Smart Meters Will Hurt Local Economy

Whittier, CA — With over 2 million Californians out of work, consumer and labor representatives are uniting to oppose Southern California Gas Company's plan to eliminate 1,000 union jobs.  The job cuts won't come cheap to SoCal Gas's customers.  They will pay a billion dollars to replace the people who currently read their gas meters with so-called "smart" meters.  The meters will allow SoCal Gas, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, to track customers' usage remotely, and have engendered customer concerns about privacy, choice and accuracy.

"Smart Meters are a bad idea," said TURN executive director Mark Toney.  Toney said utility claims the meters would save energy are unproven.  "People who can afford to spend an additional $100 or so to purchase an additional communications device will be able to monitor their gas usage minute-by-minute, but if they want to conserve, they will conserve in the same ways they conserve now.  At the end of the day, the meter is still just a meter."

In many parts of California where smart meters have been installed, customers have found them to be downright stupid.  Complaints received by TURN include inexplicably higher bills, additional installation expenses forced on individual homeowners and a sneaking feeling that big brother is watching.

Art Frias of Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132, said that the economic impacts of the job losses would go beyond the 1,000 families directly affected and reverberate throughout the communities they live in.  "Fewer jobs means less money in the local economy," he said.  "And, in the long-term, fewer opportunities for local residents."

People of color make of 65% of the employees who will be fired after the new meters are installed.  Entry-level meter reading positions have been key to facilitating minority recruitment and advancement in the SoCal Gas workforce.  The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is currently reviewing SoCal Gas' proposal, and concerned consumers are urged to email turn@turn.org.