Watsonville officials plan to levy their first fine against Pacific Gas and Electric Company, for continuing to install smart meters. The Watsonville City Council imposed a moratorium on the new meters earlier in the month. The council approved levying a fine between 1-hundred and 5-hundred dollars per infraction. P.G. & E. doesn’t seem to be deterred—the 1st violation coming after the utility installed a smart meter at the offices of the Register Pajaronian. PG & E has argued that only the state has the authority to impose such a moratorium. The company plans to convert all of Watsonville’s gas meters by the 1st fiscal quarter of 2011.
