Black Forest residents worry about privacy with new ‘smart electric meters’

BLACK FOREST, Colo. (KRDO) -- People who live in the Black Forest community say they’re worried new “smart electric meters” installed in their neighborhood will compromise their privacy.

Neighbors from the area reached out to KRDO to voice their concerns. They say they’re afraid people will use the information from the smart electric meters to figure out when they’re not home, or on vacation, and then break in.

Residents also say they’re angry the company installing the new meters, Mountain View Electric, is imposing a monthly fee on the people who choose to opt-out.

Smart meters typically record energy hourly or more frequently, and report at least daily. They’ve been installed at nearly fifty percent of households nationwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Colorado Springs Utilities says it plans to start installing smart electric meters to its customers in August 2020, and has mentioned an opt-out program with a fee in the works.

Colorado lawmakers have not yet created a statewide opt-out policy for smart electric and gas meters.

Only two states, New Hampshire and Vermont, have created laws allowing customers to choose against getting smart meters installed at no additional cost.

Pennsylvania is the only state that doesn’t allow customers to choose against the installation of smart meters.

We've reached out to representatives from Mountain View Electric to ask who has access to the information gathered from the smart electric meters, and why they’re imposing an opt-out fee.