Southwestern Electric Power Co. has announced plans to install advanced wireless digital meters, also known as smart meters, for its estimated 1,700 customers in Eureka Springs in October. Carroll Electric installed digital, although not wireless, meters in 2011.
SWEPCO spokesman Peter Main said the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will replace a now outdated metering system originally installed in 2002-2003. He said the advanced meters are part of SWEPCO’s grid modernization initiatives.
“The AMI system uses advanced metering and secure wireless technology to provide timely and accurate meter reading data,” Main said. “As SWEPCO adds new home energy management tools, the smart meters will give customers more information to manage their energy use and costs.”
Main said the AMI meters will enable future capabilities like faster response to new service connections and other service requests, as well as automatic detection of power outages for a quicker start to repairs.
“The system serving Eureka Springs today was advanced when it was originally installed, but after many years of reliable service has become obsolete,” Main said. “It includes older equipment, with replacements or parts that are no longer manufactured, difficult to find or simply not available.
There has been opposition to smart meters by people concerned about wireless pollution. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified wireless radiation as a possible carcinogen and has recommended decreasing exposure from cell phones.
Physicians for Safe Technology (PST) comments that widespread use of digital media and near constant exposure to wireless devices has caused increasing concern among scientists, health care professionals, psychologists, educators and the public who are now considering this a looming public health crisis.
“It appears that we are at the same point of emerging science similar to early recognition of health impacts associated with tobacco, asbestos, coal dust and lead,” PST states on its website. “These concerns are amplified by industry proposals for a massive expansion of wireless infrastructure and connectivity.”
On the website SWEPCO.com/EurekaSpringsAMI, the company states that AMI and Automated Meter Reading (AMR) meters use radio frequencies (RFs) to communicate.
“RFs emitted by digital meters are well below that produced by other common household devices like cell phones, microwaves, baby monitors and home WiFi networks,” SWEPCO states. “The RFs are also well below the limit set by the Federal Communications Commission. The American Cancer Society has found no link between smart meters and cancer.”
Some residents report that they are sensitive to RFs, which is a form electromagnetic frequency or EMF, and are already experiencing physical and mental harm from pervasive EMFs in the environment. Starting in 2017, California has provided Americans Disabilities Act accommodation for people disabled by electromagnetic sensitivities.
SWEPCO will allow customers to opt out of having a smart meter subject to certain conditions. A form for opting out is at the website referred to above.
“The non-standard device in Eureka Springs will be an AMR meter, which is the same kind of meter installed throughout the rest of SWEPCO’s Arkansas service territory,” SWEPCO states. “SWEPCO anticipates that a one-time opt out fee and a monthly non-standard meter fee will be applied in the future, pending Arkansas Public Service Commission review. The charges will cover the additional cost of reading the non-standard meter.”
SWEPCO states customers with a non-standard meter will not have access to their near-real-time energy usage information through future energy management tools. The utility states that other future capabilities – like faster response to new service connections and other service requests, as well as automatic detection of power outages for a quicker start to repairs – will not be available.
AMRs also emit RFs, but there is only one-way communication from the meter to the electric company. Smart meters allow two-way communication, signals are sent more often, and customers can use the information to see real-time energy use that could be helpful in trying to conserve energy.
There have also been concerns about privacy associated with the smart meters that monitor electricity use frequently throughout the day.
“SWEPCO is required to comply with all federal laws regarding the privacy, protection and disclosure of personal information,” the website states. “State law prohibits SWEPCO from providing customer information to outside third parties without the customer’s express permission.”
Main said SWEPCO will provide advance written notification to individual customers prior to installation at their home or business. The project is expected to be completed in four to six weeks. There will be a brief power outage of several minutes when the meters are installed.