Requiring Electric Utility Meter Choice

SB 230 would add a new article to the West Virginia Code requiring electric utilities to offer customers a choice in the type of electrical meter installed at their property.

ISSUES: Clean Air, Climate, Development

CWV Position: Opposes

Position Statement: SB 230 would require utilities to offer customers a choice between “smart meters” and manually read mechanical meters. That means customers could opt out of smart meter deployment altogether. Smart meters are a core part of modern grid infrastructure, improving system monitoring, energy efficiency, outage detection, and integration of renewable energy technologies.

Smart meters are important for demand response programs, real-time pricing, and helping customers manage and reduce their energy use — all of which are tools for lowering emissions and supporting integration of renewables like rooftop solar and battery storage.

Status: Introduced on 1/14/26; referred to Energy, Industry, and Mining Committee 1/14/26.