As any utility in the deployment or post-deployment stage can attest, there is much more to a successful installation than purchasing the right technology and ensuring it is successfully installed. Customer acceptance is vital; without it, utilities may face uphill public battles. And for some utilities, those battles are very painful.
Customer reluctance ranges from letters to the editor to protests to refusing to allow the meter change outs. Some communities have formed groups to fight the installation of smart meters.
Why all the hostility against a technology that has been proven to help consumers monitor energy and conserve valuable resources? Myths! There are a number of myths surrounding smart meters, and although none have been validated, many consumers believe them.
The three most common “myths” are:
- Smart meters cause health problems because of the radio waves or electromagnetic waves
- Smart meters will compromise a family’s security and privacy
- Smart meters will cause rates to increase
Health Issues
“The claimed health effects of radio frequency is a burning topic these days,” notes Ralph Abbott, founder of Plexus Research – SAIC. “There are groups of people who believe that we live in a ‘soup’ of RF energy, or EMFs, that can cause cancer. Sources of concern include televisions, microwave ovens, and cell phones.”
To date, there is no documentation that this is true. According to Ralph, most of the research has been commissioned by the cell phone industry. As a result, some people claim this is industry-biased.
Things are different with smart meters. The reason is that individuals can make the decision whether or not to use a cell phone. “They can’t decide to reject having a smart meter installed,” notes Ralph. “The citizens of Marin County, California, have outlawed smart metering, and there are county statutes against any further deployment.” In addition, some citizens have petitioned the California PUC to halt all further deployment of smart meters in the state. However, there is a legal battle going on over this, according to Ralph, because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reserves the right to make determinations about health matters.
Utilities need to find a way to separate rumor, speculation, and junk science from real science that is conducted by qualified people, according to Ralph. “Most of the work done on this, though, is by utility agencies, he states. ”Authoritative reports are available to consumers showing that the levels of radiation are absolutely miniscule, especially compared to cell phones.” However, he adds, consumers can simply say they are biased, because they are written by the utility industry.
Recently, the California Council on Science and Technology came out with a report showing there is no problem. “Fortunately, the CCST report has an impressive list of academics and scientists who are not part of the utility industry, making it as objective as possible,” notes Ralph. “As a result, this report is starting to have some positive impact around the country.”
Security/Privacy Issues
According to Andrew Brock, president of Rio Tronics, considering the increases in credit card fraud, identify theft, and Internet information being compromised, it is understandable consumers may have concerns about privacy and security issues related to smart meters. “In response, some regulators are saying that, while aggregate data can be made available publicly, data on individual consumers should only be made available to those consumers,” he states. “Utilities should also emphasize to customers just how secure the data is because it is well encrypted.”
“One thing smart metering does is determine usage every hour or 15 minutes,” notes Ralph. “This can provide information on whether someone is home, so if a nefarious individual was able to access this data, they could try to figure out if you were home.” However, according to Ralph, this information isn’t particularly useful, because usage levels will change if heating or air conditioning go on or off, and this can occur whether the person is home or not. In addition, he adds, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) is creating cybersecurity standards that will require data to be encrypted and afforded a number of other forms of protection.
Billing Issues
According to Andrew, there have been a couple of studies done on the question of smart meter accuracy by a California utility to help allay its customer concerns. “The studies confirmed smart meters accurately record usage, the systems are correctly processing data, and there are no systemic issues, other than a few exceptions,” he reports.
However, he adds, some additional details were missing. “For example, the utility should have explained to customers that the electro-mechanical meters being replaced by smart meters could have been running slower over time,” notes Andrew. “As a result, bills might have increased because of the improved accuracy of the smart meter.” The utility should have also explained that the deployment of the smart meters coincided with a heat wave, and this caused some customers to assume that the smart meters were at fault for their increased bills. “Third, there were also some incorrectly applied rates that are now being corrected,” he adds.
When educating customers about smart meter accuracy issues, Andrew believes the industry should emphasize the data they will be getting will eventually allow them to reduce their bills by better managing their usage.
General Strategies
While there are some specific approaches the industry can take when dealing with the myths, Andrew believes strategies can and should be similar for all three concerns. He recommends five steps:
- Listen to your customers’ concerns and needs. Ignoring them will only make things worse.
- Educate your customers with information related to their concerns.
- Prepare the proper type of pilot program, one that involves customer segmentation, customer education, the opportunity for customer feedback, response to that feedback, and making customers partners rather than adversaries.
- Roll out the program slowly, learning along the way.
- Finally, offer an opt-out provision. “You will always have those who won’t trust anything you say related to health issues, privacy/security issues, and cost issues, so you can just let them choose not to participate,” states Andrew.
Ralph believes that, by using the right combination of education and other strategies, the industry should be able to calm the concerns of most rational citizens. “However, you may never be able to reach those who are on the fringe,” he admits.
