Dive Summary:

• A Friday report on the PBS NewsHour looks at smart meters as installations in American homes approach the 65-million mark over the next three years.
• Pacific Gas and Electric Co. uses its 9 million smart meters to monitor energy use and make service more efficient, but 30,000 PG&E customers have opted not to use the devices.
• Smart meter proponents point to studies claiming that the radio frequencies they emit are harmless, but groups opposed to smart meters have been vocal with anecdotal evidence and fears about migraines and heart problems.

From the article:

For the past few years, activists of various stripes -- environmentalists, liberals, some tea party folks, and others -- have been protesting the installation of smart meters in Northern California and elsewhere.

The meters send a wireless radio signal to the utility that owns them, in this case Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which uses the information to bill its customers. The meters also allow a customer to find out when he is using energy, and how to keep the costs down by not powering up appliances at peak times. ...