VALDOSTA —
South Georgia might be the last place Georgia Power installs smart meters, but local customers still have numerous concerns about their safety.
Local citizens complain that the smart meters may start fires, cause ear infections and other health issues, but Georgia Power representatives state that the meters are more accurate than analog meters and safe.
Georgia Power customer Susan Wehling had a smart meter installed last week after returning home from grocery shopping.
“The next morning lights kept going on and off all over the house and thought maybe the electricity went out,” she said.
After contacting Georgia Power, a representative from Metadigm, the company under contract to install the smart meters came out to fix the problem. Wehling said the guy reported sparks flying out of the meter.
“I didn’t really understand the risks or the actual device but I remember getting a letter full of jargon and legal stuff and there wasn’t anything about the dangers or risks.”
Raymond Genter is a retired electrician in the area and says he placed a sticker on his analog meter which reads: “Attention — Do not install meter.”
When a Metadigm representative visited Genter on Monday, no installation took place.
During the last legislative session, there was a House Bill that allowed for Georgia Power customers to opt out of the installation of smart meters. It passed the State Senate but was stalled in the House of Representatives.
According to Georgia Power media relations representative Lynn Wallace, there is no ability for customers to reject the new meters. She was unable to comment on whether existing customers would have to choose an alternative power supplier if they denied the installation of smart meters.
“There is no ability for them to opt out of smart meters,” said Wallace. “It is my understanding that we will work with customers and try to encourage them to take a smart meter. There are definite benefits. There is no opt-out program, but we are certainly willing to have a dialogue and we strongly encourage them to take the meters.”
Smart meters transmit radio frequencies four times a day for a total transmission time of about one second per day. The FCC and Public Service Commission have approved the company’s plan to switch over all meters to smart meters.
Wallace said the power usage transmissions are not used to determine if a customer uses energy during peak hours and that there will be fewer vehicles on the road for meter readers, which will have a positive environmental impact. She also said no jobs were lost as a result of the shift to electric meters.
Genter is concerned about the health and fire risks, but he’s also concerned Georgia Power will monitor appliance power usage.
“They simply measure how much electricity is read and remotely send the information through secure radio frequencies,” said Wallace. “They do not and cannot read or record the usage of appliances; they simply measure electric usage.”
Wallace said the meters were tested extensively before installation began.
“There’s been so many things that have happened in various places in Georgia. There’s been a quite a few people who have reported ear problems due to the radio frequency that the meters emit,” said Genter.
Valdosta Fire Department Captain J.D. Rice received his last week and hasn’t had any problems.
“I’ve done some research on this thing and there are different types of smart meters throughout the country,” said Rice. “I haven’t come across any recorded incident to the types of smart meters being used by Georgia Power.”
Rice stated that fires caused by smart meters have not been an issue in Valdosta or with any captains from other regions.
Already, 2.3 million smart meters have been installed by Metadigm across the state with very few problems, Wallace said.
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