�Smart� Meters Recalls, Replacements, Fires, Explosions, General Failure, Measurement
Errors, Privacy Concerns, Cybersecurity Risks, and Sick People
by Edward Morgan
In 2011, Consumers Digest predicted that �Smart� Meters �represents little more than a boondoggle
that is being foisted on consumers by the politically influential companies�: �Why
Smart Meters Might Be a Dumb Idea.�
So it�s not all that surprising that so far � hundreds of thousands of �Smart�
Meters have been recalled and/or replaced throughout North America due to various reasons
including fires, explosions, general failure, and measurement errors. There are utility
companies who are already making plans to replace hundreds of thousands more.
All over the world, concerned citizens, elected officials, and organizations have been fighting
to keep �Smart� Meters out of their communities due to health, safety, privacy, and cybersecurity
concerns. When they haven�t been able to completely stop utilities, they fight for
the right to �opt out� of �Smart Meters� being installed on their homes and businesses.
Even proponents who originally gushed about �Smart� Meters seem to have changed their
tune. One example is Sara Jerome of Water Online:
From her 2015 article, �Tapping Into the Power of Smart Meters�:
The capabilities of smart water and electric meters are astounding, going far beyond what
consumers may normally associate with this technology. GreenTechMedia recently documented
just how powerful these devices can be.
From her June 2017, �Report Finds That Costs Still Make Smart Meter Tech A Tough Sell�:
�The cost of installing a smart meter is a] heavy lift no matter what the size of the
utility,� George Hawkins, DC Water�s chief executive officer and general manager, told
Bloomberg BNA.
Bummer.
Now back to the hundreds of thousands that have been replaced and/or recalled already
as well as the plans to replace more. This isn�t a complete list and it only includes
examples from North America. Problems are going on everywhere with these �Smart�
Meters. Certainly there are people profiting from them but it doesn�t seem to be the
consumers.
�Remote disconnect switch failure resulted in a recall of over 10,000 �smart� meters
in Lakeland, Florida where 6 house fires occurred.�
�More Fires, More Smart Meter Recalls for Sensus: Utilities pull 105,000 meters in Canada,
70,000 in Oregon; Sensus says it�s not at fault�
�Smart� meter-caused house fires in Pennsylvania
NV Energy has responded to 70 �consumed meters,� since it first started installing
them in 2010.
�Big rig crash into pole leads to power surge in Discovery Bay� � Besides the
exploding SmartMeters, one resident told us smoke and some flame was shooting out of the
outlets inside her home.
�Power surge raises questions about SmartMeters. East Palo Alto electricity surge burnt out
digital meters�
�Surge Blows Smart Meters Leaves Neighbourhood Without Hydro�
Lawsuits Claim Faulty PG&E Smart Meters Started House Fires:
For an updated list of where fires and explosions have occurred, visit
INCORRECT BILLING, DEPRECIATION, FAILURE� In 2010, the utilities were claiming a 20
year useful life. This article acknowledges immediate maintenance problems and need for
more frequent replacements. PG&E also acknowledges battery replacements. Meter collectors and
repeaters also have batteries.
�After years of obvious problems, Hydro One finally admitted that rural �smart�
meters do not work, and has decided to pull the plug on 36,000 of them � to start.�
�BC Hydro must remove 88,000 meters suspected of failure.�
�Seven years after installation, 45,000 smart meters replaced in Arizona due to failure.�
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) found a number of reasons why almost 45,000 of its
Smart Meters haven�t worked as planned due to installation errors, data storage issues,
communication failures, and measurement errors.
PG&E also had to replace 1,600 defective smart meters that inflated customers� electric
bills. Customers were given �scanty� refunds:
The coordinated propaganda campaign between the CPUC, PG&E and marketing firms that resulted
in the smart meter deployment couldn�t tolerate news such as the fact that 500,000 smart meters
were at risk for overcharging in hot weather.
Officials at the Public Service Company of Oklahoma say they will replace around 25,000
smart meters in the Tulsa metro area. Recently the manufacturer of these smart meters notified
PSO there is a malfunction that could cause the meter�s screen to go blank.
The City of Santa Fe�s decision to replace its Firefly water-meter readers, installed
just under 10 years ago and now largely known for their failings� is expected to cost
$6 million for the equipment and installation of 36,000 meters, and an additional $2 million
for service, software maintenance and cell tower space for signal transmission over the
10-year contract.
Meanwhile in Naperville, IL in 24 hours the verdict changed on the cost effectiveness
of smart water meters:
February 24, 2016: �Naperville to retrofit residents� water meters with wireless.�
February 25, 2016: �Naperville water meters too costly to read remotely, director says�
� Despite this:
As Naperville gets ready to retrofit up to 4,000 homes each year with new electronic
water meters, the city�s water director stressed that reading the meters remotely
is not cost effective and workers will continue going home to home to retrieve the information.
The city is preparing to purchase Sensus iPerl water meters to replace aging and less-accurate
mechanical meters. The first 4,000 should be installed in the fall, and the rest would
follow at a rate of 4,000 annually until all 43,000 in Naperville are replaced.
March 1, 2016 in Arizona: �Safford correcting overbilling errors,� Eastern Arizona Courier,
Feb. 20, 2016. �Meter readers will physically read the meters for the next three months
at no charge. In addition, �(several thousand of) all gas meters will be inspected and recalibrated
manually by staff from the Gas and Customer Service Department.�
October 12, 2016: �New Hampshire energy cooperative says all Elster Smart Meters purchased
are defective�
November 2016: �LADWP Accidentally Overcharged Its Customers By At Least $67.5 Million�:
After LADWP installed the PricewaterhouseCoopers designed billing system, customers almost
immediately began finding bogus fees and overcharges on their utility bills. Four separate individuals
filed class-action lawsuits against LADWP, all of which were eventually merged into one
single case, according to KPCC.
January 2017: Duke Energy Ohio rate increase proposal with $143.4M earmarked for replacing
700,000+ AMI �smart� meters installed between 2010-2015 due to depreciation:
(See testimony of Donald L. Schneider Jr. filed on March 16, 2017 on behalf of Duke
Energy).
Feb 2017: �But Larocque says when Consumers Energy installed its new �upgraded meter,�
the exact opposite happened to his bill. Gas usage remained the same but electricity usage
doubled. The family�s total bill for December, $592.96�
February 2017, ABC Cleveland, OH: �Cleveland Water customers could face higher bills due
to critical meter installation error.� Incorrect meter programming leads to billing error
May 2017: Northern Kentucky/Duke Energy:
The new meters will replace not only old analog mechanical meters, but also first-generation
smart meters deployed in past years by Duke Kentucky as part of a pilot project. Those
meters communicated with a central office using signals sent on power lines, a system
that Duke Kentucky said had technical limitations.
June 2017, New Orleans:
The system had a ten year warranty and now more than 6000 of those smart meters no longer
give out a signal. The parish CFO Ross Gonzales estimates by the end of the year more than
half of the registers will no longer transmit a signal.
ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS AND OTHER MISC. ISSUES: The American Cancer Society claimed �Smart�
Meters could increase cancer risk � in 2014.
In 2015, The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) created their �Resolution
For A Moratorium on the Installation of �SMART� Meters and No Cost Opt-Out� because of their
concerns:
�Internal smart meter report shows government put people at risk�
Bennett Gaines, the chief information officer for Ohio-based FirstEnergy, told a U.S. Congress
subcommittee in October 2015, �The lifespan is five to seven years for a wireless �smart�
meter.� and �These devices are now computers, and so they have to be maintained.� First
Energy received $57 million in federal stimulus.
Attorney Generals in Michigan, Illinois and Connecticut, rejected smart meter programs
citing �exorbitant costs to consumers with no proven benefits after testing a pilot program
with 10,000 customers.�
�Memphis Police Association Petition and Request for Forensic Audit and Ethics Review
Includes Wireless Smart Meters�. The association has 2000 members.
What has happened with the mass deployment of wireless smart meters without consultation
or informing insurers, education, sciences or anyone requires that Forensic Audit. The
idea that a plastic head with water or the ridiculous Specific Absorption Rate test was
represented as science substantiating safety requires an investigation based on a global
unprecedented health and environmental emergency.�
2017 Dutch Study of the 9 most commonly installed �smart� meters found that they cause measurement
errors 30%-582%. It was also counterchecked.
Original one-way transmitting analog meters lasted on average 40 years and they didn�t
have these problems.
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