ALBANY – The state Public
Service Commission, Thursday, ordered Central Hudson Gas and Electric
Corporation to stop charging monthly fees for residential customers who
choose to opt-out of using meter-reading devices that can be read remotely.
The action reverses an earlier decision requiring residential customers
to pay a fee to cover the costs of manually reading of their electric
meters.
The PSC said its decision will address the concerns of some advocates
that have expressed apprehension with the rollout of advanced metering
technology.
For those residential customers that have an advanced, automated electric
meter installed, the PSC said it is appropriate for the customer to be
charged a one-time payment to cover the cost of switching back from an
advanced meter to a non-communicating conventional meter, if the customer
so chooses.
The state agency declined to require Central Hudson to make electromechanical
meters available because that technology is obsolete and currently not
in production by any major meter manufacturer, and therefore does not
offer a viable solution to address the concerns of some Central Hudson
customers.
The commission will require the availability of a non-communicating, solid-state
meter option, which, based on available research, do not pose a credible
threat to the health and safety of Central Hudson’s customers.
