Cut Short

SCE smart meters - VC Star

Last week Southern California Edison held a community forum in Westlake Village concerning its installation of smart meters in our homes, a process that is well under way.

It seems questionable whether SCE was sincere in offering the community an ample opportunity to inquire about this program. After 90 minutes the forum was ended with most questions left unanswered. SCE excused ending public inquiry by saying that if the meeting went beyond 9 p.m., "We would have to pay more rent,” which seemed inappropriate from a firm with a 2010 profit of more than $1 billion. Questions had to submitted in writing and no follow-ups from the questioner were allowed. A raucous party in adjoining areas made the discussion difficult to hear and visual charts were too small to be read easily.