EMF Safety Network has reported on new e-mails that have been discovered between the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) regarding the study that was conducted by the Structure Group in 2010 purporting to prove the accuracy of smart meters. The study was used to reassure thousands of Californians that their new smart meter and new, inflated bills, were accurate, and not overcharging them. Backroom, “off the record” conversations between the utility and the regulator now reveal serious accuracy problems with smart meters linked to temperature, an awareness of financial ties between PG&E and Structure, and a collusion to cover up those ties in order to falsely reassure the public that the study was independent and smart meters were not overcharging. (neither which were true).

Further throwing the results of Structure’s report into doubt, and making the whole endeavor seem like a pre-arranged stitch up, former CPUC President Peevey- who had personal experience of smart meters overcharging at his luxurious Sea Ranch compound, reassured PG&E that the results of the Structure Report would please them, even while Structure Group was still in the process of testing meters.

This is yet another major scandal for PG&E and the CPUC. The Structure report was held up as the final word that smart meters were accurate, and the report has been used in other states, and around the world to convince people to trust the accuracy of their smart meters. But according to EMFSN’s report, major accuracy issues were swept under the carpet, leading to the likely reality that millions of customers in California and beyond continue to be routinely overcharged for their electricity usage, while the consumer protection agency paid for by public monies, continues to work with big utility companies to undermine fairness, transparency, safety, and health.

How much more will you take, California?



Read the full story here. Wicked illustrations courtesy Brian Narelle.