Dive Brief:
- Two fire chiefs have asked the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to examine the safety of residential smart meters, which they say may be linked to nine fires in the state.
- While most of the fires resulted in minimal property damage, one incident claimed the life of a 61 year-old Reno man.
- The fires date back to 2012, and while there does not seem to be a systematic failure, the fire chiefs say they are concerned and want regulators to investigate.
Dive Insight:
It seems that smart meters may forever be a controversial subject, with customers worried about utility intervention in their energy use, data collection and alleged health impacts. And now in Nevada, four fires in Reno and five in Sparks have two fire chiefs taking a closer look as well.
Fire chiefs Michael Hernandez of Reno and Tom Garrison of Sparks say they cannot directly link the blazes to smart meters, but want officials to investigate.
"Yes, it's a small number, but as fire chief, when I start to see a pattern, it gets my attention," Hernandez said. "That's why we are red-flagging this and reporting it to the proper people who regulate this kind of thing."
Officials at NV Energy told the media their meters have not been listed as an official structure fire cause in the state, but the company said 70 meters have been "consumed" since it began installing them in 2010, meaning the meter casing was melted or breached.
