholesale settlement process for a subset of customers electing not to have a smart meter." Cerniglia stressed that many of the concerns related to smart meters can be addressed through alternatives other than an opt-out, noting that, with respect to privacy, customers may already restrict the sharing of their usage information.

Cerniglia also told lawmakers that the current statutory provision requiring utilities, in their role as default service provider, to offer time of use and real-time price plans to residential and commercial customers is no longer needed.

"[C]ompetitive suppliers are beginning to offer these type of services as smart meters are deployed, and the Public Utility Commission has recently recommended that utilities no longer directly provide these products," Cerniglia said.

Several providers are offering time-based rates at PPL, including Direct Energy's Free Saturdays plan.