Forensic evidence suggests that the problem is a known issue commonly called “hot socket”—a case where the blades of the socket receptacle are not making good electrical contact due to spreading, corrosion, or other insulating effect. As a result, the current flow encounters higher resistance at the contacts, causing excessive temperature rise and possible flash-over.
Underwriters Lab (UL) has recently been engaged to do safety testing on these smart meters by some utilities. While presently there is not a specific meter safety test protocol by UL, they are modeling these tests after the electric vehicle charging specification (UL 2735).
There is speculation that the mechanical differences between traditional electro-mechanical meters (glass covers and metal bases) and solid-state meters (carbon compound and plastic) may be a strong contributor to this situation (lower flash point). Installation quality may be a root cause, as there appears to be a “cluster” of these events in one community (Bucks County, PA) where a particular installation contractor is being used to deploy these.
One particular meter manufacturer has been cited by one utility and, as a result, they have switched to another supplier for the time being to see if there is any performance difference. In the meantime, the existing meters have received a new software feature that provides automatic shut-off if problems are detected.
Peco to resume smart-meter installations with new manufacturer - philly.com
Peco announced Tuesday that it would resume its ambitious smart-meter installation program after pulling the plug on a manufacturer whose devices had been linked to a series of fires.
The utility suspended the $650 million program in August after several incidents in which the electronic devices overheated and caught fire. Two of the incidents resulted in serious house fires, though none resulted in injuries.
Peco hired Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and two independent consultants to examine the meters. Their reports convinced the utility to swap out all the meters manufactured by Sensus Metering Systems Inc. of Raleigh, N.C., with those made by a Swiss vendor, Landis & Gyr A.G.
How many fires could have been prevented in the past ten months had the industry discovered actual information about the risks of tacking cheap plastic meters onto the grid?
Meters that Endanger: Shocking Details from a Whistleblower - Stop Smart Meters!
A lawsuit made available to us recently detailed just how such faulty equipment could end up attached to the electrical wiring on millions of homes. In Alabama in 2009, a Sensus engineering employee named Don Baker was fired for repeatedly alerting his management to the presence of a multitude of dangerous defects in the smart meter they were manufacturing (model iConA). As he states in the complaint he filed, this whistleblower reported serious flaws in design and functioning that could lead to electrical danger, overheating, and/or fire. In fact, the failure rate of the meters was twenty times higher than it was supposed to be, and the engineer contends that at least two house fires were the result. Sensus meters are used by utilities across the U.S. and in Canada, such as PECO, Alliant Energy, Alabama Power, and NVE.
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