August 1st, 2012 – DTE Offers You Such a Deal! For a mere $87.00 up front plus $15/month for the rest of your life, DTE will be pleased to send a coded signal out to your new smart meter to make it a radio off smart meter. No analog meter option will be offered and only residential customers need apply. The many health care professionals – such as doctors, dentists, chiropractors and other natural healing specialists who posted objections to meters irradiating of their patients will just have to grin and bear their new radio transmitting smart meters. No opt-out for them.
DTE has officially applied for permission to impose these new opt-out rates with the Michigan Public Services Commission, which, in turn has opened a new Case U-17053, that may be viewed here. DTE is not expected to actually allow anyone to opt-out until after MPSC gives it permission to impose the new penalties.
Nothing about this proposal should be accepted by those opposed to smart meters. Our advice for now remains the same: padlock your analog meter if you still have one, replace your (illegally installed) smart meter with an analog one, and do not agree or consent in any way to the terms of this new proposal.