Dive Brief:

• Opting-out of a smart meter in Arizona will now cost customers extra. State regulators have approved a new tariff for Arizona Public Service which will accommodate about 20,000 customers who refused to have smart meters installed, the Arizona Republic reports.
• The decision calls for a one-time $50 fee to refuse the meter and a $5 monthly service charge.
• The state studied smart meters and earlier this year issued a report finding they are unlikely to be harmful.

Dive Insight:

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) last year requested a study on the potential impacts of radio frequencies emitted by smart meters. The report, released at the end of October, ultimately determined "exposure to electric meters is not likely to harm the health of the public."

But that did not appease the almost 20,000 Arizona Public Service customers who refused to have the meters installed. The Arizona Republic reports the ACC has approved a new tariff allowing those customers to opt out of the smart meters by paying a $50 one-time fee and a $5 monthly charge.

Commission staff had recommended a $75 one-time fee, charged only to those customers who already had advanced metering equipment installed and want to opt out.

APS has almost completely deployed smart meters across its territory, but several groups of customers were concerned about the health effects of radio frequency transmissions and the security of smart meter-transmitted data.