Bill Text: MI SB0819 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Public utilities; consumer services; utilities' use of advanced meters; provide for certain requirements and prohibitions. Amends 1939 PA 3 (MCL 460.1 - 460.11) by adding secs. 10ff & 10gg.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-25 - Referred To Committee On Energy And Technology [SB0819 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-SB0819-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 819
February 25, 2014, Introduced by Senator MARLEAU and referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.
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 sections 10ff and 10gg.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 10ff. (1) A utility shall not do any of the following:
(a) Make utility service to a residential customer contingent
on the installation of an advanced meter or use of an advanced
meter function.
(b) Offer or provide a rate discount, meter price discount,
rebate, bonus, or other incentive to a residential customer for
requesting or accepting the installation of an advanced meter or
use of an advanced meter function.
(c) Impose any disincentive on a residential customer for not
requesting or accepting the installation of an advanced meter or
use of an advanced meter function.
(d) Conduct a community installation program during a
moratorium on a community installation program adopted by
resolution of the governing body of the local unit of government.
(e) Install an advanced meter at a residence unless the
residential customer has expressly requested an advanced meter or,
at least 30 days before the installation, the utility notified the
residential customer of the utility's intention to install an
advanced meter and the customer has not opted out. The utility
shall mail the notice to the customer and place a copy of the
notice at a conspicuous place on the customer's property. The
utility shall keep a copy of each mailed notice on file for review
by the customer or the commission. The notices shall meet all of
the following requirements:
(i) Include the customer's address.
(ii) State that the utility intends to install an advanced
meter at the customer's residence.
(iii) Describe the advanced meter and the functions that the
advanced meter is capable of performing.
(iv) Explain the process for a customer to opt out of
installation of an advanced meter or use of an advanced meter
function.
(f) Obtain data from an advanced meter more than once per
month, unless requested by a customer.
(2) A utility shall mail to a customer who has formally opted
out of installation of an advanced meter or use of an advanced
meter function an acknowledgment of the utility's receipt of the
customer's decision. A residential customer who has not opted out
of installation of a first generation advanced meter or an advanced
meter function may opt out of the installation of a subsequent
generation advanced meter or an advanced meter function that was
not described in the notice required to be given under subsection
(1)(e) before the customer's current advanced meter was installed.
(3) If a residential customer currently has a meter that is
not an advanced meter and conspicuously posts on or near the meter
a notice not to install an advanced meter, the utility shall,
promptly after the notice comes to the attention of a
representative of the utility and in the manner provided in
subsection (1)(e), notify the customer how the customer can opt out
of the installation or use of an advanced meter.
(4) Within 15 days after receiving a residential customer's
request that an advanced meter be removed from the customer's
residence, the utility shall remove the advanced meter and replace
it with a meter that is not an advanced meter. The utility may
charge a 1-time all-inclusive fee, not to exceed $50.00, to remove
and replace the advanced meter. However, the utility shall not
charge a fee if the utility has violated this section or section
10gg with respect to the customer.
(5) The commission shall issue a report each year to the house
and senate standing committees with oversight of public utilities
issues outlining utilities' compliance with this section and
section 10gg.
(6) As used in this section and section 10gg:
(a) "Advanced meter" means a meter or other device that,
through the use of equipment owned or leased by the utility or its
agent, meets 1 or more of the following requirements:
(i) Is capable of measuring, recording, or sending utility
customer data by use of common radio waves or in any other wireless
manner.
(ii) Allows 2-way communications suited for demand-response
programs.
(iii) Allows for a utility's control of a residential
thermostat.
(b) "Community installation program" means a program to
install advanced meters for a significant number of residential
customers of a local unit of government, either at 1 time or in
phases.
(c) "Utility" means a person that sells natural gas,
electricity, or other energy to retail customers in this state and
either sells the natural gas, electricity, or other energy at rates
regulated by the commission or is owned by a municipality.
Sec. 10gg. (1) A residential customer's energy use data are
confidential and shall not be sold, rented, shared, or otherwise
disclosed by a utility except to or with the express consent of the
residential customer. However, a utility may report generic data
relating to electric vehicle charging to the department of treasury
if otherwise authorized by law.
(2) A utility shall not make the installation of an advanced
meter for a residential customer or the customer's use of certain
advanced meter functions contingent on a secondary, independent
decision by the customer pertaining to data sharing or other
advanced meter functions.
(3) A utility shall ensure that any data from an advanced
meter communicated by wireless networking technology are encrypted
so that the data cannot be intercepted by a wireless device other
than a wireless device used by the utility. A utility shall not
communicate by wireless networking technology meter use data that
include a residential customer's name, social security number,
address, or other identifying information except for a customer
identification number that is assigned by the utility. The customer
identification number shall be assigned in a manner that includes
safeguards to prevent a wireless device not owned by the utility
from linking the number with a particular customer.
(4) A utility shall not post a residential 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 residential customer can access the
information. Energy usage data for specific residential customers
or addresses shall not be accessed by law enforcement officers
unless the access has been approved by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(5) A utility shall not wirelessly shut off service to a
customer unless all 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 which reasonably ensures that a customer's service
will be shut off only through authorized access to the utility's
computer system and which is open to inspection and audit by the
commission.
