BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Ever since PG&E started installing SmartMeters there has been a lot of questions and concerns about their effectiveness, Monday night those concerns were aired during a senate hearing in Downtown Bakersfield.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez called for the hearing just two weeks ago and he hoped to pinpoint exactly how the SmartMeters have impacted consumers' bills Monday.

It was a long and informative senate hearing where Florez heard from customers and the utility companies and had 55 prepared questions for PG&E representatives.

Florez focused on the rate increases that went into effect last October and this past March. PG&E has said the reason customers have seen increases in their summer usage is because of those hikes and the hot summer days.

PG&E confirmed that it asked the California Public Utilities Commission for those hikes to pay for upgrades and changes to its system. PG&E Customer Engagement Director Felicia Lokey did say that PG&E should have done a better job when it came to educating the public about those rate increases.

Lokey said PG&E is dedicated to working with customers and problems and wants customers to trust the utility, a comment that was received with laughter during the meeting.

While there is much skepticism about PG&E's efforts to reach out to the public and help resolve what consumers believe are key and obvious issues or abnormalities in their bills, there is also much skepticism when it comes to the SmartMeter program. It's a program PG&E officials continue to defend amid harsh criticism.

"To be completely honest, and I know this is not what you guys want to hear (Monday) night," PG&E Senior Director of SmartMeter Bill Devereaux said. "... There is no correlation of the implementation of the SmartMeter and customers bills."

It was another answer that solicited harsh rebukes from the capacity crowd inside the Board of Supervisors' Chambers. In fact, the crowd was so large there was an area set up in the lobby with a TV for the overflow crowd.

As for tangible results, Florez found that PG&E has not had an independent auditor look at the SmartMeter program and would like that to happen.

As for the meeting, "(the meeting) gave us a chance to bring them in ask them some questions they may not have been asked, and frankly the state legislature has been left out of this," Florez said before the meeting.