Null and Void

Maine Supreme Judicial Court to hear 'smart'-meter arguments; lawmaker questions opt-out fees - The Forcaster

The debate over Central Maine Power Co.'s "smart" electrical meters is headed to the state's highest court.

A group of CMP customers filed the appeal last week with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

They claim the Maine Public Utilities Commission, which dismissed a request for an investigation into the safety of wireless meters, violated the state statute that requires the regulatory agency to ensure utilities provide safe service to their customers.

"They have specifically said on several occasions that they won't make a decision on these (health and security) issues," said Ed Friedman, a Bowdoinham resident and lead complainant. "When they specifically avoid their responsibility, that makes the whole darn thing null and void."

CMP spokesman John Carroll said the company is still on track to have more than 600,000 smart meters installed by the first quarter of 2012.

He said the company does not have any comment on the lawsuit. In the past, Carroll has stopped short of saying smart meters are safe, and has emphasized that it is not CMP's job to test the safety of the meters, deferring that decision to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts.

The Maine Center for Disease Control previously stated that it did not find "any consistent or convincing evidence to support a concern for health effects related to the use of radiofrequency in the range of frequencies and power used by smart meters."

That statement came before the World Health Organization this year added radiation from cell phones and other wireless devices, such as smart meters, as a possible carcinogen.