PSO and the OCC
Don’t Follow Their Own Rules
The Standard
Alternate to a Smart Meter in the United States and
Canada is the analog meter. The predominant meter listed in the Oklahoma
Corporation Utility Rules (OCC), and the Customer Contract filed by PSO at the
OCC, is the analog meter.
Why has PSO refused the retention of the reliable analog meters in
Oklahoma? PSO's penalty rate to refuse the "offer" of the Smart
Meter is nearly the highest in the Nation.
PSO testified before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission that
1,300 customers refused their "offer". When asked by the
Attorney General's office to present evidence, PSO refused. PSO's
narrative changed three times in the same case before the OCC. PSO testified
that 1,300 refused the offer, another witness testified that 250 refused and
another that only 150 customers will refuse once they receive the notice
of the $71 one-time charge and $28.00 penalty per month. PSO spokesman
Stan Whiteford told the press last Thursday that only 60 customers
have refused the Smart Meter. So, how many is it?
PSO customers who want to retain their reliable analog should be
extended that option at little or no fee. During the case before the OCC
the Attorney General's office submitted eleven pages of evidence from
other states that allowed the retention of the analog meters at a low or no
monthly fee. The Administrative Law Judge, Ben Jackson of the OCC ignored
the eleven pages of evidence in his recommendation to the three Commissioners.
Facts:
- · Analog meters installed the 1950's are still metering electricity
- · Smart Meters have a lifespan of 5 to 7 years according to Congressional testimony in October 2015 (if they don't malfunction, overheat or explode from a power surge).
- · Analogs are plentiful and still sold in the United States. They are also manufactured in other countries as are the smart meters.
- · G.E. no longer manufactures the smart meters PSO purchased and continues to install. G.E. sold their metering division in April 2015
- · PSO's proposed AMR smart meter with the transmitter turned off produces electromagnetic radiation and still has the liability to arc and overheat. PSO's AMR is a 10 year old used meter with an indemnity clause attached, implying the meter is hazardous.
There was no factual disclosure to the unsuspecting public when
PSO launched the deployment of the Smart Meters. Three to five percent of
the public is electro-sensitive to radio frequency radiation and
electromagnetic radiation produced by the smart meters. The only safe
meter for the sensitive is the analog meter. There are smart meter health
cases filed with the OCC which have no resolution after 3 years.
Why has PSO spent two and a half years at the OCC at great legal
expense (passed on to the rate payers) trying to deny those with health related
issues the right to retain the standard (analog) alternative meter? The
attitude of PSO toward their customers has been punitive and discriminating
toward the disabled, the elderly and the poor.
PSO should provide customers with the alternate analog meter, read four
times per year (PSO’s OCC filed requirement) at a reasonable fee.
PSO should have to follow their own rules. The Standard Alternate
meter to the Smart Meter (AMI), is the analog meter. PSO should allow customers
to keep their analog meters.