Responding to protests for the introduction of electric choice to the co-op, Lamar County Electric Cooperative CEO Jerry Williams has reportedly said that deregulation would require smart meters, the Paris (TX) News reports.

The Paris News did not include any explanation by Williams for this claim. Several TDUs (most notably Sharyland) currently offer customer choice in ERCOT without smart meters.

Apart from smart meter costs, Williams pegged the implementation cost of choice at $5 million, with ongoing operations costs of $4 million

See the Paris News for more (subscription required)