Four utilities - Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (BGE), Pepco, Delmarva Power and Light Co. and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Inc. - attended a Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing yesterday after being summoned by the commission to discuss the installation of smart meters and increasing concerns about overheating issues with the equipment.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the Maryland PSC called the hearing after Philadelphia-based utility PECO's recent decision to halt its smart meter program in Pennsylvania amid reports of 15 overheated units and two related fires in its service territory. (To read more about the fires, click here.)
Michael Butts, BGE’s director of business transformation, told the commission his utility has had five cases of overheating smart meters, but noted that the units neither failed nor caused damage in any of the instances.
Some representatives from the utilities, including Butts, told the PSC they suspect old electrical sockets may be causing the issue. Public opponents of smart meters were not allowed to testify at the hearing.
