LIHU‘E — Not all members of Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative are accepting of the co-op’s plan to replace ratepayers’ existing electricity meters with smart meters, which will transmit real-time usage information to the utility wirelessly. Several members have testified to
LIHU‘E — Not all members of Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative are accepting of the co-op’s plan to replace ratepayers’ existing electricity meters with smart meters, which will transmit real-time usage information to the utility wirelessly.
Several members have testified to the board about potential health ramifications associated with broad-based wireless radio frequency transmissions. Some have expressed concerns about the lack of privacy provided by the real-time data gathering performed multiple times daily. Others have questioned the integrity of the security network transmitting the data.
At its monthly meeting last Tuesday, the KIUC Board of Directors voted unanimously to delay installation of smart meters on the homes of those who are opposed the technology.
“For those who take exception, we would delay installation and see how far we can go with an opt-out program,” Sullivan said after the board meeting. “Nobody is going to be forced to have a (smart meter) in the short term.”
Prior to the vote, Sullivan said KIUC staff presented the Strategic Planning Committee with four options on how to proceed with those who don’t want the meters: allow those members to opt out and bill them a monthly fee for having their existing meter read manually; allow those members to opt out with no fee; proceed with installation as planned; or delay installation.
Under its franchise, the co-op has a legal right to install the meters — even without member permission, KIUC legal counsel David Proudfoot told the board.
“In the spirit of cooperation,” the co-op has entertained the idea of implementing an opt-out program with a fee for continued in-person meter-reading services.
Most members testifying at Tuesday’s meeting said they don’t think they should have to pay a fee.
“We should have the option to opt out and not have to pay,” one woman said. She claimed she is sensitive to regular electromagnetic frequencies. “They cause me to have irregular heartbeat and jitteriness. … We have to have a choice or there will be lawsuit.”
Co-op member Marge Dente said she heard there may be a $12 monthly fee for opting out. She has three meters, she said, so it would cost her hundreds of dollars a year.
“It is a very serious issue,” Dente said. “I recommend KIUC not install any smart meters at all. They’re probably all stored in a warehouse somewhere. Get rid of them. Please, don’t install them. Be creative, put them on Ebay.” Her comments drew applause from the crowded gallery.
Sullivan and KIUC CEO David Bissell have said they don’t feel it would be fair for all members to pay the labor and transportation costs associated with continued analog meter reading for the few that want to opt out.
“We’re giving those who are insistent against it some recourse,” Sullivan said, adding that there would be significant costs involved in maintaining both systems.
KIUC must obtain permission from the Public Utilities Commission to charge members an opt-out fee, Proudfoot said, and such a request will take time to review and process.
The project to swap out all of the island’s 33,000 commercial and residential electric meters will begin in 2012 and is expected to take approximately two years.
KIUC will hold a smart grid informational meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. on Thursday in KIUC’s main conference room at 4463 Pahe‘e St., Lihu‘e. Call KIUC at 246-4300 for more information.
• Vanessa Van Voorhis can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or by emailing vvanvoorhis@thegardenisland.com.
