SmartMeters coming to Monterey County, despite health and financial concerns.

Pacific Gas & Electric has installed some 6 million SmartMeters, and plans to upgrade all the meters within its service area, including the Central Coast, by 2012 – a $2.2 billion endeavor. Other investor-owned utilities are likewise rolling out the digital devices under a California Public Utilities Commission mandate.

PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno says the new technology will lead to better conservation. "We are able to provide customers with much more information," he says. "Customers can go online and view [energy] usage in daily, weekly or even hourly increments."

But SmartMeter implementation has been slower and more controversial than expected, as customers raise issues of billing accuracy, health impacts and privacy.
In June, the city of San Francisco petitioned the PUC to freeze SmartMeter installations until the state has more data on their performance. Santa Cruz County is drafting a SmartMeter ban, and on Aug. 24, the city of Watsonville approved a SmartMeter moratorium – though it's unclear whether the ban will trump the PUC's order.