Thankful for Our Liberties

On this holiday, here are a couple simple and reasonable requests being made in Vermont:

"Smart Grids" And "Smart Meters” - American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont

Any subpoenas or other court orders for a customer’s smart meter data should be presented to the customer him/ herself, not to the utility. The customer deserves the opportunity to contest the subpoena.

A utility should not charge extra fees if a customer decides not to opt in and have a smart meter installed at his/her home. The savings the customer foregoes because of his/her decision is already a penalty for nonparticipation. Additionally, extra fees could, because of the classes of people who might decline to opt in, lead to unintentional, and yet still illegal, discrimination.