Lessons From Bakersfield: How to Avoid a Smart Meter Backlash

Pedro Hernandez
Friday, November 6, 2009
2 Responses

Some Bakersfield, Calif. residents are longing for their old meters.
Source: Flickr user samgrover

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced at an industry event this week that it is installing 13,000 new smart meters a day, a pace that the utility will have to keep up if it wants reach its goal of 10 million installations by 2012. To many, this is great news — further proof that the smart grid is picking up steam and, as Pike Research forecasts, is well on its way to hitting 250 million smart meter installations by 2015. But not everyone is as jazzed about the smart-metering boom. In Bakersfield, Calif., some resident say the smart meters have brought nothing but misery. This week, I take a look at what went wrong in Bakersfield and what other utilities can learn from PG&E's mistakes. […]

Question of the Week

How could PG&E have handled the Bakersfield smart meter debacle better?

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