Ohio Proposes Smart Meter Opt-Out

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has issued draft rules which would allow customers to opt-out of having an advanced meter.

The draft provides that:

"A customer shall have the option to take electric service using a traditional meter and may request a traditional meter and opt out of advanced meter service by contacting the electric utility. An electric utility shall provide customers with the option to remove an installed advanced meter and replace it with a traditional meter, and the option to decline installation of an advanced meter and retain a traditional meter, including a cost-based, tariffed opt-out service."

The draft provides that the electric utility shall notify the customer of the following if a customer expresses interest in using a traditional meter:

(a) The customer will be required to pay the costs associated with the installation of the traditional meter, the ongoing costs associated with the manual reading of the traditional meter, and other fees and costs that may be assessed by the electric utility associated with the traditional meter.

(b) If the customer is currently enrolled in a product or service requiring an advanced meter as a condition of enrollment, the electric utility shall notify the customer that a different product or service must be chosen prior to installation of the traditional meter.

Per the draft, an electric utility may establish a one-time fee to recover the costs of removing an existing advanced meter and the subsequent installation of a traditional meter. The utility would also be permitted to establish a recurring fee to recover costs associated with providing meter reading and billing services associated with the use of a traditional meter.

Costs incurred by an electric utility to provide the opt-out service shall be borne only by customers who elect to use a traditional meter instead of an advanced meter, the draft states.

Under the draft, the utility may refuse to provide the opt-out service if the opt-out would present a "safety hazard" to consumers or their premises, the public, or the electric utility's personnel or facilities

PUCO specifically asked for stakeholder comment on whether the advanced meter opt-out provisions should apply to commercial and residential customers, or only residential customers.

Case No. 12-2050-EL-ORD