PG&E wants to give customers concerned about radio wave emissions from its new SmartMeters the choice of retaining conventional meters — for a fee. The utility’s action comes in response to objections to SmartMeters, the devices that monitor customers’ electricity and natural gas consumption and transmit the data to PG&E.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company will not get in the way of Sonoma County’s efforts to form a public power agency, company president Chris Johns pledged in an interview with The Press Democrat. See what he has to say about the installation of SmartMeters and the safety of PG&E’s North Coast gas pipeline system.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized further study of the possible formation of a public power agency. Most speakers touted the reported benefits of a public power agency, including the boost it could give to investments in greener, renewable energy sources, faster greenhouse gas reductions and the possible creation of hundreds of local jobs through the construction and operation of local energy projects.

A move by Sonoma County government into the role of power supplier to homes and businesses would come with trade-offs, according to a new study. The average ratepayer would pay more for electricity — $4 to $10 a month — for power provided by the county, compared to PG&E. But greenhouse gas emissions would fall and the new agency would create jobs. The supes take up the report on Tuesday.

An alternative energy project off the Sonoma County coast that local officials just two years ago hailed as a way to increase renewable energy sources has come to a quiet end. Federal regulators have canceled permits issued to the Sonoma County Water Agency to explore generation of electricity from wave power at three coastal sites.

The California Public Utilities Commission meets in Santa Rosa Monday as part of its effort to revamp safety rules following a deadly PG&E explosion September in San Bruno. Regulators are considering tougher standards for inspections, record-keeping, shut-off valves and maintenance among many other measures.

PG&E President Chris Johns said the utility would improve its cooperation with communities in the hopes of overhauling its public image following controversies over SmartMeters and a deadly pipeline explosion. He pledged that PG&E would not stand in the way of any move by Sonoma County to form a public power agency.

Customers who want to opt-out of PG&E’s SmartMeter program can have the device’s communications system turned off, but it will cost them more, the utility announced Thursday.

Under prodding by state regulators, PG&E Co. will develop a plan to allow energy customers to opt out of having the controversial SmartMeters installed. It is unclear whether the utility will remove a SmartMeter upon request. It has completed three-fourths of the installations scheduled in Sonoma County.

6:15 PM UPDATE: A split Sebastopol City Council voted Tuesday against a one-year moratorium on the installation of PG&E SmartMeters, which transmit usage data by radio waves. The 3-2 defeat dismayed speakers who had come with a litany of complaints against the meters, which they blame for health maladies, invasions of privacy, increased risks of fire and other offenses.