Just recieved our first "smart electicity bill" as we knew it would be it is a shocker!

Originally posted by bourbon2nite
ok deep breath. I have a smart meter. It has the ability to be read remotely. It is also my understanding that it can be turned on or off remotely, thus saving the power company on man hours. I and everyone else around here am charged kwh (kilowatt hours used] My parents do not have a smart meter. They are charged the same rate as me. (they live a few hundred feet from me) The rising cost of electricity is just like the rising cost of everything else. We tend to notice more because it is a monthly billing. I have checked my usage from last year to this year and my increase in cost was due to price per kwh not the smartmeter. That is why I challenged you to prove it was the smart meter and and not just the rise in price as everyone with or without a smart meter is paying. My milk cost more this year too but it is not because my grocer installed a new cooler!

Are you sure all of it is due to the rising cost of price per kwh? According to the globeandmail.com link that was given earlier on the first page:

Local utilities have installed smart meters that allow consumers to monitor their electricity usage in 4.1 million homes in Ontario. The New Democrats released figures showing that 80 per cent of Toronto Hydro’s 500,000 customers on time-of-use billing have seen their electricity bills rise, and most are not changing their usage patterns.

How is the rise in cost not due to the smart meters? What was the price per kwh before the smart meter was installed compared to the peak price. I'm wondering if the peak price isn't more than what people were paying before? How does everyone really know that the smart meter is reading the usage correctly? It is all done electronically now right?

I would think the old standard meters would have been much harder to tamper with. The meter was read wrong, then you could call up and say hey you got it wrong. A computer glitch happens or someone hacks into the smart meter, and it shows you are using 50 more kwh than you actually are. You basically have no recourse.

Conspiracy theories aside. According the the Globe and Time, the smart meters were suppose to reduce every ones bill. This isn't happening. Actually the exact opposite is happening. If you read further down the article, it does say the government disputes the findings that 80 percent have had their bills rise. The government claims only 34% have had a reduction.

The price difference of about 4 cent a kwh isn't that big of a spread. A person is really going to change their behavior over a lousy 4 cents? It would be like driving an hour away from where you live just to get 4 cents off of gas. The benefit of the 4 cents off would have been eaten in the drive time to get to that particular station and back home. Is it really worth it to give up your normal sleep time, routine, or down time just for a 4 cent difference that probablly wouldn't amount to much at all?

I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if they stuck in somewhere the cost of all the new meters and the cost of changing them. Could be anything from taxes are higher, fees are higher, or something. Companies always pass the costs to the end consumer in one form or another. How do you know they haven't raised the price per kwh just to cover the costs of the smart meters?

reply to post by bourbon2nite


Then let's discuss the issue based on this:

The Globe and Mail

The McGuinty government is looking at giving consumers a break on hydro prices under a program that critics say is not living up to its promise to save electricity users money and promote energy conservation.

Local utilities have installed smart meters that allow consumers to monitor their electricity usage in 4.1 million homes in Ontario. The New Democrats released figures showing that 80 per cent of Toronto Hydro’s 500,000 customers on time-of-use billing have seen their electricity bills rise, and most are not changing their usage patterns.

A government official disputed that figure, saying 68 per cent of customers paid $2.79 more on average, while 32 per cent paid $7.40 less on average.

If the New Democrats figures are correct with people not changing their usage patterns, then why are their bills going up?

According to the government, only 32% are saving on their bill. For a program that is suppose to reduce everyone's bills, it is failing miserably, providing people with more hardship, and taking people's purchasing power away from them.

If you want to a step further, it is technically keeping people in debt if not increasing it since they now have to allocate the money they were using to pay down their debt (if they were smart enough to do so) and putting it into their utility bills. For the more unfortunate, it is now even a tougher decision on whether to pay the utility bill, buy food, and/or buy needed medicine.

Let us assume a large % of the population adjusts their consumption to off peak time.
Then what was off peak will become peak.

Would the original peak time still be peak time?
Or would there be peak time basically all day?

I just thought it was funny, how the OP mentions about waiting til the 'air conditioning' is running. Yeah, like...God forbid you didn't have a cold house, in the summer. What a joke this world is turning out to be; or should i say...the inhabitants of this world. People need to start getting their PRIORITIES in order!

Southwestern Ontario resident as well. These Smartmeters are pissing everyone off, mainly because they said "Oh, the maximum increase is around $40 a year" when it's turning out to be 40 dollars a month. They either got their math wrong, or they're testing Canadians patience.

I say put an end to smart meters. It smelt dirty from the beginning.

I understand you would need heating ,but air-con ? Instead of complaining about your bill ,just use less power or gas
. This is the problem ,everyone relies/expects to have everything given to them.

reply to post by Iwinder


Two words:Generator,Solar panels
Nuff said, time to cut the grid

reply to post by Iwinder


The smart meter is digital whereas the old meters were analog and didnt respond as quickly due to the inductive principals used and the resistance of the gears used to turn the dials.

Now as soon as you turn something on due to using a microprocessor in these new meters it is metered immediately whereas with the old meters it was not.


PEACE

I'm surprised nobody has said to the OP.

Umm... did you know smart meters literally kill those around them?

Look it up. It is terrifying. Yes your bill will skyrocket, but that's just a annoyance compared to the actual physical damage these things will do to you and your family.

We have the smart meters and they cut the bill drasticly.

Now your meter is supposed to lower the temp during the day to save you money. If the meter is not correctly installed or the times are incorrect, then it is counter productive.

Also check to see if the price of gas has gone up.

mines between 200 to 250 a month for a family of 4 im expecting it to be lower since we been running the ac less as it starts to cool down outside

reply to post by thejlxc
I'm surprised nobody has said to the OP.

Umm... did you know smart meters literally kill those around them?

Look it up. It is terrifying. Yes your bill will skyrocket, but that's just a annoyance compared to the actual physical damage these things will do to you and your family.




Do you have an article that lists these dangers? I've been a long time reader but first time poster. I recently started working at a company that monitors electricity meters (including some of the new smart meters). The smart meters were brought in specifically to allow for TOU (Time-of-Use) billing. That way they can create different price points for different times of the day.

With the election on Thursday, the PC party has indicated they would make TOU billing optional. This was done in Australia and once TOU took effect, people opted INTO it because the static pricing was a lot higher.

One thing to note is just because a smart meter has been installed, it doesn't mean you are on TOU billing. In my city in SW Ontario, we have had smart meters for a year but our electricity company hasn't brought in TOU.

The big thing as stated in the bill the OP listed was the debt reduction. The debt that Ontario hydro accumulated has been paid off for 2-3 yrs now but we continue to pay into it. That is another thing the PC party wants to end.

I think the big thing the OP has to watch is in the next bill if the consumption remains the same, then it is something they are doing different in the home instead of it being a case where TOU is killing them. In reality, the different between the different "zones" is a few cents so it shouldn't make a big difference.

reply to post by Matt93


www.smartmeterdangers.com

www.smartmetersafety.com

www.earthcalm.com...

To list a few of the hundreds. Lots of youtube videos from doctors and electrical experts as well. LOTS. This is real.

Originally posted by 12voltz
I understand you would need heating ,but air-con ? Instead of complaining about your bill ,just use less power or gas
. This is the problem ,everyone relies/expects to have everything given to them.

I wish it was that simple, I have a medical condition (heart) and when it is hot and humid outside it can literally kill me if If I get too hot.
I need the air on for my survival, otherwise it would be open windows and lots of fans going.
Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by choppedbrisket
Let us assume a large % of the population adjusts their consumption to off peak time.
Then what was off peak will become peak.

Would the original peak time still be peak time?
Or would there be peak time basically all day?

I thought the same thing here.....good question and I guess time will tell.
Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by thejlxc


The Earth Calm link lost me when they tried to sell me something that grounds my house to the electromagnetic field of the earth. A lot of these meters run on wireless carriers just like a cellphone does. Others run on a localized mesh network that transmit to a "gate keeper" in your neighbourhood so they don't have to transmit across long distances.

I am not going against your thought, I will spend some time reading more info. Thanks for listing the links.

Originally posted by gandhi
Southwestern Ontario resident as well. These Smartmeters are pissing everyone off, mainly because they said "Oh, the maximum increase is around $40 a year" when it's turning out to be 40 dollars a month. They either got their math wrong, or they're testing Canadians patience.

I say put an end to smart meters. It smelt dirty from the beginning.

You are correct that it is pissing everyone off, We don't know of one single person who is happy about this.
Right now our usage here is the lowest it will be for the entire year.
No air conditioning, still light outside till 7pm or so no need for a lot of lights till then.
Windows open a bit and furnace is off during the day anyways.
The only thing running as I type this is our fridge,freezer, this computer and the ceiling fan above me here.
Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by MrSmokeydogg7
mines between 200 to 250 a month for a family of 4 im expecting it to be lower since we been running the ac less as it starts to cool down outside

We were expecting this bill to be much lower than the last bill, the opposite of that is what we got here.
Our last bill was for June and July and July was a record breaker for heat here.
We had the air on almost every day and night in July.
This bill was for August and September, Aug was warm but not hot it was actually very nice weather and we had the air on maybe 5 days in Aug.
Sept was actually cool and very wet, we have not run the AC since Aug.
Yet this bill was $70.00 more.
Regards, Iwinder

They installed smart meters in my town "Harveysburg, Ohio" almost 5 months ago.... our bills are a little higher than normal, but now are staying more consistent.... before, they would do estimated readings and only check the meter every other month or so.... which sometimes worked out well, and sometimes came back to bite me. The smart meters enable them to check how much your using remotely. The major downside to it is, if you don't pay your bill, they can also shut you down remotely too..... This tells me that they were cutting the costs of sending out people to check the meter's and D/C people's power.... Probably a pretty smart move, because I have seen those people run off by hillbilly's with guns in my area

Originally posted by Iwinder
We live in South western Ontario here and just got our fist smart ass bill and here are the stats.
We are billed for 60 days or two months here at a time.
We are on gas heat and gas hot water and only two of us here in a fairly small house.
This bill is higher by $70.00 bucks and that includes the 10% energy reduction bonus....(Election this week) go figure how long this 10% lasts after the election.
So here we are paying 70 bucks more already and this is the slow time for electricity here just wait till we have the air conditioning going......"It will be right to the moon"
Anyone here in Ontario or wherever chime in, we would like to know your thoughts and what your increases are or have been.
Regards, Iwinder

edit on 3-10-2011 by Iwinder because: (no reason given)

The smart meters are being installed in some states in Australia as well. I have'nt heard of a down side yet but it might come.