BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez is said to be holding a hearing Monday evening in Bakersfield, giving concerned utility customers a forum to question PG&E on significant rate increases since the installation of “SmartMeters,” which were touted as a money-saving device.

According to Florez, SmartMeters are ultimately supposed to give consumers real-time information on their energy usage, so they can make adjustments to save on their bills, but the technology to allow the sort of communication needed to achieve that will not be in place for years. So far, only the utility itself seems to be saving -- eliminating the labor costs of manually reading older meters -- as many consumers say their bills have increased dramatically despite cutting back on energy consumption.

In the wake of Florez’s call for a Senate hearing, PG&E scheduled a series of “answer center meetings” for concerned consumers to review their bills with a customer care representative. Florez will use Monday’s hearing to get to the wider question of SmartMeters’ role in rising rates.

PG&E has said the new meters are accurate and that higher bills are due to increased summer usage pushing consumers into the upper tiers of a new rate schedule, Florez said.

Florez said he has invited PG&E, Southern California Edison, the California Public Utilities Commission and concerned consumers to participate in Monday’s Senate hearing on the SmartMeter program and how it may relate to dramatic rate hikes. Public comment will be welcome at the conclusion of the scheduled panels.

Monday’s hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Kern County Board of Supervisors Chambers, located at 1115 Truxtun Avenue in Bakersfield.