February 15, 2017, Introduced by Reps. Glenn, Lucido, Howrylak, McCready, Barrett, Liberati, Zemke, Runestad, Hernandez, Allor, Kelly, Canfield, Noble, Hornberger, Hoitenga, Wentworth, Garrett and Robinson and referred to the Committee on Energy Policy.
A bill to amend 1939 PA 3, entitled
"An act to provide for the regulation and control of public and
certain private utilities and other services affected with a public
interest within this state; to provide for alternative energy
suppliers; to provide for licensing; to include municipally owned
utilities and other providers of energy under certain provisions of
this act; to create a public service commission and to prescribe
and define its powers and duties; to abolish the Michigan public
utilities commission and to confer the powers and duties vested by
law on the public service commission; to provide for the
continuance, transfer, and completion of certain matters and
proceedings; to abolish automatic adjustment clauses; to prohibit
certain rate increases without notice and hearing; to qualify
residential energy conservation programs permitted under state law
for certain federal exemption; to create a fund; to provide for a
restructuring of the manner in which energy is provided in this
state; to encourage the utilization of resource recovery
facilities; to prohibit certain acts and practices of providers of
energy; to allow for the securitization of stranded costs; to
reduce rates; to provide for appeals; to provide appropriations; to
declare the effect and purpose of this act; to prescribe remedies
and penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
(MCL 460.1 to 460.11) by adding section 10gg.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 10gg. (1) A utility customer may choose between the
placement or use of a traditional meter or an advanced meter
regardless of the utility that provides service to that customer.
(2) A utility shall not do any of the following:
(a) Make the provision of any portion of utility service to a
customer contingent on the customer receiving service through any
meter or similar device other than a traditional meter. A utility
may prohibit a customer with a traditional meter from participating
in certain time-of-day tariff discounts.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, impose any
fee or disincentive on a customer for opting out of or not
accepting the installation of an advanced meter or hub meter or the
use of an advanced meter function.
(c) Install an advanced meter or upgrade the functionality of
the advanced meter after the effective date of the amendatory act
that added this section unless the customer has been properly
notified and has not opted out of the installation or upgrade. If a
customer has not opted out of the installation or upgrade, an on-
site utility worker or his or her agent shall nevertheless not
install an advanced meter or upgrade the functionality of the
advanced meter if the customer has posted a sign on the current
meter forbidding the installation or upgrade of an advanced meter
or the customer verbally informs the worker at the time of
installation not to install or upgrade the advanced meter.
(3) A utility shall notify a customer in writing of the
utility's intention to install an advanced meter at the customer's
address or to upgrade the functionality of a previously installed
advanced meter. The utility shall send the notice by first-class
mail separate from any billing mailing. The utility shall keep a
copy of each mailed notice on file for review by the customer or
the commission. Each notice must do all of the following:
(a) Include the customer's name, service address, and
anticipated date of installation.
(b) State the utility's desire to install an advanced meter at
the customer's address, as well as the functionality of the
advanced meter, its method of communication, and frequency of data
communication.
(c) If the advanced meter the customer would be receiving is a
hub meter, explain how a hub meter differs from other meters.
(d) State the customer's ability to choose a traditional meter
or nonhub meter and the customer's rights under this section.
(e) Clearly explain the process for a customer to opt out of
the installation of an advanced meter or hub meter or the use of an
advanced meter function.
(4) The commission may promulgate opt-out procedures that are
composed of simple, easy-to-understand steps that an average
customer can easily understand that do not place any undue burden
on the customer. After being notified that they can opt out,
customers must be provided with at least 45 days to communicate
with the utility their desire to opt out, with a clear deadline
listed on the notice. Opt-out procedures must be free of charge
other than the cost of regular mailing. An opt-out procedure or
process must be narrow in construction so as to inform the utility
of the customer's intentions and not be made contingent upon or
contain language that would require the customer's giving up any
rights or making any other ancillary agreements. A customer that
does not opt out when first notified does not give up any rights
regarding having an advanced meter removed in the future.
(5) Within 30 days after receiving a customer's request that
an advanced meter be removed from the customer's residence or
business, a utility shall remove the advanced meter and replace it
with a traditional meter that is not an advanced meter. Limited to
actual costs, a utility may charge a 1-time all-inclusive fee, not
to exceed $150.00, to remove the advanced meter and to provide and
install a traditional meter. However, a utility shall not charge a
fee if the utility installed the advanced meter in violation of the
notice requirements in this section or before the effective date of
the amendatory act that added this section. A utility shall not
charge a monthly fee for using a traditional meter unless the
customer is offered the opportunity, but is unwilling, to read and
report the customer's usage under subsection (6). Any monthly fee
for using a traditional meter shall not exceed $5.00 per month.
(6) A utility shall allow each customer to read and report
that customer's service usage if the customer reports reasonably
accurate usage on a regular basis. A utility shall provide a
customer with a preaddressed envelope and form upon request or
permit a customer to report meter readings on a secure website, by
telephone, or by other reasonable means. At least once every 12
months, the utility shall obtain an actual meter reading of a
customer's energy usage to verify the accuracy of readings reported
under this section. Notwithstanding this subsection, a
representative of a utility may manually read a customer's meter on
a regular basis as otherwise permitted by law and correct a reading
as necessary. If a customer fails to report usage or the utility
does not receive a customer's service usage on time, the utility
may manually read a customer's meter or charge that customer based
on an estimate of prior energy use in a manner approved by the
commission. A customer that intentionally reports inaccurate
information may be assessed a reasonable penalty under rules
promulgated by the commission and may be subject to any other
penalties provided by law. As used in this subsection:
(a) "Inaccurate information" means the intentional
underreporting of meter data in an effort to not pay for services.
Inaccurate information does not mean minor differences in readings
by less than 5% to account for variations based on the time of day
that the meter is read and similar factors.
(b)
"Regular basis" means once per billing cycle.
(7) Subject to subsection (2), the commission shall not
approve a utility tariff that alters rates for customers that do
not use an advanced meter if the utility's cost estimates are based
on more than 1 manual meter reading per year by the utility. The
commission shall consider the ability to self-read meters as part
of any proceeding and shall fully recognize and value that
customers have a legitimate interest in controlling third-party
equipment placed onto their property that is not inherently
necessary as a condition to receiving service.
(8) A customer's energy use data and internet user information
are private and confidential and a utility or its agents shall not
sell, rent, or share that data or information except as provided by
competent court order or law. A utility may report data relating to
electric or compressed natural gas vehicle fueling to the
department of treasury. The department of treasury shall use that
information strictly for taxation purposes and shall not share that
information with law enforcement without a warrant, and that
information is not subject to disclosure under the freedom of
information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, except for
aggregate data used for research purposes in a nonidentifying
manner.
(9) A utility shall ensure that any data from an advanced
meter communicated by networking technology is sufficiently
encrypted so that the data cannot be intercepted by a device other
than a device used by the utility. A utility shall not communicate
by networking technology meter use data that include a residential
customer's name, social security number, address, or other
identifying information except for an independent and unique
customer identification number that is assigned by the utility. The
utility shall assign a customer identification number in a manner
that includes safeguards to prevent a device not owned by the
utility from associating the number with a particular customer or
address.
(10) A utility shall not post a customer's energy use data or
bill on the internet, except over a secured transfer protocol or
similar secured connection that uses 1 or more additional security
measures, such as a customer-selected password, to ensure that only
the customer can access the information.
(11) A utility shall not wirelessly or otherwise remotely shut
off service to a customer unless both of the following requirements
are met:
(a) At least 48 hours before shutoff, a utility representative
visits the property to which the service is to be shut off,
verifies that it is the correct address, and follows all other
shutoff procedures required by law.
(b) The utility has a commission-approved, comprehensive
security program that reasonably ensures that a customer's service
will be shut off only through authorized access to the utility's
computer system, that is open to inspection and audit by the
commission, and that is designed to prevent unintentional shutoff
due to network hacking or terrorism.
(12) As used in this section:
(a) "Advanced meter" means a meter or metering device system
that is owned or leased by a utility or its agent and that meets 1
or more of the following requirements:
(i) Is a device that measures, records, or sends a customer's
utility usage or other data by use of radio waves or broadband over
power lines.
(ii) Allows for 2-way communication between the meter and the
utility or its agent.
(iii) Allows for a utility or its agent to control a
customer's thermostat, appliance, or service.
(b) "Hub meter" means an advanced meter that generates
stronger radio waves as a result of the meter serving as a hub for
other advanced meters it communicates with in a given area.
(c) "Traditional meter" means an analog or similar meter that
is unable to transmit usage information and is only intended to be
read by an individual through a visual display. A traditional meter
is not designed to be and is not capable of transmitting usage data
by using radio waves or broadband over power lines, allowing 2-way
communication between the meter and the utility or its agents, or
allowing a utility or its agents to control a customer's
thermostat, appliance, or service. A traditional meter does not
include an advanced meter that has certain functionality turned off
or deactivated.
(d) "Utility" means a person that sells natural gas,
electricity, or water to retail customers in this state and that
either sells the natural gas, electricity, or water at rates
regulated by the commission or is owned by a municipality.