Settlement Would Set Smart Meter Opt-Out Rates at CenterPoint TDU

A settlement among Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, and the 9/12 Association would establish the fees applicable for customers who opt-out of advanced metering service.

The settlement would establish the one-time, upfront opt-out fees as:

Retain Existing Analog Meter                 $91.00
Replace AMS w/ Analog                       $171.00
Replace AMS w/ Digital Non-Communicating    $201.00
AMS w/ Disabled Communication               $174.00

The initial monthly opt-out fee would be $32.80. After certain costs are collected, this would be reduced to $16.86.

The settlement would also set a rate of $23.35 for the following discretionary charges related to non-standard metering: (a) DCS.5 Disconnect for Non-Pay (DNP); (b) DCS.6 Reconnect After DNP; (c) DCS.8 Re-Reads; and (d) DCS.9 Out-of-Cycle Read for the Purpose of a Self-Selected Switch

The settlement provides that if the number of customers taking non-standard metering service at the same time exceeds 150 (which represents 150% of CenterPoint Houston's estimated 100 opt-out customers), CenterPoint Houston shall make a compliance filing to update the non-standard metering charges based solely on the update to the number of customers billing determinant and the remaining balances of any cost amounts approved for the AMS opt-out

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