La Plata Electric Association has scheduled two meetings to hear public comment on the anticipated meter-reading fee for customers who don’t accept installation of a smart meter.

The meetings are set for 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 at Ross Aragon Community Center in Pagosa Springs and on Oct. 9 at the LPEA office in Bodo Industrial Park in Durango.

LPEA, like most utilities across the country, is replacing analog meters with AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) systems.

The so-called smart meters are read electronically, not by a person.

Opponents of smart meters say they snoop on a user’s activities and that the radiation they emit pose a carcinogenic threat.

The two public sessions will hear comments on the meter-reading fee, not the pro and con arguments related to the meters.

A fee is necessary to read analog meters because a reader must travel to each site. About three-quarters of the 41,000 LPEA meters have AMI systems.

daler@duragoherald.com