One of the first stories I was assigned as a new intern in late January was SMUD's installation of energy smart meters. SMUD customers were told the smart meters would provide them with more information about their energy usage, which could lead to better energy management for them and SMUD. The utility had just about finished testing the technology, and was ready to install more than 600,000 meters throughout the Sacramento area. SMUD contracted with South Carolina-based Utility Partners of... Stephengillis virgolady comment-27377 2010-05-20T05:28:39Z 2010-05-20T05:28:39Z There a hundreds, possibly thousands of SMUD users committing FRAUD in the Sacramento area. If you know of any, please contact SMUD Offices immediately. This is illegal! virgolady 2010-05-20T05:28:39Z Matt McGuire comment-23662 2010-03-22T20:38:20Z 2010-03-22T20:38:20Z Smart meters have been a discussion in Rancho Murieta for a while. Here is an article published by Nancy Bui today. http://www.murietaonline.com/smud-smart-meters-in-rancho-murieta-839 Matt McGuire 2010-03-22T20:38:20Z cogmeyer comment-23657 2010-03-22T17:59:05Z 2010-03-22T17:59:05Z Stephen It's not really clear what story you set out to write in the first place. Was it SMUD layoffs, out of state contracting, or non-union contracting? It seems to me that the first 8 paragraphs is actually a complete news story on a local topic. Not the most exciting stuff in the world, but it is news just the same. All the apologetic details of journalistic sausage making was unnecessary in my opinion. It could be summed up that IBEW, Dept Labor, etc had no comment... done. I would also suggest that there may be other stories of interest scattered around here. For instance, with the layoffs and the accompanying reduced expenses (such as meter reader injuries from dog bites!), will SMUD customers see rate reductions in the long term from this? Does this new technology require SMUD to hire specialists to maintain the systems, collect and manage data, or is this being outsourced also? How about if SMUD disclosed the other contract bidders, and then you could research if there was a union vs. non-union aspect here? Stories are where you find them - Good luck Stephen! cogmeyer 2010-03-22T17:59:05Z Tony Sheppard comment-23645 2010-03-22T08:34:47Z 2010-03-22T08:34:47Z They (UPA) called me a couple of days ago to make an appointment. Maybe they'll be better than PG&E when they did the equivalent upgrades. A few years ago, I was taking a shower when a PG&E employee came to the door and expressed the urgency of fitting a new meter. My roommate asked him to wait five minutes as 1) I was the homeowner and was in the shower, and 2) I have a tankless water heater and so shutting off the gas would have shut off the hot water. He refused to wait and left. I heard nothing for years and then, a few months ago, they installed a new meter with no advance notice and when I was out. Then also disconnected my gas supply as they couldn't re-light the pilots in my stove as I wasn't there. Great service. Tony Sheppard 2010-03-22T08:34:47Z Stephen Gillis comment-23630 2010-03-22T03:06:22Z 2010-03-22T03:06:22Z The links for the email addresses did not work, so they are. Stephen: stephen.gillis@sacramentopress.com Colleen: colleen@sacramentopress.com David: david@sacramentopress.com Stephen Gillis 2010-03-22T03:06:22Z