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October 21st, 2023 
Awake Goy How the electric company tried to con me into a smart meter today
After I had already filled in their form AND notified the town manager they were not allowed on my property to touch the existing meter
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The utility company (in this case, Versant) owns the meter but I own the house it is attached to and the land it is on.
So when we were informed the meters would be changed out to a smart meter (which made one of my patients sick and has allegedly led to fires and very high, crazy bills in some areas) I told the town manager I would not accept a changeover and was instructed to write to the company with their form, which I did. I explained to both that changing the meter entailed trespassing, an illegal act.
Nonetheless, today a young man drove up and announced he was changing the meter. No, said I. Well, we will change it to a non-transmitting meter, he said—which comes with a $15/month service fee. No thanks, the old meter is working fine. Well, said he, I will give you the OPT-OUT form. While I had alreaedy sent one in, I thought I’d take a look at it.
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As before, they give you the general number to call, so it takes awhile to get the right person. I was able to confirm with him that yes, in fact the “OPT-OUT” non-communicating meter was the exact same smart meter they planned to install, except Versant would not turn on the communicator. Hello? My meter had come to the end of its useful life, you see. Except it was still working just fine.
Do you see their attempt to mislead? Your two choices are opt-in or opt-out and each involves a switch to the very same smart meter. I suggested to the man at the other end of the call that he might reconsider his job choice, since it involved misleading his customers. He replied that he liked his job. In the current milieu, he should go far.
I informed him that if anyone tried to trespass and install the new meter, I would call the police. I carefully avoided mentioning my 20 gauge purchase, though I leave the box it came in by the front door for people like the meter man to be aware of.
I wonder if the utility companies are being paid by the government to install new meters, and if the meters have any other functionalities. Why the bait and switch?
So if you don’t want a smart meter, be cognizant that “opting out” may in fact opt you in.
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