For most consumers you will notice your electricity bill will be higher in price because they are switching your old electric meter to a “smart meter”. Many consumers in Texas who have already had a switch over to a smart meter have expressed their discontent with this new technology. Several readers of ours have complained that the meter is being read wrong and their electric bill has dramatically gone up in price.
These electricity consumers that are complaining make the point usually that during a low electricity consumption month they are being tol that they used more electricity than ever before. This smart meter technology has got some consumers seriously baffled on whether it is more accurate than the old meter technology.
All I can say is that I don’t understand all that goes in to this new technology and I assume there very well could be some hiccups like this in the beginning. I would imagine that if the electric smart meters are giving an inaccurate measurement of electricity consumption that it will be fixed especially if you make enough complaints to the Public Utility Commission and your electric utility that reads the meter.
In Pennsylvania one good use that has come out of the updated smart meters is the use of prepaid electric service. In Texas consumers prepay for electricity generally when their credit is so bad that their alternative would be to pay a $500 deposit with a traditional electric company. The issue with prepay electric service in Texas is that it is much higher in price than traditional electric service.
A prepay electric company has to bump up the price mainly because they just don’t know what the current tenant will use in electric service. The old electric meter technology cannot update a prepay pay as you go electricity company in real time.
That has all changed in some parts of Pennsylvania with the new smart meter technology. Prepaid electricity companies are operating there that record your exact electricity usage in real time. You simply pay for what you prepaid for and the electric company only deducts your account for what your electric meter shows you have used.
In Texas the pay as you go electricity company will request enough money to cover the estimated usage the base from the previous tenant at that apartment or house from last year at the same time. This means even if you conserve energy you still pay based on estimated electric usage. On top of this the prepaid electricity companies in Texas usually charge close to double the electricity price compared to traditional electric companies in Texas.
With the setup PA electricity companies have they can charge a competitive electricity price because they have accurate data from the smart meter technology.
Although the smart meter adds additional pass through charges to a PA electric bill it also helps lower the cost for low income families trying to avoid a deposit and prepay for PA electricity service.
Learn more about PA Smart Meter Technology by visiting this site – Click Here
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