LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s controversial decision to introduce smart meter energy readers took center stage at Kaua‘i County Council chambers in Lihu‘e Wednesday following a presentation from KIUC Chief of Operations Mike Yamane, who said the co-op
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s controversial decision to introduce smart meter energy readers took center stage at Kaua‘i County Council chambers in Lihu‘e Wednesday following a presentation from KIUC Chief of Operations Mike Yamane, who said the co-op has been looking at this technology since 2005.
“With this smart meter system, we’ll know exactly what house is out of power,” Yamane said, adding that a wireless reader looks exactly like a regular digital meter and plugs into the same outlet.
KIUC plans to roll out the project in the next few months. Routers installed on poles will read the power usage. Yamane said the new system will result in less dependence on fossil fuels, and more reliability and operational efficiency.
The co-op does not offer an opt-out program, which if becomes available, will likely come at a cost to members who decide to opt out, according to Yamane. However, if a member is at home at the time a KIUC worker shows up to replace the meter, the service can be refused, and the worker will leave the old meter in place.
Yamane said there have been more than 25,000 articles on exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields published over the last 30 years, and those articles conclude current evidence does not confirm the existence of health consequences. He also downplayed studies that showed otherwise, saying they just want to cause controversy.
However, following Yamane’s presentation to the Kaua‘i County Council, every speaker was opposed to smart meters.
Health and privacy concerns, proper co-op procedures and the concern that smart meters would give the co-op a tool to hike rates highlighted testimony.
Kilauea resident Felicia Cowden praised KIUC for its hard work, but she said she was concerned that smart meters could be used by federal law enforcement agents to shut down power to control people.
North Shore resident Ray Songtree said he spent $9,000 on a smart meter study, which he said shows health dangers far worse than what KIUC has reported.
“There’s nothing that KIUC has offered that is not an industry study,” Songtree said, discrediting the co-op’s claims that cell phones, microwaves and even human contact have a more powerful electro-magnetic field than smart meters.
Songtree also said co-op members should be participating in the decision-making process, which has not happened when the co-op decided to go forward with the $11 million project — half of which is supposed to be subsidized by the federal government.
The financial incentives that Yamane talked about during his presentation, he said, would actually mean raising rates during peak hours identified by smart meters.
When asked if he agreed with the benefits of smart meters that Yamane had listed earlier, Songtree said cigarette smoking has some benefits, too, but there is a downside.
At one point, Songtree said he believes Yamane and others at KIUC have a heart, just like him, but he felt embarrassed that he has to tell them that they are wrong.
Songtree then turned around, smiled and, looking at Yamane sitting in the back of the chambers, told him, “I like you.” Yamane just looked at Songtree, stone-faced, as some in the room laughed. Only when Songtree turned back to face council members did Yamane let out a smile.
Scott Mijares, representing co-op members, said at least 10 counties have passed a moratorium on smart meters, and said there is a potential for lawsuits associated with them.
“Do we need the cost of litigation thrown in the barrel?” he asked.
KIUC has failed to prove to its members the millions of dollars spent on the system will benefit its members, Mijares said.
In the end, the people who can least afford it will be the ones left with the burden to pay for smart meters, he said, because rich homeowners are switching to photovoltaic systems, which are expensive to install but cheaper to run.
Jonathan Jay, from the Power to the People of Kaua‘i organization, said one of the biggest reasons for a crisis at KIUC last year was because the co-op didn’t listen to its members before making decisions regarding a contract with Free-Flow to develop hydropower.
Having meetings “after the fact” is like treating its owner-members as if they were merely consumers, he said, added that with smart meters, KIUC did just that.
Jay told council members he assumes all of them are co-op members. As such, they have a right to speak at KIUC’s public meetings, and as community leaders they have the responsibility to speak, he said.
Council Chair Jay Furfaro said he would relay all testimony received to the state Public Utilities Commission. He said he does not plan to have the issue back on the agenda unless he hears concerns from the commission.
KIUC will hold a smart grid information meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. today at 4463 Pahe‘e St. in Lihu‘e.
Visit kiucrenewablesolutions.coop for more information.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
