Vermonters Waking Up

Voters pass town budget, oppose smart meters at Manchester Town Meeting - Manchester Journal

A non-binding advisory vote on whether the town should oppose the installation of new "smart meters" was also approved, by a 94-48 margin. The meter program has already been approved by the state's Public Service Board and CAPS, the area's electric utility, is poised to begin their installation, and anticipated putting them in the Manchester area later this summer. Town Manager John O'Keefe said after the meeting that he would be sending a letter to the Public Service Board advising them of the outcome.


Manchester voters oppose smart meters - Bennington Banner

In an advisory vote, townspeople voted 94-48 to oppose the installation of wireless smart meters, intended by Central Vermont Public Service, the state’s largest electric utility, to enable them to monitor and coordinate the supply of electricity around their grid more efficiently. Concerns were expressed by those opposed to their installation - which has already been approved by the state’s Public Service Board - over health and privacy issues. A $10 per month "opt-out" fee sought by CVPS to cover costs associated with having to send human meter readers to individual homes and businesses was also cited for objection by those opposed to the smart meter concept.

"Vermont hasn’t had input on the smart meters," said Martine Victor, one of the opponents. "The Public Service Board has failed to put health first. Where they have been installed, people are suffering a variety of negative effects."

A hardwired system, rather than the wireless model embraced by CVPS, would work better in Vermont, she said.

Brian Keefe, a vice-president with CVPS and a resident of Manchester, opened the discussion with a defense of the plan, noting that the state government had requested CVPS develop a smart meter model that would accomplish a variety of different tasks, and only a wireless system had that capacity, he said.

"Smart meters will save money over the long term," he said. "Customers will get more information and (be able) to use energy more efficiently in general."

Nevertheless, after an amendment was offered by Michael Kilburn to table the vote, almost two-thirds of those remaining at that point in the meeting stood in a division of the house vote to oppose the plan. The practical impact of the vote is unclear at this point, said Town Manager John O’Keefe. He would be sending a letter to the public service board advising them of the outcome of the vote, he said after the meeting.