Lansing Board of Water & Light will launch on Nov. 24 a pilot project that will integrate digital meters in more than 100 houses in East Lansing.
One hundred forty residential customers in the Bailey neighborhood will be participating in the pilot project. Depending on the success of the first phase, BWL could make a system-wide conversion for nearly 100,000 residential and commercial customers over the next years, according to a press release sent by BWL.
Lansing Board of Water & Light General Manager J. Peter Lark said the “smart meters” will help improve the services offered by the utility.
“Our new smart meters measure energy use with digital technology that enables us to read meters remotely,” Park said in a press release. “Eventually, seeing the information from the smart meters will give our customers better control over their energy usage and their bill.”
Stephen Serkaian, director of communications for BWL, said the board chose the Bailey neighborhood because of the mix of college students and residential homes.
“College students will have more turn-on-turn-off requests when they move in and out,” Serkaian said. “We believe it was a good location for the pilot project in order to test the viability of a system-wide smart meters.”
The meters will allow BWL to monitor the energy in the residences and turn electricity on and off remotely.
According to the press release, the Lansing Board of Water & Light sent letters to residents notifying them about their participation in the project.
The project, which will have no cost for residents participating in it , will allow customers to manage their own energy usage, the press release said.
Although Lark said the meters are safe for residents , retired MSU professor Donald Hillman raised concerns about the effects smart meters could have in humans.
“Our students and others in the area will become guinea pigs,” Hillman said.
Hillman, who have done research on the impact of radiofrequency in humans, said the exposure to it can make people sick.
“We have been committed to this project for several years,” Lark said in the press release. “The meters the BWL will use have been certified by the FCC as safe and are designed not to interfere with home electronics or medical devices.”
According to the BWL website, smart meters emit about one watt of electricity.
The health issues Hillman pointed out, which are featured in a press release sent April 12, 2012 by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine , are not the only concerns some have.
President of Michigan Stop Smart Meters David Sheldon said there are privacy concerns among residents too.
“It becomes like a surveillance device — it can monitor if you are home,” Sheldon said.
Serkaian said residents have the option to opt out of the smart meter pilot project.
