Dive Summary:
- On Thursday, Maryland lawmakers heard testimony from smart meter proponents and opponents alike as they weigh whether to allow the state's utility customers to opt out for free.
- While many states and utilities allow customers to opt out, almost all charge customers a fee for not replacing their analog meters with smart meters.
- Smart meter foes cited both the lack of research on smart meters' health effects and radio frequency energy, the radiation emitted by smart meters, being labeled as "possibly carcinogenic" by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.
From the article:
"... 'We're not talking junk science,' said Jonathan Libber, president of Maryland Smart Meter Awareness, a citizens group pushing for the opt-out, after the hearing. 'We're talking no science.'
Such complaints struck some members of the House Economic Matters Committee, who wondered why no federal agency had produced a study.
'Smart meters are a relatively new phenomenon,' said Michael Butts, director of smart grid for BGE. ..."