City to DTE: Please Stop Installing Smart Meters Until Further Review

The installation of "smart" meters in Rochester has raised questions, and until they get answers, city leaders are asking DTE to hold off.

In a letter to Michael Palchesko, regional manager for DTE Energy Company, Rochester City Manager Jaymes Vettraino writes: "I respectfully request that DTE suspend the installation" of the new meters in the city until a DTE representative can address some of the issues raised by residents in the city.

The meters are on the agenda of a special 5 p.m. City Council meeting today.

Smart meters measure and record electricity and natural gas usage using digital technology instead of the traditional gears and dials. The technology involves the use of radio frequency waves to transmit data to DTE; this frequency is similar to that used in microwaves and cell phones, according to DTE.

The meters can be read remotely, eliminating the need for meter-readers. Customers would be able to check usage online.

There is no customer cost for the new meters.

At city council's Oct. 24 meeting, about five people voiced their concerns to city councilmembers about the possible health effects of the smart meters. None of those who spoke were residents of Rochester. 

City councilmember David Becker, who has a chemistry background, told the audience during that meeting that there has been a lot of misunderstanding about the smart meters but that there has been "no proven danger of radio frequency radiation whatsoever."

"All of us in this room are bathed in huge amounts of radio frequency at the moment," Becker said.

He urged those who spoke out against the meters to check scientific sources.

In his letter to DTE, Vettraino explained that he and other city leaders were under the impression that the meters would not be coming to Rochester until the city had a chance to learn more about them.

Instead, some of the meters have been changed out in the past several weeks, and Vettraino said he and councilmembers have received concerned phone calls from residents who are asking questions about the meters — questions the city cannot adequately answer without more information from DTE.

The meeting will be held at Rochester City Hall and is open to the public.

Also on the agenda: A request for a closed session to review union negotiations and a recommendation to approve a labor agreement with the Police Officers Association of Michigan.

Here is a link to DTE's frequently asked questions about the smart meter program.