A class action lawsuit in Bakersfield, California claims newly installed smart meters inflate customers electricity and gas use, resulting in steep hikes in utility bills. The plaintiffs, a group of about 200 residents, are suing Pacific Gas & Electric, their utility company, and Wellington Energy, the company that installed the meters. In some cases, customers Continue reading →
lawsuit
It’s great to be the first adopter of a hot new technology. That is, until you start using it and become the guinea pig for any unexpected problems that pop up. That’s where Pacific Gas & Electric is right now with its ongoing smart grid rollout, which hopes to eventually hook up millions of consumers Continue reading →
Pacific Gas & Electric’s smart metering headaches might have just gotten a lot worse. Already, the company has had to fend off accusations that its installation of smart meters hiked energy rates. Now Bakersfield, Calif. residents are suing the utility for price gouging via its smart metering program — but PG&E says the lawsuit has Continue reading →
Green energy and smart grid technology continue to provide green pasture for patent applicants. Southern California Edison, which is a large power utility, filed a patent application in 2008. The application published as Patent Pub. No. 20080177678 and claims: A method for communicating between a utility and individual customer locations comprising the steps of: (a) Continue reading →
Law360 reports that “Sipco LLC, a Georgia-based developer of wireless mesh technology, has filed a suit accusing Florida Power & Light Co. of infringing three patents for smart grid technology.” The relevant patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 6,437,692; 7,053,767; and 7,468,661. The ’692 patent is directed to “monitoring a variety of environmental and/or other conditions Continue reading →
