Much suspicion has centred on new digital meters.
This means adding all kinds of information technology, such as sensors, digital meters and a communications network akin to the internet, to the dumb wires.
It was a public relations setback for PG&E, one of the California utilities that have been installing the digital meters in Northern and Central California.
Digital meters, which are installed in households and at key transmission points, automatically generate real-time information about both consumers and suppliers, allowing utility providers to detect failures immediately, and sometimes also to identify the cause.
But unlike those "dumb" devices, which are often read once a month by utility employees going house to house on foot, the digital meters can provide utilities with remote, real-time measurements of kilowatt-hours being used.
In basic terms, the smart digital meters are simply replacing the old analog meters, with their inscrutable dials and counters, found on the sides of homes all over America.
