Nov. 4--Cecilia Broussard had her reasons for refusing to let a stranger onto her Bakersfield property to change out her electrical meter. She also had a pit bull in the back yard in case the meter man returned when she was away.

So far she has succeeded. Since that visit one Sunday morning in late August, no one has replaced her old SmartMeter with a new one. And every letter she gets from her electricity provider, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., goes straight into the trash.

"I've heard too many stories from too many people about the recent installation of their SmartMeters and their bills," she said Tuesday. "And I said, 'You know what? I'm not going to let that happen. I'm struggling with the one I have already."

But the question remains: If push came to shove, who would win -- Broussard or PG&E?

Pushing for an answer to that question, Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, sent a letter Tuesday to the head of PG&E asking what "specific legal authority" the company has to threaten defiant customers like Broussard with shutting off their power.

His letter is the latest in a series of sometimes-testy exchanges between the local candidate for lieutenant governor and the utility whose SmartMeters have faced substantial criticism in Kern, most recently for high summer power bills that PG&E insists are the result of publicly approved rate increases, not faulty meters.

In his letter, Florez requested information on PG&E's policies and procedures with regard to customers who have a working electrical meter and deny access to their property by anyone who would try to put in a new SmartMeter. The Senate majority leader further asked how many customers have been in such a situation and how their cases were resolved. He requested a response by the close of business Nov. 10.

A local PG&E spokesman said he did not have answers to all of Florez's questions, but that the utility has not turned off any of its customers' power for refusing access to its meters -- even though the company has a right to do so.

"We do send letters, and the letters do outline our rights, under our tariffs, to access the meters," spokesman Denny Boyles wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. "It's a similar situation, though with much different circumstances, when we access private property to trim trees that threaten power lines.

"In the (v)ast majority of cases, we have successfully been able to work with our customers, correct misinformation they've been told about the SmartMeters, and perform the changes."

PG&E's main regulator, the state Public Utilities Commission, had nothing to share immediately about the questions raised in Florez's letter.

"We are looking into this, and we may not have a response until (today)," said commission spokeswoman Susan Carothers.

SmartMeters are designed to give customers more information about how much power they use, and when. The devices report usage remotely and let PG&E charge some customers according to their electricity consumption during times of peak use.

The meters were first installed in Bakersfield three years ago. This summer the utility began switching Kern customers to a newer version that has certain improvements, including a radio relay capability, intended to make them more reliable.

Florez said Tuesday's letter stemmed from complaints by two local PG&E customers who had received letters from PG&E threatening to cut off power if they continued to resist installation of a new SmartMeter.

Broussard was not among the two customers referred to by Florez. She said that, to her knowledge, the company has not threatened to cut off her power.

But if ever PG&E did cut her off, she said, "I would cause the biggest scene at that place."

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