LIHU‘E — Although smart meters were not on the agenda for the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative board of directors meeting Tuesday, it was a topic of much discussion. On Tuesday, The Garden Island reported that KIUC had installed smart meters
LIHU‘E — Although smart meters were not on the agenda for the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative board of directors meeting Tuesday, it was a topic of much discussion.
On Tuesday, The Garden Island reported that KIUC had installed smart meters at Lihu‘e Gardens Elderly condominiums, and that residents were given no advance notification.
KIUC had previously announced that the smart meter rollout would not begin until April, and that residents would be notified in advance of the co-op’s date and provided an option to defer installation until the board formally decides whether it will allow members to permanently opt out of the program.
At the board meeting Tuesday, KIUC Chief of Operations Mike Yamane said the owner of Lihu‘e Gardens was notified of the early installation at the complex and the reasoning behind it.
The complex had installed a photovoltaic system without an interconnectivity agreement with the co-op and without the proper bi-directional metering equipment, he said. As a result, the meters at the complex would run backward when feeding power to the grid.
Traditionally, the co-op’s digital meters have had bi-directional capabilities, but Yamane said the co-op is no longer installing them and is instead using the smart meters as replacements, adding that the smart meters are not transmitting a wireless signal and won’t until the infrastructure is in place to support it.
Lihu‘e Gardens’ resident manager Junar Bisarra confirmed on Tuesday that the owner was notified in advance that eight smart meters would be installed on the property. Biscarra was aware, as well, he said. Asked if he informed residents of the installation, Bisarra declined to comment.
“I’m extremely angry about what happened at Lihu‘e Gardens,” resident Nataan Kauakahi said to the KIUC board in testimony Tuesday, citing health concerns about smart meters. “I wouldn’t have known if neighbors didn’t tell me.”
Kauakahi said board director (and upcoming board election candidate) Stewart Burley told him it wasn’t a smart meter if it wasn’t turned on.
“I take exception to this,” he told the board, “because no matter how you slice it, it’s a smart meter.”
Kauakahi said the co-op also had said installation would begin in April.
“KIUC is turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to roll out this program. You should reconsider, or else there will be a class action suit against individual board members for endangering public health. This is not a threat. This is going to happen,” he said.
Yamane said the general island-wide rollout of smart meters has been slightly delayed and will not begin until late April or maybe May, beginning with Kapa‘a.
KIUC CEO David Bissell said residents will be given two weeks’ advance notice of installation via a letter or door hanger and instructions on how to defer installment. The only exception involves new customer-generated systems such as the one at Lihu‘e Gardens.
After the meeting, KIUC issued a press release that states: “Any new customer-generator facility that exports power to the grid is required to install a ‘bi-directional’ meter that is capable of measuring incoming and outgoing energy to ensure that members are being correctly billed and properly compensated for any excess energy that is generated and delivered to KIUC. These meters have limited functionality and will require manual reads until full smart grid infrastructure is in place. Connecting a customer-generator facility to KIUC’s system without an interconnection agreement is illegal.”
KIUC does not have a smart meter pilot program.
∫ Vanessa Van Voorhis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 251, or by emailing vvanvoorhis@thegardenisland.com.
