Longmont City Council set to talk smart electric meters at Tuesday study session

The pros and cons of switching to “smart meters” to read and analyze a home’s energy use will be discussed by city council at its Tuesday night work session, which is likely to bring out critics who claim the new technology generates health risks including cancer.

The 7 p.m. study session won’t result in a formal vote on changing to wireless smart meters in Longmont. A contract for a selected wireless provider will be brought before council for review and approval most likely next year, according to a staff report.

Council on Tuesday specifically will discuss the technology proposed in the $16 million Advance Metering Infrastructure project, which is “both feasible and likely most economically advantageous,” according to the staff report. AMI also is considered a “cornerstone” of the city’s efforts to reach 100% renewable electric energy by 2030, the report states.

City staff is still exploring wired and hybrid solutions that will help Longmont reach its environmental goals, according to the report.

Council members raised questions about the technology in September during a discussion of the overall Capital Improvement Budget. Several residents and non-residents have called in during public comment portions of recent council sessions to voice concerns over smart metering, claiming their use leads to cancer and other health woes.

Smart meters give off radio frequency, or RF, radiation, which is a possible carcinogen, according to the American Cancer Society. More studies need to be done, however, to determine if smart meters are harmful to most people..

“...It is possible that smart meters could increase cancer risk. Still, it isn’t clear what risk, if any there might be from living in a home with a smart meter,” the American Cancer Society stated on its website.

Longmont Power and Communication, which is overseeing the AMI project, cites research by the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and the Federal Communications Commission that indicates radio frequency levels from smart meters are unlikely to produce any adverse health effects to humans, according to the staff report.

“The (radio frequency) signals from smart meters are not continuous, commonly transmitting a data package of 15-minute intervals,” the report states. “The intermittent transmission is a fraction of the other common devices in use including Wi-Fi routers and cell phones.” 

The three-year AMI project, which is in its second year, will transform Longmont’s manually read electric meter system to a “robust,”two-way communication system, according to the staff report.