The vote was 4 to 1 with Christopher McVoy dissenting. Even the Mayor lost her patience with his dissension and wanted to call the vote as she did not want the meeting to go past 10pm. But even he dissented for a different reason. I conferred with an expert in the industry and this is his take on the situation:
You see, unlike gas and water meters, analog electric meters do not have a diaphragm that can weaken with age. The Asst. Utility Director's implication in the following paragraph is incorrect. Had he stated the facts, he would not have been able to sell his program.B. This item approves a not to exceed $500,000 purchase order for electric meters.This is the first part of a five year $2,500,0000 plan to replace meters that according to the asst. utility director, run anywhere from 40% - 85% inaccurately.
When this was brought before the Commission a few weeks ago, I recall Vice Mayor Maxwell asking that the old meters be tested after they are pulled (they can't be tested unless they are) and the results communicated to the customer so they have some idea of what their increased bill is likely to be before they get the new bill with the higher and presumably correct usage.
To this outsider, this is simply one way for Clay to get his smart meters in place without the citizens knowing about them. Only people who choose to keep themselves uninformed would permit this to happen. Clay is wasting the money and nobody wants to become educated enough to say anything (except you and Mary).Clay Lindstrom, Assistant Utility Director, said this purchase had nothing to do with Smart Metering.
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