Every article I read highlighting the health dangers from smart meters makes me think back to the COVID vaccines which were characterized as “safe and effective.” Rather than rolling out new technology with advertising campaigns, how about conducting some actual independent testing first. Why isn’t that a requirement? Our politicians need to use their regulatory muscle and determine whether the public has a real environmental exposure before a rollout starts.

In the case of smart meters, there is active legislation in the Massachusetts House and Senate that seems to be well thought out and offers homeowners some appropriate protection. Why has it stalled? And why is Eversource allowed to move forward regardless?
While the primary issue with smart meters is the potential health impacts, the opt out fees also deserve some comment. A monthly fee for manually reading a meter may seem reasonable but aren’t there other options? Every cell phone has a camera and most customers would gladly submit our data to avoid added cost to Eversource (to be passed on to us). It seems to me the monthly fee is designed to be punitive rather than based on cost recovery. And for those of us that installed solar panels, the fee is even more of an affront as our power generation often exceeds usage. When your bill is negative 9 of 12 months during the year, does the meter still need to be read each month or would quarterly be sufficient?

While Eversource does own the meters, we own our homes. They are not entitled to put their property on our property without our consent. A Dec. 30 Recorder article cited an Eversource representative indicating we learned about this change by notice letters 90, 60 and 30 days prior to installation. My experience was different. I received two notices, the first was a letter dated Sept. 2 announcing the program but with no dates, the second was a text message sent Jan. 2 saying my meter would be upgraded in 1-3 business days. Interesting that this would be sent after business hours on a Friday.

I will not be participating in another blind experiment with my health. Our politicians need to complete their work and not leave us hanging. We expect more from them and they deserve our feedback.

Dave Graves

Greenfield