Want to Opt Out of Smart Meters? You’ll Have to Pay Every Month

COURT HOUSE – The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities found that Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) was “a means to achieve objectives in the Energy Master Plan (EMP) in February 2020.
AMI is better known to customers as the smart meter initiative launched by Atlantic City Electric (ACE) and other state electric utilities. For ACE it means replacing over 500,000 meters at residences and businesses. The process has already begun in Cape May County.
The new meter initiative is part of ACE’s implementation of its Smart Energy Network. The utility promises that the network will create a more resilient energy infrastructure and provide enhanced tools for customers to monitor and adjust energy usage to better control monthly bills. 
What the new meters will also allow is time of use (TOU) pricing. That move will increase the cost of electricity during peak hours of use and allow a lower cost for use of equivalent units of energy during off-peak periods. 
TOU use rates will be utilized to encourage customers to move energy use away from peak periods in order to save money. That will, in turn, relieve peak demand on the utility, lowering its costs. The Herald has reported on these changes in previous articles concerning the meter initiative and the TOU pricing potential. 
Many readers have asked the Herald: is the installation of the new smart meters mandatory? It is not. There is an option for customers to opt out of the new meter installation. Doing so, however, will cost you.
ACE customers who decide they do not want to upgrade to a smart meter will be charged a recurring monthly fee of $15. The utility says the fee is meant to cover the cost of reading and maintaining their conventional meter. 
Customers who want to retain their existing meter must take action before the smart meters are installed by calling ACE at 866-524-2982 according to a company website notice. If a customer decides they do not wish to upgrade to a smart meter after the smart meter is already installed there will be an additional fee of $45 to have the smart meter replaced with a conventional one. 
The installation of the new meters will require no upfront cost. Like other investments by the utility, the cost of the initiative will be recovered by ACE through an increase in the monthly bill spread over a period of years. According to information provided by ACE, all customers in the ACE service area will see an increase. An example used by the company is that a customer using 679-kilowatt hours a month would find an increase in their bill of about $4.27. 
These increases in fees have been approved by the BPU. The tie to the Energy Master Plan is explicit in that plan’s goal 3.2.1 which seeks to incentivize customers to “manage and reduce peak demand.” 
Have any thoughts? Email vconti@cmcherald.com.