PG&E Executive Snoops On SmartMeter Critics
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. executive admits he secretly snooped on SmartMeter critics by posing online as a utility foe.
SmartMeter program senior director William Devereaux told the San Jose Mercury News on Monday that he used a false name to try to join an online group opposed to the meters and secretly monitoring other online forums critical of PG&E.
Activists discovered the subterfuge last week when Devereaux tried to join the California EMF Coalition, which maintains an online discussion group for those concerned about electromagnetic radiation.
Devereaux's e-mail address was the 45-year-old utility executive's undoing.
He said monitoring Internet activity is part of understanding what PG&E customers are thinking.
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