Woodstock town board member Ken Panza tells us in an email that “Analog meter resolution #1 adopted by the Woodstock Town Board has been posted to the New York State Public Service Commission website as a submission to the ERT Opt-out Case.”
The resolution, after the whereas portion says: BE IT RESOLVED, the Woodstock Town Board petitions the Public-Service Commission to amend NYSPSO Order (Case 14-M-0196) which ordered Central Hudson to provide an AMR meter opt-out and tariff to order Central Hudson to allow Utility Consumers participating in the opt-out program to retain their installed ElectroMechanical Analog Meters. The Utility Consumer will not be subject to the one-time meter change fee and will not be subject to the monthly non-AMR service fee,
and furthermore BE IT RESOLVED, the Woodstock Town Board petitions the Public Service Commission to amend NYSPSC Order (Case 14-M-0196) which ordered Central Hudson to provide an AMR meter opt-out and tariff to order Central Hudson to offer Utility Consumers Electro-Mechanical Analog Meters as a replacement for installed ERT meters (AMR meter). The Utility Consumer will not be subject to the one-time meter change fee and will not be subject to the monthly non-AMR service fee…
We’ve watched the arguments back and forth about the dueling resolutions from the town board, and this one, whichever one it actually is, probably says best what needs to be said by the town.
Here’s the way we see it: for every argument that has been presented in the paper, in letters and articles (and most of them have been about perceived dangers of so called smart meters and WiFi) there are counter arguments you can find in study after study on the web. All sides are well represented in convincing fashion. So you pays yer money and you takes yer chances…that’s up to you, along with your choices to have WiFi in your home and smart phones in your pockets near your family jewels.
But if you don’t want those items, if you feel they are harming you, then you shouldn’t have to have them. And if you are perfectly satisfied with an analog meter on your home and they are available, you should be able to continue to use them. And you shouldn’t be charged a premium.
Very few of us don’t need electricity. The utilities have to provide it. Central Hudson has just had some rate hikes approved, some $3.86 a month in 2016 and another $5.58 a month for the average customer in 2017, their first rate hikes since 2012.
Had the utility been a bit more open about allowing ratepayers to keep their analog meters in the first place, it would have been spared this controversy…if it notices it at all.
Woodstock has weighed in, and that’s good. The battle has been joined. The public service commission is aware and could use some pressure.
The resolution can be seen at https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=14-m-0196&submit=Search+by+Case+Number
Join the family! 
