Since last year, PG&E has been deploying SmartMeters around the bay area, which
collect your energy and gas utilization, and send this data back to PG&E wirelessly.
For PG&E, that means they no longer have to send agents around the neighborhoods to
collect this data. For you, it means you can now view your daily energy and gas
consumption directly from the PG&E site. For energy, you can even view an hourly
breakdown of your consumption.
How do you know if you have been setup with these new SmartMeters? Find your energy
meter outside, and check if has an electronic display, looking something like this:
Once you've confirmed that you have a SmartMeter, you can access the daily/hourly usage
data directly from the PG&E website by following the steps outlined below. If you
have not setup an account at the PG&E website,
follow these steps first.
Step 1: Start by
going to http://www.pge.com
in your favorite browser, and sign in appropriately.
If you've forgotten your login information or have not setup your online account with
PG&E, follow steps 2-4 in this page.
Step 2: Click on the "Hourly/Daily Usage"
under the "Usage" item on the left menu.
Step 3: Select the data you want to view from
the SmartMeter Usage main page.
First, select whether you want to view electric or gas data. Next, select whether you want to
view daily or hourly usage. For now, the hourly option is only available for the electric
utilization. Next, select the date and period. If you choose to view daily data, the site will
display data for the period leading up to the date you select. The picture above illustrates
what the daily usage graph will look like.
If you choose to view hourly data, the site will display data for the date you select. The
resulting graph will look as follows:
