An Act To Eliminate the Opt-out Charges for Smart Meters
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0826
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: BEAVERS, JACKSON, BOLAND, DUNPHY, HARVELL, NEWENDYKE, RUSSELL, RYKERSON, SAVIELLO
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3104, 35-A MRSA §3144

Legislative Document 
No. 826 
H.P. 577 
House of Representatives, March 5, 2013 
An Act To Eliminate the Opt-out Charges for Smart Meters 
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative BEAVERS of South Berwick. 
Cosponsored by Senator JACKSON of Aroostook and 
Representatives: BOLAND of Sanford, DUNPHY of Embden, HARVELL of Farmington, 
McGOWAN of York, NEWENDYKE of Litchfield, RUSSELL of Portland, RYKERSON of 
Kittery, Senator: SAVIELLO of Franklin. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3104, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 412, §1, is 
amended to read: 
2.  Requirement.  An Except as provided in section 3144, subsection 3, an investor-
owned transmission and distribution utility shall adopt and ordinarily follow as a general 
operating policy a schedule of reading customer meters on a monthly basis.  Any 
investor-owned transmission and distribution utility that plans to adopt a different policy, 
such as bimonthly meter readings, must receive prior approval of the commission. 
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3144 is enacted to read: 
§3144.  Certain meter fees prohibited; alternate billing 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Electromechanical meter" means a meter used to measure electricity 
consumption that is not a wireless smart meter. 
B.  "Wireless smart meter" means an advanced metering infrastructure device to 
measure electricity consumption that uses radio frequency methods of wireless 
communication to report that consumption. 
2.  Prohibition.  A transmission and distribution utility may not charge a customer a 
fee or a higher rate for declining the installation of a wireless smart meter or for the 
removal of a wireless smart meter and may not include any costs associated with these 
actions in rates charged to a customer.  
3.  Meter reading and rate collection method.  Notwithstanding section 3104, 
subsection 2, a transmission and distribution utility may establish an electromechanical 
meter reading and rate collection method in accordance with this subsection. 
A.  A transmission and distribution utility may not read an electromechanical meter 
less frequently than once every 12 months. 
B.  A transmission and distribution utility may establish a monthly billing method 
under which a customer's bill is based on an average of the customer's previous 
electricity consumption. The average may not be based on more than the previous 18 
months of the customer's electricity consumption. 
C.  If a transmission and distribution utility establishes an electromechanical meter 
reading and rate collection method pursuant to this subsection, it shall also establish a 
process by which it provides a refund to the customer if, based on the meter reading 
under paragraph A, the customer's bill under paragraph B results in overpayment to 
the transmission and distribution utility; if the customer's bill results in underpayment 
to the transmission and distribution utility, the transmission and distribution utility 
may bill the difference to the customer. 
The commission may adopt routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A to implement this section. 
SUMMARY 
This bill prohibits a transmission and distribution utility from charging a customer a 
fee or a higher rate for declining the installation or for the removal of a wireless smart 
meter.  If a customer declines the installation of a wireless smart meter, the transmission 
and distribution utility may decrease the number of times the electromechanical meter is 
read, but may not read the meter less frequently than once every 12 months, and may 
establish a rate collection method that is based upon the average electricity consumption 
of the customer.