Recent rumor of PPL's replacing local residential electric meters by government edict are both completely false and somewhat true.

PPL Spokesman Joe Nixon said in a telephone interview replacement of old meters in favor of new, advanced meters has been ongoing since 2002. About 160,000 old dial meters have been replaced with digital meters, he said, and no longer require nearby radio monitoring because they send information directly back through the electrical system.

Additional replacements may been observed in West Allentown, Nixon said, because a limited number of new devices are to be tested for beneficial new uses for customers and compliance with the Act 129 energy policy.

Gov. Ed. Rendell's 2008 energy conservation law dictated a 1 percent energy savings from utilities in 2011 and another 3 percent savings in 2013.