PG&E replacing meters with SmartMeters

The other day someone from a sub-contractor for Pacific Gas & Electric came by my neighborhood and replaced all the old spinning dial meters with a new one that transmits the data directly to their billing offices.

An example of the old style spinning dial meters where someone would have to go home to home and read and document the readings.

An example of the new SmartMeter.

The install the new meter is only a matter of removing the metal ring around the meter and unplugging the old meter.

The new meter is then plugged into the socket, the metal ring re-installed and the installer moves on to the next home.

A few weeks later this same installer came back and added a similar SmartMeter for my gas meter.

PG&E is making this change so it can layoff or redirect the meter reading staff. A future cost cutting measure for the utility company.

It blows my mind that PG&E will spend millions of dollars to lay people off when they are still using Civil War technology. I am talking about the Telegraph poles up and down the streets that clutter our landscape and have wires dangling over our streets and yards. I understand that the telephone company, cable company and power companies all use these poles as their common delivery method.

(photo: sxc stock exchange)

But really, how ugly are these things, let's keep the meter readers and get rid of these sources of blight in our cities. It's time these utility giants do something to give back to the homeowners who have been paying for service for the last many decades (some addresses have been paying over 100 years) it's high time for an upgrade (or below the grade) undergroundnig of utilities.