Friday, March 1, 2013
DTE Energy offers customers an opportunity to decline the new wireless meters, but plans to charge one-time and monthly fees.
A Michigan lawmaker has introduced legislation to stop a proposed DTE Energy plan to charge customers who don't want new wireless "smart meters". The Oakland Press reported Thursday that state Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) has introduced legislation that would allow DTE customers to opt out of the new meters without paying a proposed $87 one-time fee and $15 monthly fee. “I have spoken with residents of our communities who say they have had serious health issues caused by smart meters, and I believe these apprehensions are legitimate," McMillin told the newspaper, adding he believes the meters also raise "privacy concerns." DTE is installing 825,000 smart meters, also known as AMI meters, in southeast Michigan as part of an $83.8…
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Ralph and Donna Stenman removed the smart meter, which they said caused health problems while it was attached to their home.
An Oakland County judge has ruled, in part, against a Farmington Hills husband and wife who landed in court after removing a new DTE smart meter from their home, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday. Smart meters transmit data to meter readers who walk or drive by them. Oakland County Circuit Judge Rudy Nichols on Nov. 30 granted a "partial summary disposition" and ruled that DTE has the right to come onto Ralph and Donna Stenman's property to do work, and that the couple is responsible for "the safekeeping of meter equipment," the Free Press reported. In an affidavit, Donna Stenman said that the meter caused "nausea, severe headaches and insomnia" after it was installed on Sept. 1, 2011. This past summer, DTE proposed an $87 fee, plus…
Saturday, July 7, 2012
A DTE spokesperson tells The Detroit News an opt out fee proposal will be presented to the Michigan Public Service Commission.
A recently completed Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) report recommends that DTE Energy allow customers to opt out of its "smart meter" program, according to today's Detroit News. The report is part of an MPSC investigation, launched in January after a number of local governments passed resolutions asking the agency to look into the meters, which measure and record electricity usage with digital technology and transmit data to DTE via radio frequency waves. DTE plans to install the meters for all of its 4 million customers over the next several years, according to the company's website. Company spokesperson Scott Simons told The Detroit News that DTE will, within a month, submit a proposal to the MPSC for an opt out fee, to …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
As strong storms move through the area, DTE reports customers in the 12 Mile/Inkster and Farmington/M-5 area are affected.
Residents in several Farmington-area neighborhoods are dealing with power outages this morning, after heavy storms moved through the area. According to the DTE Energy outage map, 66 customers west of Inkster and south of 12 Mile, and 223 customers east of Farmington Rd. and north of M-5, are affected. In addition, there are scattered single-customers outages reported south of Nine Mile and west of Halsted. Power restoration is expected by noon today, DTE reports.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
DTE representatives tell city officials an opt out program is in the works for residents who have concerns.
Virtually all Farmington Hills homes now have "smart meters" that allow DTE Energy to remotely read and monitor electric meters, company officials said during a city council study session Monday. But residents who don't want the new meters will eventually be able to have them removed, DTE regional manager Michael Palchesko said. The "opt out" plan, which came out of an investigation by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) launched in January of this year, is still being developed, he added. John Jameson, who manages DTE's advanced metering project, said the company had good results when testing them in Grosse Ile and on Harsen's Island about five years ago. The company plans to install 2.6 million meters, he said, with 670,000 …
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Michigan Public Service Commission will ask DTE about safety, privacy and whether customers can opt out of the new smart meter program.
Spurred by resolutions approved by local governments, the Michigan Public Service Commission on Thursday launched an investigation into the deployment of smart meters by DTE Energy and other regulated electric utilities in the state. DTE is installing 600,000 smart meters in southeast Michigan as part of an $83.8 million grant. While officials in Farmington and Farmington Hills are not among those that have passed resolutions, some local residents have raised concerns about the new technology. David and Laura Judge of Farmington posted signs on their meters stating they did not want the new meters installed at their home and business. In addition to health concerns, they said the meters have been linked to problems with cochlear implants …
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Installation of the meters, which eliminate the need for readers to enter homes and yards, began last month.
When a DTE Energy employee started installing new "smart meters" on Shiawassee in Farmington, one homeowner just said no. DTE plans to install the new devices for all of its 4 million customers during the next several years, according to the company's website. The meters have digital displays and transmit information wirelessly and over standard power lines. The aim is to reduce human error and estimated meter readings, as well as to provide customers with more information to help them "make cost-saving choices" about energy use, the website says. David Judge and his wife, Laura, who is pregnant with their first child, have had concerns ever since learning smart meters would be installed locally. Laura Judge turned to the Internet and …
Hugh McDiarmid, Jr.
6:49 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Art...I'm in complete agreement with you. People should be able to opt out, as long as they pay the costs of using the old technology. Rep. McMillin's legislation would prohibit their being charged those costs. (IE, the rest of us would absorb it.) Although I don't see where politics entered into my previous comment? more ›