LIHU‘E — A group of concerned Lihu‘e Elderly Gardens residents found out workers from Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative had already begun installation of smart meters Friday, without any notification to residents of this small senior citizen condominium development on Jerves
LIHU‘E — A group of concerned Lihu‘e Elderly Gardens residents found out workers from Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative had already begun installation of smart meters Friday, without any notification to residents of this small senior citizen condominium development on Jerves Street in Lihu‘e.
“Yes, those were smart meters that were being installed,” KIUC spokeswoman Shelley Paik said on Monday.
Nathan Kauakahi, an eight-year resident of Lihu‘e Elderly Gardens, said the co-op is keeping its members in the dark.
“A co-op means when KIUC does something, they have to pass it by its members,” Kauakahi said. “We didn’t get any notification. They said when it does roll out, we were going to be notified.”
Resident manager Junar Bisarra confirmed KIUC installed smart meters on some of the condominium buildings, but he said the meters have not been turned on yet. As of Monday, the meters were working as if they were regular meters.
Paik said the reason KIUC installed the smart meters was that the co-op will be using them for “pilot installations,” although the infrastructure for the smart meters has not yet been installed.
“KIUC will continue to physically read the meters until we have the capability to retrieve the readings remotely,” she said.
Smart meters look like regular meters. The difference is that they transmit information wirelessly to a router installed on a pole nearby, while regular meters have to be read on site by a KIUC worker.
Since KIUC announced its decision to roll out the $11 million program — with the cost split in half between the co-op and the federal government — controversy has developed over potential health hazards and members’ exclusion in the decision-making process.
KIUC Chief of Operations Mike Yamane said at a recent Kaua‘i County Council meeting that the meters would only be on for split seconds each day, and that thousands of studies have shown no ill health effects from smart meters. Informational flyers distributed by KIUC tells its members the meters are safe.
“It’s industry spin,” Kauakahi said. “They only talk about the positive aspects.”
Yamane also said at the council meeting that if a resident is at home at the time of installation and does not want the meter, KIUC workers will not install it.
Each building at Lihu‘e Elderly Gardens has about eight units. All meters for each building are installed on a wall outside a single unit located at the end of the building.
Resident Peter Ibanez said he told KIUC workers that his neighbor, Eileen Costa Brum, did not want a smart meter on her unit. The workers complied, but Costa Brum’s unit is at the end of a building, and KIUC workers went ahead and installed at least six other smart meters just opposite Costa Brum’s bedroom wall.
Costa Brum said she wasn’t happy about sleeping with so many smart meters a few feet away from her.
“I’ve been here for 12 years, and I want to live another 20,” she said. “I want to yank that off my wall.”
Kauakahi said KIUC has not installed smart meters on his building yet, but when they do, he’ll have about eight meters opposite his bedroom wall.
“Regardless of how low the emission is, I’ll have eight meters on my wall,” he said.
KIUC will hold its monthly board meeting today at 3 p.m. at the utility’s Pahe‘e Street office. Smart meters are not on the agenda.
The co-op will hold an informational meeting on smart meters April 12.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
