Rochester Hills

Smart meters concern some Rochester Hills residents

By Linda Shepard
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER HILLS — The new smart meters DTE Energy is installing at homes have some city residents concerned.

According to DTE Energy officials, the new radio frequency transmitters are currently being installed behind the existing gas meter faces and use low-power radio transmissions to send usage information to DTE Energy offices and field crews.

The meters create an efficient meter reading process and will help pinpoint outages, creating quicker response times, officials say. As part of an $83.8 million grant, DTE Energy is installing 600,000 smart meters in southeast Michigan.

However, some Rochester Hills residents have concerns about privacy issues and potential health impacts.

“I think we should all have the option to opt in or out on this matter,” Rochester Hills resident Dee Hilbert said to the members of the Rochester Hills City Council Jan. 12.

In December, the members of the Rochester Hills City Council sent a resolution to Lansing exploring a residential “opt out” option.

“Certainly there are some residents I hear from who are fine with the smart meters,” Council member Michael Webber said. “There are other residents who do not want to have anything to do with the smart meters, and for those residents, an opt-out should be provided. Whether working (locally) or working at the state level, I think whatever we can do as a council to help our residents with that is critical.”

State Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, said he appreciates the resolution council adopted. “I have been hearing about this for the last six or so months. In Lansing, folks have not really been talking much about it. I’ve been asking around, and there just hasn’t been as much concern.

“But now I can go back and say we want this looked into,” McMillan said. “We want the potential of opting out for our citizens, and we are concerned about privacy rights and other rights.”

The $350 million smart meter program provides digital measurements of energy usage, allows the energy provider to instantly detect power outages and remotely turn power on or off, and saves DTE money from the enhanced efficiency, among a host of other things, DTE officials said.

Michael Palchesko, regional manager for DTE Energy, said the new meters will also allow customers who wish to enroll in DTE’s optional time-of-day electric rate program a chance to monitor their usage, and possibly save money on their bills. Under the time-of-day electric rate program, electricity used off-peak — from 7 p.m. to 11 a.m. — is billed at a discount.

Over the last few months, various members of the public have spoken out against the installation of smart meters, citing concerns about the accuracy and security of information collected through the meters, as well as the potential health impacts of radio frequency exposure. Others said the meters are a fire hazard and fear they could potentially burn down their homes.

Simons said each DTE meter is “thoroughly tested to ensure its safety, accuracy and security” and is installed by “highly trained professionals.” He argued that studies show the RF exposures of smart meters are lower compared to other common sources in the home — such as cellphones, microwave ovens and baby monitors — and said that of the 500,000 meters installed in the metro Detroit area thus far, none have reportedly caught fire. He also noted that the meters include special technology that defends against hacking and are constantly monitored for evolving cyber threats.

Staff Writer Mary Beth Almond contributed to this report.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Linda Shepard at lshepard@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1065.