The utility's "Stream My Data" allows ratepayers to monitor their electric use second-by-second and track what the rate is at the time it's used. Consumers can see how much their racking up each ...

Customers who choose non-communicating meters are now charged a new monthly fee for manual meter reading, at $11.64 for either electric or gas meters, or $17.71 for both.

Utility companies typically attempt to read the meter every other month. The bill for the “off” month uses an estimate based on energy use during a similar period the previous year.

New meters shouldn’t cause utility bills to spike Re “Have your utility bills become a financial burden?” (Question of the Week, July 3): Yes, because when a so-called “smart meter” was ...