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coned says install smartmeter to avoid
- potential $100 no -access fee
- $9.50 monthly meter reading charge
is it easy to avoid these two fee/charges?
what is no access fee? it says potential, so it means to me there are situations when it is incurred and when it can be avoided?
does the $9.50 charge only apply to homes that have a meterman come in every month to read the meter? i currently dont have anyone coming to my house every month to read meter; how does coned know what my actual reading is? i know for sure it says "actual" on my bills and not "estimate". so would this charge not be applicable to me?
any downsides to installing the meter other than these two fee/charges? and when is the last day to do so?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Having been in the utility industry since the 1970s, though not in NY, I can tell you that a big cost of utility service is meter reading. They are typically union, with great salaries and benefits. The invention of the smart meter eliminates a huge part of the labor, eliminates errors, and allows for the utility to reduce their annual increases.
When most people have smart meters, having to go out and read just a few here and there is even more expensive than when a meter reader walked a route and read every one, because they have to drive between buildings. That justifies the meter reading charge, and the access fee if the reader cannot get to the meter because, for example, it's inside and no one home. There is no reason to avoid a smart meter, though some people are willing to pay to opt out because they are afraid of radiation, invasion of privacy, or just new technology in general. Yet, the same people hold a cellphone to their ear, use wifi and bluetooth in their homes and even cars.
i currently dont have anyone coming to my house every month to read meter; how does coned know what my actual reading is? i know for sure it says "actual" on my bills and not "estimate". so would this charge not be applicable to me?
any downsides to installing the meter other than these two fee/charges? and when is the last day to do so?
When you say you don’t have anyone coming to your house every month to read the meter, do you mean they come every few months instead of monthly, or do you mean no one ever comes to read the meter? If the bill says actual reading then they are getting the actual reading somehow. Could someone else be letting them in to read it or do you have an outside meter?
I got a smart meter in May and meter reading is one less thing to have to worry about. My neighbor didn’t want a smart meter so he called Con Ed and said he didn’t want someone coming into his home because of covid and they said no problem and put installation off indefinitely. If covid ever goes away then Con Ed will probably try again. I don’t know if the covid excuse works for everyone but it did for my neighbor.
When you say you don’t have anyone coming to your house every month to read the meter, do you mean they come every few months instead of monthly, or do you mean no one ever comes to read the meter? If the bill says actual reading then they are getting the actual reading somehow. Could someone else be letting them in to read it or do you have an outside meter?
I got a smart meter in May and meter reading is one less thing to have to worry about. My neighbor didn’t want a smart meter so he called Con Ed and said he didn’t want someone coming into his home because of covid and they said no problem and put installation off indefinitely. If covid ever goes away then Con Ed will probably try again. I don’t know if the covid excuse works for everyone but it did for my neighbor.
i mean never had any coned meter reader come to read my meter ever. i am homeowner so know who's being let in
i guess they can tell electrical usage from the home office or electrical sub station?
i mean never had any coned meter reader come to read my meter ever. i am homeowner so know who's being let in
i guess they can tell electrical usage from the home office or electrical sub station?
They can’t tell your usage without a smart meter. That is the whole purpose of smart meters. Do you submit the readings yourself such as by uploading a picture of the meter on the Con Ed website? If so they might consider that an actual reading.
If for some reason they are giving you estimated bills and marking them as actual readings, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise when you get a smart meter or they finally come to read the meter if the estimated usage didn’t reflect your actual usage. Do you check the readings on the bill to the meter every month?
coned says install smartmeter to avoid
- potential $100 no -access fee
- $9.50 monthly meter reading charge
is it easy to avoid these two fee/charges?
what is no access fee? it says potential, so it means to me there are situations when it is incurred and when it can be avoided?
does the $9.50 charge only apply to homes that have a meterman come in every month to read the meter? i currently dont have anyone coming to my house every month to read meter; how does coned know what my actual reading is? i know for sure it says "actual" on my bills and not "estimate". so would this charge not be applicable to me?
any downsides to installing the meter other than these two fee/charges? and when is the last day to do so?
Con Edison is running low on meter readers, has been hard to fill those jobs for some time now. As such what they've got is spread thin.
"No Access Fee" refers to charging people when meter reader shows up on appointed date (which is on each and every gas or electric bill Con Ed sends out each month), and they cannot gain access to meter.
If gas or electric meters are located outside then unless something prevents Con Ed or whoever from access (like a dog), they just will read meter and go about their business. OTOH if meter is located inside property, then yes, Con Ed must have access.
Know people who live in apartment buildings that received estimated bills for five, six or more months because super or anyone else was there to give Con Ed access to basement where meters are located.
What then would happen is individual tenants fed up with estimated bills would call Con Ed back out to read their individual meter. Usually this at a time when access could be had.
In any event labor ain't cheap, so sending someone back to read a meter costs Con Ed money. Also they have a huge hard on for getting people off old meters and onto smart variety. Just as city did with water meters.
i mean never had any coned meter reader come to read my meter ever. i am homeowner so know who's being let in
i guess they can tell electrical usage from the home office or electrical sub station?
No, they can't....
How long have you owned this property? Are you saying Con Ed or whoever has *never* read your meter? Where is the meter located?
Each month on your bill Con Ed will state if meter readings are actual or estimated. If they are former then Con Ed gained access to read meter. Again and no, they cannot do so remotely unless you have a smart meter, which you're saying you do not.
I once read that there had been a national study showing that utilities accounts with smart meters had a suspicious tendency to overcharge. You might want to research that to see if it's still true, and let us know.
I once read that there had been a national study showing that utilities accounts with smart meters had a suspicious tendency to overcharge. You might want to research that to see if it's still true, and let us know.
Property owners for years have complained those DEP smart meters lead to over charging. Know people that will not allow them to be installed, and or otherwise have done what they can to prevent.
You're away for extended period of time, say Italy for summer. Yet your water bill shows same or increased usage. WTF? If property was vacant who or what was using all that water?
Call DEP to complain and they'll say "you have leaks somewhere....".
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