Public asked to attend upcoming smart meter town hall

Reprinted with permission from the Claremore Progress. This article originally appeared on Jun 21, 2016. Support local journalism with a subscription or a day pass for $1.99 :)

Claremore City Manager Jim Thomas announced Monday that representatives of General Electric, Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) and the city’s part-time electric ombudsman would attend an Oct. 12 town hall meeting regarding smart meters and electric billing.

The meeting will be held at the Claremore Conference Center.

“I know there has been a lot of chatter on Facebook that the city is charging its customers a demand charge, and now they are saying we are in violation the contract, and I have been in conversations with the president of GRDA and he said that is not the case,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he has received only one phone call and one email in the last three weeks regarding electric bills, despite having repeatedly published his contact information and mailing a personal invitation to the town hall to 5,500 utility customers. He also said the utility department has not received a large influx of complaints.

“In fact, we have heard more positive comments that have come from smart meters. I am hoping that it is a isolated situation, but we are hoping to put this issue to bed once and for all,” said Thomas.

If a resident has a billing concern, they are asked to contact the utility department in one of the following ways:

-Contact Thomas at jthomas@claremorecity.com or call 918-341-2365, ext. 113;

-Email the utility office at utilitybilling@claremorecity.com;

-Contact Utility Office Manager Felicia Burnett at 918-341-0456, ext. 150, or email her at fburnett@claremorecity.com;

-Contact Claremore Public Works Authority Director Larry Hughes by calling the utility department and asking to speak with Hughes, or emailing him at Lhughes@claremorecity.com;

-Write a letter, and drop it in the utility drop box outside the Claremore utility offices at 104 S. Muskogee Ave.

Letters or emails should include account number, name, question or concern, and contact information. Ask for an analysis or audit of the account in question in the email or letter.