How "Smart" are Smart meters?

[ard]

Put a couple of sheets of grounded copper around the smart meter for an hour or two.

Every Saturday for 4-5 weeks.

When they get tired of sending trucks out, then change it.

 

[ard]

SWIM: not sure it was discussed, but maybe a heart-to-heart with the local building department? Explain the situation, maybe they will rise to the occasion?

 

[Barrymaxx]

Always better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I don't know much about electric meters but i worked with water meters. A no response from the meter wouldn't be a cause for concern unless it was for an extended amount of time (hours/day) or if the new totalized value is not plausible (Like if you removed gallons). If you live in a city you have even more leeway is our infrastructure is so poor the companies just expect meter communication issues and blips and cant possibly investigate them all.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Always better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I don't know much about electric meters but i worked with water meters. A no response from the meter wouldn't be a cause for concern unless it was for an extended amount of time (hours/day) or if the new totalized value is not plausible (Like if you removed gallons). If you live in a city you have even more leeway is our infrastructure is so poor the companies just expect meter communication issues and blips and cant possibly investigate them all.

I worked on a water meter mesh network system.

Before that was operational, it was guys driving around in trucks and would often have meter read issues.

But water meters are a completely different animal than an electric meter, because they dont send signals when the meter has been removed or water has been turned off.

SO you really cant compare the 2....

BTW asking for forgiveness with our local PoCo equals hundreds of dollars in fines. So if you have large pockets, by all means...

 

[TRX]

Even if they get the outage alert, they might just call before actually rolling a truck.

My local power company no longer even has an office in my town, which is one of the larger ones in my state. There's just an 800 number to an answering machine. They'll return your call at their convenience. Maybe.

As far as rolling a truck... if you get them out the same week, you're lucky.