It was a 2 hour drive to the state capital and a 2 hour drive back just for a 40 minute meeting, but it was effective. The meeting was limited in scope to the charge, officially called a tariff, on people who opt out of having a smart meter placed on their property. The charge in Ohio is currently $29.28/month. The Public Utilities Commission previously approved this charge, but when asked, their representative admitted that the Commission just approved the power company’s request without question. In short, they rubber stamped it. (My words, not theirs).

The power company was represented by two female lawyers who were less than 2 years out of law school. They made only a one note defense that the Commission approved it and they are going to charge it.

At my request, the Commission is going to reexamine this charge. Although this was not a hearing to present evidence, I did bring up the question of charging property owners the tariff if they have concerns about the safety of the smart meter. This left an opportunity for me to present evidence at a later date. Again, I would like to thank the two frens who provided me with additional and valuable evidence in addition to what I had already uncovered.

The hearing officer made only one requirement for the power company that they are to write up an explanation detailing the math behind the determination of the charge. They are not to publish it until I and the hearing officer see and discuss it. All parties are aware of my background in mathematics and the Commission will consider my input on it. They are required to submit it by the end of next week.

On a note to boost my ego, the hearing officer praised both my written argument submitted back in February and my oral argument this morning. He also chastised the attorneys for their one note defense and stated that the company needed to be more accountable to their customers.

Now, as a former teacher I have homework for our frens in Ohio. You can only do this if you opted out of the smart meter installation. Call the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and ask for a reason for the near $30 monthly charge for opting not to have an unsafe device on your property. For those of you that had a smart meter installed, it will cost you $42 to have it replaced with an analog meter and you will still have to pay the monthly tariff. Call PUCO why you would have to pay these charges for a device you feel is unsafe.