Select Board member has beef with Eversource’s smart meter installations

SOUTHWICK — While Eversource will hold an informational meeting next Tuesday to explain its project to exchange traditional electric meters with smart meters, it's a bit too late for Select Board member Doug Moglin.

"I'm a little disappointed that Eversource is managing to stall that meeting, until potentially after they've started going around installing the smart meters. And you know, I think that's a bad look for Eversource," he said during the board's meeting on Monday.

He added that there is "legitimate discussion" about information the power company can collect and "potentially utilize."

"So, it's worthy of a public discussion before they go touching people's homes and replacing those meters," Moglin said, adding that he had multiple people reach out to him asking him what he knows about the meters.

"They should be in front of the public in the towns that they're putting these meters explaining what they're doing," he said.

Company representatives will have an informational meeting about the switch at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the auditorium of Town Hall, which was arranged by the town's Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Parker at the request of the board.

In an email from an Eversource spokesperson, she wrote the smart meters are a "key part of [the company's] grid modernization strategy," wrote Olessa Stepanova, the company's external communications manager.

She wrote the smart meters allow two-way communication between the meter and the company's systems, "allowing for faster outage detection, remote service activation, and more accurate billing."

The meters also allow customers real-time access to their energy usage through their online account.

"[This allows] them to make informed decisions, take greater control of their energy usage, and potentially reduce their energy costs," she wrote.

Moglin also said there is a "significant financial penalty" for Eversource customers who decide to keep the traditional meter.

"If you decide to opt out of the meter project, they're going to increase your bill significantly per month to continue the use of your old meter," he said.

He acknowledged the company can save money by eliminating the need to have meters read by a company employee.

"But they're not discounting your electricity or the delivery now that they have this smart meter capability," he said.

Stepanova said the company's smart meter project would save it money.

"Over time, this technology helps reduce operating costs by eliminating the need for manual meter readings and truck rolls, which benefits all customers," she wrote.

She also addressed the costs to customers who chose to keep their electric meters.

"While we want all our customers to enjoy the many benefits that the modern technology of smart meters will provide, residential customers may choose to opt out. Customers will begin to receive notifications of their meter exchange about 90 days in advance, and we are waiving the $42 fee for customers who opt out within this 90-day period," she wrote.

Those customers who opt out of the exchange will be charged a $34 monthly fee to cover the costs of sending employees in specialized trucks out to manually read their meter. These charges will be included in their monthly bill, she wrote.

Stepanova also explained how the company alerted its customers to the meter switch.

"We [notified] our customers several times prior to their meter exchange through a variety of channels. These include letters sent to the customer's billing address, as well as emails and text messages for customers who have signed up to receive information that way," she wrote, adding that the notices were sent approximately 90, 60, and 30 days before the scheduled exchange.

Select Board member Russ Anderson spoke to the notices from Eversource: "the letters weren't that far away from November to tell you they were coming."

Moglin said he was notified "last week" that the company would be in his neighborhood to switch the meters.

Before the board moved on to other business, Select Board Chair Diane Gale asked Moglin if there was anything else he was disappointed in.

"Comcast is always high up on that list, but we don't expect as much from them."

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