Monday, February 10, 2020
#Desistance can be costly
Speaking of IOT and #desistance....
A year ago Avista announced that it would start installing smart meters. They allowed users to opt out for a fee. The opt-out procedure was fairly complicated, and the fee was $5 per month. I filled out the forms immediately.
Opting out doesn't exempt you from receiving a digital meter, it only means that (allegedly) the wi-fi on the digital meter won't be turned on. So far the new meter hasn't been installed, so I'm not paying the fee yet.
This year the fee was raised to $15 a month, placing a stronger barrier against heretics. Bait and switch. $15 is half of the baseline bill, half of what I pay in summer months. Still OK. I'm a strong and determined #desister. Even though the opting out is probably fake, I want to send an economic signal that some people disapprove of invasions.
Of course there's nothing new about smart meters, and there's nothing new about power companies using their wires to send information. Power has always been modulated by 'intercom' signals to coordinate and synchronize substations. What's new about the latest smart meters is the use of wi-fi instead of modulation, and the instant gathering of info about what's happening inside your house. The old smart meter only knew when your usage increased or decreased. The new smart meter can communicate with all of your IOT crap.
Update Sept 2020: This still hasn't happened. The original announcement was in Feb 2019. Avista hasn't changed out the meter and hasn't started charging any fee. Did they decide to skip the whole project?
Labels: #desistance
¶ 1:49 AM
