LAS VEGAS (KSNV & MyNews3) -- Utility customers who want to opt out of having an NV Energy smart meter attached to their home, now have the choice to do just that.
That official decision made today. News 3's Marissa Mike was at the Public Utilities Commission meeting for the vote but not everything was settled.
After more than a year of listening to hours upon hours of ratepayer's concerns, the three-person commission voted 2 to 1 to give ratepayers the ability to opt-out. Now the question is how much will it cost?
Today, many ratepayers told the commission they were willing to pay something to avoid having, what they consider to be, privacy-invading smart meters attached to their homes.
The commission approved an alternative meter for those who want to opt-out of the smart meter program.
While smart meters transfer energy use data directly to NV Energy, the alternative meter, requires a meter reader to walk up to the device and retrieve data.
NV Energy says it'll cost about a $100 to install the lower-tech analog meters and another $9 a month to pay for the meter-reading service.
That didn't sit well with the audience, including Wendy Ellis, who never bought NV Energy's push for the smart meters in the first place.
Ellis still has an older model analog meter at her home and wants to keep it that way.
