AB 345

This bill prohibits certain public utilities, and cooperative associations from

installing certain meters at the premises of customers who object to the meters. The

public utilities and cooperative associations that are subject to the bill are those

providing electricity, natural gas, or water to their customers or members. The bill

applies to "smart meters," which the bill defines as an electric or battery operated

meter capable of measuring, recording, or sending data from a customer or member

to a public utility or cooperative association. To qualify as a smart meter under the

bill, a meter must also be capable of doing the foregoing in a manner utilizing

one-way or two-way communication between any entity or device. Also under the

bill, if a public utility or cooperative association installed a smart meter at the

premises of a customer or member who objects to the installation, the public utility

or cooperative association must remove the smart meter. In addition, the public

utility or cooperative association must replace the smart meter with a meter that is

neither a smart meter nor a modified smart meter.

The bill also requires public utilities to submit tariffs for PSC approval that

specify the procedures for customers to object to smart meters. In addition, the tariffs

must specify the charges imposed on customers who object to smart meters. The bill

requires the charges to be based on the costs reasonably incurred by public utilities

to measure service used by such customers, including the cost of manually collecting

usage readings no more frequently than annually and the cost of requiring customers

to self-report usage readings no more frequently than quarterly. The bill requires

public utilities to submit the tariffs to the PSC no later than approximately three

months after the bill goes into effect. If a public utility demonstrates to the PSC's

satisfaction that the public utility does not intend to install smart meters, the public

utility is not required to submit a tariff. However, if such a public utility

subsequently determines to install smart meters, the bill prohibits their installation

until the public utility files, and the PSC approves, a tariff that complies with the

foregoing requirements.

As for cooperative associations, the bill provides that the PSC does not have

jurisdiction over them to enforce the bill's requirements. Instead, the bill allows a

member of a cooperative association to bring an action in court to enjoin a violation

of the bill or compel compliance.