Fairness demands we vote yes on the KIUC ballot initiative to insist that those few requesting more expensive non-smart meter service pay for it themselves. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved KIUC’s smart meter plan in 2010 saying, “The project
Fairness demands we vote yes on the KIUC ballot initiative to insist that those few requesting more expensive non-smart meter service pay for it themselves.
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved KIUC’s smart meter plan in 2010 saying, “The project is transformative for the island of Kauai.” Smart meters, paid for in part by a $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, help us increase renewable generation, pinpoint outages and slightly reduce KIUC’s expenses — savings which end up back in our pockets as annual patronage capital refunds.
Smart meters are demonstrably and provably safe. Tens of thousands of scientists over 100 years have studied radio frequencies, thermal exposure, and photonic energy’s effect on molecular bonds and living tissue. We absolutely know what’s safe and what’s not. Smart meter electromagnetic emissions are way, way below any threshold which can possibly impact health. It is an indisputable fact that cellphones, natural lightening and KQNG’s FM transmitter generate more electromagnetic emissions than smart meters.
A few on Kauai fear smart meters. They are probably good, caring people. But sometimes something just goes wrong with someone’s ability to think critically and they choose to believe Internet gossip and conspiracy theories, ignoring the real evidence, disregarding careful studies and irrespective of settled truth. The World Health Organization examined 25,000 scientific studies to conclude smart-meter technology was safe. So did The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences — the most respected scientific association in the US. Even the Environmental Defense Fund, a consistent critic of utilities, corporate America and US government safety standards, supports smart meters as both safe and an essential tool to help solve our energy challenges.
KIUC bent over backwards allowing these few people to opt out of their own smart meter, but each of those customers who rejected a smart meter requires expensive monthly service calls — instead of a smart meter automatically sending monthly usage data to calculate bills, an old-fashioned meter-reader must drive to their residence or business month after month after month just to read the meter.
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission rightly agreed with your elected KIUC Board of Directors that it was fairest for KIUC to charge just those few who opt out of smart meters a fee to pay for the extra costs that directly result for their personal choice. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission affirmed that KIUC could charge $10.27 a month for manual meter reading and a one-time $50.64 fee to customers who ask to have their meter changed to a non-smart meter.
But now the few people who want non-smart-meter service don’t care enough to pay for it themselves. They want it, but only if all of us pay for it for them. They forced this special election to ask, is KIUC doing the right thing to charge just those who opt-out of smart meters the extra costs that are a direct result of their choice? It doesn’t matter if you do or don’t generally like KIUC, if you do or don’t generally like utilities or big businesses. This election is only about who should pay the costs for extra services for the few members who want something special. Either we all have to pay for their extra service or just those who want the extra service have to pay for it themselves.
A basic principal of fairness is that individual utility bills should correspond to what individuals use — if you use more electricity you should pay more, if you request a special service you should pay for it. If you are part of the 90 percent of KIUC members who have a smart meter you still have to vote yes to stand up for fair rates or you will be paying the extra cost to provide personal service for the few holdouts.
• Walt Barnes is a resident of Kapaa. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Kansas University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University. He is employed by AT&T Laboratories. He is a former founding member of the Board of Directors of KIUC and a former member of the Board of Directors of Kauai Public Land Trust. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a member of Kauai Energy Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee.
