Smart Meter Opt-In Program

Under current law, an investor-owned qualifying retail utility serving more than 500,000 customers (utility) may install advanced metering infrastructure (smart meter) at a customer's residential property without the property owner's permission unless the customer opts out of having the smart meter installed. The bill prohibits, beginning July 1, 2025, a utility from installing a smart meter at a customer's residential property unless the customer opts in by submitting a signed request to the utility requesting the installation of a smart meter.

The bill also requires a utility that installed a smart meter at a customer's residential property without the customer's permission prior to July 1, 2025, to uninstall the smart meter and replace it with a manual meter within 90 days after receiving a customer's request.

The bill requires a utility to establish an online website and provide a phone number by which customers of the utility may submit requests to receive or uninstall a smart meter.

The bill requires a utility that deploys smart meters on or after September 1, 2025, shall submit a customer communication plan to the public utilities commission before December 31, 2025. The customer communication plan must include the information related to the utility's plan for:

• The deployment of smart meters;
• Communicating with residential customers before the installation of smart meters on the customer's property, which communication must be sent 90, 60, and 30 days before the smart meter is installed;
• Communicating with residential customers regarding the customer's right to not have a smart meter installed and to receive a noncommunicating meter instead; and
• Communicating with a new residential customer about whether the property already has a smart meter installed and the customer's right to have a noncommunicating meter installed instead.

A utility that plans to install a smart meter at a residential customer's property shall make reasonable efforts to notify the customer before arriving at the customer's property.

A utility that installs or plans to install smart meters shall:

• Maintain a phone line and public website with information regarding the customer's right to not have the smart meter installed and have a noncommunicating meter installed, if requested;
• Only install smart meters that comply with federal communications commission requirements for radio frequency; and
• Establish and maintain a public website that includes information regarding customer data privacy and radio frequency communications in relation to smart meters.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)