Electric meters for the home have been around for at least 100 years. Until now, they have been functional, but not very intelligent and very limited. That’s starting to change. Today’s new meters are “smart.” Instead of a simple mechanical
Electric meters for the home have been around for at least 100 years. Until now, they have been functional, but not very intelligent and very limited. That’s starting to change.
Today’s new meters are “smart.” Instead of a simple mechanical devise, the meters use sophisticated electronics to keep track of electricity usage by time of use. And these new meters are a critical part of transitioning the U.S. electricity market to a sustainable energy future.
They can help eliminate huge waste in the energy system, reduce energy demand and spur the adoption of clean, low-carbon energy resources such as wind and solar power by helping us manage electricity demand and generation more efficiently. By participating in your local utility’s smart meter program, you are helping to make real this vision of a cleaner, more efficient and affordable energy economy.
But some people in Kauai are concerned about the potential health risks and costs related to the installation of smart meters in homes. Smart meters allow information to flow between meters and utilities by using radio frequency (RF) technology like AM/FM radios, baby monitors and cellphones.
We use these devices every day, though most result in greater levels of exposure to RFs than smart meters. This is because the level of RF exposure depends not only on the strength of the technology but also — critically — on the distance from the source. Smart meters are generally located outside your home, while cellphones are often next to your head, making a dramatic difference.
EDF takes concerns about RFs seriously, and we’ve taken them into account in our smart power efforts. After examining the scientific evidence, my team and I have concluded that the health and environmental case for smart meters is stronger than the case against them. However, people can evaluate risks differently, and EDF believes that customers should have the choice to refuse a smart meter if they have health concerns.
This opt-out option not only allows people to control whether or not they receive a smart meter, but it also allows everyone else – customers and utilities included – to reap the vast array of economic, environmental and health benefits from modernizing our antiquated, wasteful and polluting energy infrastructure.
Smart meters lower electricity system costs, and customers without smart meters cost the system more. Customers who choose to keep last century’s technology shouldn’t be subsidized by the 90 percent of customers who want to realize the system-wide economic, health and environmental benefits of a smarter grid in Kauai.
This issue of choice – and the argument over who should have to pay for the privilege of having this choice – has recently come to a head in Kauai. The local utility, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, is charging a fee for consumers who refuse to have their old meters replaced with new smart meters.
KIUC calculates the added costs of reading and servicing smart meters for the 10 percent who don’t want them at about $340,000 a year. An opt-out fee is an effective compromise that gives all KIUC customers a choice while remaining consistent with the general principle that each customer pays for the costs associated with their service.
Just as the Global Positioning System (GPS) spurred an entire industry of applications and services, smart meters are allowing companies to provide services that improve people’s lives. What’s more, by enabling two-way, real-time communication, smart meters can give customers the information they need to control their own energy use and reduce their electricity costs. Their changes in electricity consumption result in less harmful pollution.
Smart meters are already beginning to reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills for hundreds of thousands of Americans. In California, San Diego Gas & Electric estimated that it reduced a half-million miles of truck travel and its associated pollution by eliminating manual meter reading. KIUC estimates a projected savings of at least $700,000 a year if all KIUC customers adopted smart meters, enabling the utility to pass on savings.
Utilities have an obligation to install and manage their technology in a way that doesn’t inconvenience customers or cause safety issues. They must also communicate with their customers about when, why and how these meters will be installed. The utility in my hometown, Austin Energy, undertook a proactive and deliberate public information campaign before installing smart meters. As a result, there have been very few customer complaints and smart meter refusals.
With smart implementation, informed by the best research, technological innovation in the nation’s grid will deliver cleaner air, better health, more reliable electricity and greater consumer control over electric power and costs.
• Jim Marston is the vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s US Climate and Energy Program.
