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Residents blast smart meters

LPEA plans neighborhood hearings on concerns in Pagosa Springs

La Plata Electric Association board members heard again Wednesday from Pagosa Springs residents upset about the cooperative’s network of smart meters in their community.

But the cooperative is months away from deciding if manual meter-reading will be charged for customers who refuse to install a smart meter, board chairman Michael Rendon said.

Smart meters are read by computer from a central point, eliminating the need for a meter reader to go house to house. But board members have said the cost of reading meters of 240 customers who have opted out of the program must be met somehow.

The cooperative will hold a series of community hearings on the topic, which will cover several months, Rendon said. Residents can voice their opinions in that setting, he said.

Four or five Pagosa Springs or Archuleta County residents spoke forcefully against the meters themselves and the possibility of refuseniks being charged for having their meter read.

The speakers said the board members are dupes of the industry that is making fortunes from new technology.

All speakers cited the often-heard complaint that smart meters are a health hazard, particularly their potential for causing carcinogenic troubles.

Look at the old Camel ad touting that doctors smoked that brand more than any other, one woman said. When it was shown that nicotine causes cancer, the hype was dropped.

People can refuse to use cellphones, which also are potential cancer-causers, but they can’t get away from radiation from communitywide smart meters, speakers said.

Utility customers should be able to opt into smart-meter installation instead of having to opt out, they said.

Speakers also said LPEA representatives were devious in presenting facts about smart meters; that smart meter radiation is dangerous for pregnant women and people with pace makers; and that thousands of doctors and scientists have pointed out the danger of smart meters.

An allegation that LPEA has no franchise agreement with the town of Pagosa Springs, and therefore has no authority to install the meters, was answered by longtime board member Davin Montoya.

A franchise agreement allows a municipality to tax power consumption, Montoya said. He asked how that would sit with them. Pagosa Springs has never wanted a franchise agreement, the same as Bayfield and Ignacio, Montoya said.

Board members made clear that cooperative customers will be heard at the community meetings, but that the final decisions rest in board members’ hands.

daler@durangoherald.com

Aug 20, 2014
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