Recommendations for connecting to PG&E SmartMeter?

[tired light]

I have PG&E electric power service, and I'd like to be able to integrate power data from my SmartMeter directly into HomeAssistant rather than relying on the only somewhat useful Opower integration (although at least that's better than nothing).

PG&E lists these compatible HAN devices:

• Aztech In-home Display (IHD)
• EcoBee EMS Si Smart Thermostat
• Embertec Emberpulse
• Rainforest – EAGLE Energy Gateway
• Universal Devices – ISY994 ZS Series
• LG Electronics – EnerBox2
• Emporia Vue: Utility Connect

PG&E also says, "The list of validated devices is not comprehensive; other devices may be compatible on PG&E's network, and customers can attempt to register any ZigBee SEP1.0 or 1.1 device with their SmartMeter."

Anyone have recommendations for which device would be the best? I've seen a few forum posts about using Emporia Vue with HomeAssistant. Is the Emporia Vue the best device to use for this purpose? (I noticed the Emporia Vue has an app -- I'd rather not have to integrate with a cloud service and simply directly access the data from the HAN or SmartMeter device.)

Any details would be very welcomed.

(Also, is it OK to cross-post in the HA forums?)

[novel hound]

This has a good summary of methods https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/energy/electricity-grid/
I would personally go for the Glow or another pulse reader, the camera is effective, but it can be flaky on smart meters which often only turn the screen on and show the reading for a while after pushing a button