PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Eliminate the Opt-out Charges for Smart Meters
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3104, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 412, §1, is amended to read:
 
2. Requirement.  AnExcept as provided in section 3144, subsection 3, an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility shall adopt and ordinarily follow as a general operating policy a schedule of reading customer meters on a monthly basis. Any investor-owned transmission and distribution utility that plans to adopt a different policy, such as bimonthly meter readings, must receive prior approval of the commission.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3144  is enacted to read:
§ 3144. Certain meter fees prohibited; alternate billing
 
1.  Definitions.     As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
 
A.  "Electromechanical meter" means a meter used to measure electricity consumption that is not a wireless smart meter.
 
B.  "Wireless smart meter" means an advanced metering infrastructure device to measure electricity consumption that uses radio frequency methods of wireless communication to report that consumption.
 
2.  Prohibition.     A transmission and distribution utility may not charge a customer a fee or a higher rate for declining the installation of a wireless smart meter or for the removal of a wireless smart meter and may not include any costs associated with these actions in rates charged to a customer.
 
3.  Meter reading and rate collection method.     Notwithstanding section 3104, subsection 2, a transmission and distribution utility may establish an electromechanical meter reading and rate collection method in accordance with this subsection.
 
A.  A transmission and distribution utility may not read an electromechanical meter less frequently than once every 12 months.
 
B.  A transmission and distribution utility may establish a monthly billing method under which a customer's bill is based on an average of the customer's previous electricity consumption. The average may not be based on more than the previous 18 months of the customer's electricity consumption.
 
C.  If a transmission and distribution utility establishes an electromechanical meter reading and rate collection method pursuant to this subsection, it shall also establish a process by which it provides a refund to the customer if, based on the meter reading under paragraph A, the customer's bill under paragraph B results in overpayment to the transmission and distribution utility; if the customer's bill results in underpayment to the transmission and distribution utility, the transmission and distribution utility may bill the difference to the customer.
The commission may adopt routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to implement this section.
 
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a transmission and distribution utility from charging a customer a fee or a higher rate for declining the installation or for the removal of a wireless smart meter. If a customer declines the installation of a wireless smart meter, the transmission and distribution utility may decrease the number of times the electromechanical meter is read, but may not read the meter less frequently than once every 12 months, and may establish a rate collection method that is based upon the average electricity consumption of the customer.