Illinois residents take battle against smart meters to court

[January 06, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- A debate over the usefulness of smart meters versus potential security and privacy in the Illinois city of Naperville has spilled into the courts.

An organization called Naperville Smart Meter Awareness Group, or NSMA, filed for an injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District, Eastern Division, on Dec. 30, asking that the city's planned installation of smart meters be halted until residents can vote on a nonbinding referendum in March, the closest election.

The referendum asks residents to vote on using smart meters in their city.

"It was a difficult decision to file in federal court. We have worked tirelessly for months, advocating for caution and informed consent," said Kim Bendis, president of NSMA, a nonprofit lobbying against smart meters. "It has become clear that our city officials are no longer acting in the public's best interest. They have failed to stop the project in the face of public outcry. Without adequate choice, we feel the council left us no other option."

Every analog meter, the ubiquitous metal boxes with protruding glass domes encasing spinning disks, will be replaced as part of the city's $22 million smart-grid initiative.

The city began installing the new meters this week despite the court case and is set to be done with its upgrades by April 2013.

"Based on our legal department's review of the federal filing, we're convinced there's no legal merit to their case," said Nadja Lalvani, communications relations manager for Naperville.

Smart meters allow consumers and utility companies to monitor electricity usage more closely. The meters report usage to the company throughout the day via wireless transmitters, while at the same time, the utility company can "talk" to the meters, adjusting power usage and distribution.

It works on a network similar to that used by cellphones.

Opponents to smart meters say the technology has been developed and deployed so quickly that it is vulnerable to security breaches. They say information intended only for utility companies and their customers could be hacked and stolen.

"All residents should have the right to choose what technology is used in and on their home, especially when it is controversial," Bendis said.

Naperville residents can choose to have a hard-wired smart meter at an extra upfront cost of $68.35 and an extra monthly fee of $24.75, Lalvani said. The extra monthly fee will cover the cost of paying a person to go to the meter physically to get readings.

How the court case could affect the recently passed smart-grid legislation is murky.

The smart-grid law passed last year by the Legislature allows for automatic rate hikes over the next decade to pay for upgrades to the utility infrastructure operated by Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison Co. The utility companies say electric rates will decrease over the long term thanks to grid improvements.

Naperville purchases its electricity from a wholesale utility company not covered by the smart-grid legislation.

"Everything that happens there is particular to the city of Naperville. The smart-grid legislation was not the trigger," said Phillip Mueller, vice president of government affairs for Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, which sells electricity to Naperville.

If Ameren or Commonwealth Edison customers want to opt out of smart meters, they first have to go to the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates the consumer utility companies, said Ed McNamara, a Springfield attorney versed in utility litigation.

The case then would go to the appellate court, if the utility companies or the customers aren't satisfied with the commerce commission's decision.

"It could go all the way to the (Illinois) Supreme Court," McNamara said.

McNamara said the federal court ruling in the Naperville case, however, could be used in a case against Ameren or Commonwealth Edison.

Ameren is using automated meter reading, which uses a wireless signal, said Leigh Morris, Ameren spokesman. Of the 1.2 million electric customers Ameren serves in Illinois, only about 750,000 customers will get smart meters.

Which customers will get smart meters is still to be decided, Morris said.

Customers with a medical condition that could be bothered by the wireless signal from either the current automated meters or new smart meters can have a wired system installed for $170.

Calls to Commonwealth Edison were not returned.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]