Smart meter installations are on the rise all over the world right now, loaded with benefits for utilities and utility customers. Many critics do not believe that potential benefits outweigh perceived risks, however, and their concerns have resulted in standoffs in court, on the street and on private property.
Here are five places where pushback against smart meters has made headlines recently:
1. HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
55-year-old Thelma Taormina grabbed attention this week after she pulled a gun on a CenterPoint Energy employee who was attempting to install a smart meter at her residence. The Public Utility Commission in Texas is currently deciding whether or not to allow homeowners to have their smart meters uninstalled, according to a KHOU report.
2. SEBASTOPOL CITY, OKLAHOMA
A city council decision in Sebastopol City Thursday night resulted in a request to PG&E that they delay installing smart meters until after regulators have finished outlining an opt-out procedure for customers. Oklahoma's Public Utilities Commission already stipulated that PG&E must give residents the option to keep their old meters for an added cost and monthly fee, according to a Press Democract story.
3. CAMPBELL RIVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
A local representative of the Coalition to Stop Smart Meters raised concerns at a city council meeting last month about smart meters being installed by BC Hydro, according to a Campbill River Mirror report. BC Hydro defended the devices in the story, explaining that smart meters' radio signals are similar those emitted from televisions, phones and other common household electronics.
4. MAINE
Maine’s Supreme Court decided that the state's Public Utilities Commission did not take adequate measures to address health concerns before Central Maine Power received approval to install their smart meters. The court did, however, rule that privacy concerns were not being violated by the meters.
5. VERMONT
5% of Green Mountain Power's customers in Vermont have opted out of the utility's wireless smart meter installations, according to a Vermont Public Radio story. In Vermont, customers are not being charged for opting out, but the devices have been greeted by skepticism from critics in the state legislature.
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