12, the Michigan Public Service Commission announced that it would launch an investigation into the safety and efficacy of smart meters. I bet if you look back through history, meter readers have saved many lives and brought problems to the attention of the city many times. I think it’s good that these people check on properties. “I’ve always felt very good about having meter readers coming through the neighborhood. In addition to worries over the radio frequencies, Conrad wonders what will happen to the plumbing systems when they’re no longer physically checked each quarter. Information is exactly what Conrad asked for during the commission meeting, saying that the materials sent to residents on the matter weren’t sufficient in answering questions about functionality or safety. “We think the project is going really well, and we’re here to educate and inform the public.” Wood said that despite a “handful” of concerns, the $2.7 million project is going smoothly. Lauren Wood, director of public services, added that those two cases were results of damage from installation, so the city footed the bill. But I don’t think it’s a widespread concern.”īruner said that of the nearly 3,400 meters that have already been installed in the city, there have only been two incidents in which repairs had to be made. That’s just part of homeownership, and so is maintaining plumbing. “But if your house is broke, you have to fix it. People shouldn’t expect that the city is going to show up to replace their meter and tell them that they need to call a plumber to have things fixed,” he said. City Manager Robert Bruner said such a scenario is unlikely, but also no different from other mandatory repairs a homeowner is responsible for. In a letter sent to residents in the fall of 2011, the city said that if a home’s plumbing needs to be repaired in order to accommodate the new meter, the repair would be at the homeowner’s expense.
The cost Conrad is referring to is potential repairs to a homeowner’s plumbing system. Can these meters cause any harm? What kind of cost would the homeowner incur? And what kind of information can these meters send out? Are they able to spy on us?” “We need some more information from the city. “I’m getting questions from a lot of people about these meters and how the signals might affect their Pacemakers,” she said. She was also present at the meeting to discuss her trepidations. What Bray is looking for from the city is the chance to opt out of having the new meter installed in her home.
Who needs their water read six times a day? Even if it is only for a millisecond.” “I can’t see what the benefit is to us as customers.
She said she doesn’t see a need for such detailed usage data, especially if it means more exposure to RF. “(The FCC) needs new standards that fall in line with other nations where the regulations are much more stringent.”īray said there are links between RF exposure and a variety of health problems, including cancer. They’re based on what human flesh can stand before it starts to heat up,” said Bray. “The current FCC standards are inadequate. The transmissions, said Matthews in the letter, typically last 0.107 seconds and are well within Federal Communications Commission standards for RF exposure.īut Birmingham resident Anne Bray is not convinced. He said the new system will save the city money by eliminating the need for staff to read meters, and will benefit customers by collecting more detailed water usage data, making a leak or other plumbing issues easier to detect. Instead, usage data is sent via radio frequency from transmitters on the homes directly to city offices, according to a letter from Public Works Manager Paul Matthews. Meter readers will no longer manually record readings from homes. The meter system, specifically the Sensus iPerl water meter and the Sensus FlexNet Smartpoint, will take water readings from individual homes about six times daily, versus the current system, which is read once every three months. Among the worries were cost, fire safety, and most of all, radio frequency exposure. 9 to express their concerns over the installation of the smart meters. Three residents appeared in front of the City Commission during its meeting Jan. Mount Clemens - Clinton - Harrison JournalīIRMINGHAM - The city of Birmingham is about midway through the process of converting residents to a fixed-base water metering system, also known as “smart meters,” but not everyone’s happy about it.
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