01/30/2026
JAN 28, 2026- Eversource roll out of ‘smart meters’ roils some Berkshire residents over possible health issues, increased fees, fire risks, privacy concerns. Although proponents tout the state-wide program for its efficiency, transparency, and safety, local governments and state legislators push for greater consumer rights when it comes to installing the frequency-emitting devices.
Written by Leslee Bassman
Eversource began its program to switch out analog meters for smart meters (pictured) throughout the Commonwealth in August. Photo courtesy of Eversource.
Berkshire County — In early November, Lee resident Cindy Mathias received a letter from energy provider Eversource that the electric meter at her home would soon be upgraded to a “smart meter,” or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), an action she was told would not warrant any participation on her part. “It piqued my interest,” Mathias said of the pivot from an analog device to one that uses pulsed microwave frequencies (RF) to track energy consumption.
However, upon looking further into the program, she questioned how her meter will now be read. Mathias eyed reports from some homeowners who stated their electric bills “jumped” following the meter installation. She also discovered that the information collected by the monitoring equipment might invade her privacy and that the device posed a potential fire or explosion risk. Over the last decade, California homeowners have pushed back on smart meter installations by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE), alleging home fires were attributable to the smart meters despite state agencies not finding a direct correlation between the technology and the catastrophes.
Cindy Mathias addresses the Lee Select Board (from left: Town Administrator Christopher Brittain, Select Board member Gordon Bailey, Chair Sean Regnier, and member Robert Jones) on Jan. 20, asking the dais to consider pushing back on utility company Eversource’s switch from analog meters to smart meters. Mathias cautioned the new devices emit radio frequencies that could impact the health of residents as well as impinge on their privacy rights and cause an uptick in monthly bills.
Most concerning to Mathias is the potential health hazards she feels the device may possess, especially in homes such as hers housing cancer survivors who have already been subjected to radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
The American Cancer Society cautions individuals who have previously received radiation treatment to be aware that such additional exposure has not been tested on humans. “While RF exposure might not cause cancer directly, concern has been voiced that cells in the body that have been damaged by exposure to some other substance might somehow be more likely to become cancerous when exposed to [radio frequency] waves,” the society’s website states. “In theory, this might be a concern for people who are or have been treated for cancer with ionizing radiation and/or medicines that might cause cancer themselves. Animal studies have not shown evidence of this, and this effect has not been studied in people.”
Program rollout is cost savings for Eversource, informational benefit for users
Luis Pizano, Eversource director of smart metering and smart meter operations, heads up the smart meter rollout in Massachusetts. He clarified that the new process is intended to modernize meter reading, obviating the costly endeavor of having employees physically drive local streets to read residential meters from vehicles each month. Pizano also touted the program’s efficiency as it allows for direct communication from the system to the meter lab with real-time data.
Luis Pizano, Eversource director of smart metering and smart meter operations, heads up the device’s rollout in Massachusetts. Photo courtesy of Eversource.
For Pizano, the technology is a cost savings for his company while improving transparency for Eversource customers who will be able to access how much electricity they are consuming minute by minute instead of monthly. That information aids customers in family budgets should they overspend on electricity at the beginning of the billing cycle, avoiding a surprise when their bill comes later.
“It’s like upgrading from a flip phone to a smart phone,” Pizano said.
Additionally, the switch allows Eversource technicians to see when power is out at a home or area instead of having to wait until that stoppage is called in. “Having that real-time visibility will help us much more efficiently and accurately manage outages,” Pizano said.
The changeover began in August in downtown Springfield, followed by installations in Northampton and Amherst, with the program set to ultimately encompass all 1.5 million Eversource households within the Commonwealth. The goal is to complete the western Massachusetts rollout by the end of March, Pizano said, before turning to the Boston metropolitan area at the end of February or early March, with that work to continue for two years until the end of 2027.
Eversource responds to allegations of fire and health risks from smart meters
In his two-decade tenure at Eversource, Pizano said he has not “seen any credible evidence of smart meters posing any kind of fire hazard” and attributes claims of the devices causing wildfires to power transformer issues. Eversource smart meter manufacturers have had their meters hazard tested, even by third parties, without issue, he said.
The monitoring performed by smart meters only reflects power usage and no other individual data, Pizano said. “We’re not interested in surveillance,” he said.
According to Pizano, “the meter itself will not add any extra cost whatsoever.” He said the increased bills that customers attribute to smart meter installations may stem from the time of year—such as summer—when readings are taken or from a customer’s former meter underperforming or running slow.
As for the RF exposure produced by smart meters, he relied on the devices having been approved by the Federal Communications Commission. “There is no radiation from smart meters that would be above and beyond what people encounter currently in their day to day lives,” Pizano said of AM/FM radios, garage door openers, television remotes, baby monitors, and cell phones. “[RF exposure] is there, it is everywhere, and it’s in devices that virtually everybody has in their homes already. … Smart meters are not going to be an additional significant contributor to the amount of RF that a person encounters in their day-to-day life.”
Can homeowners just say, “no?”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2022, American electric utilities installed about 119 million smart meters, accounting for roughly 73 percent of all residential electric meters. Whereas the Eversource smart meter notification letters sent to customers do not suggest the opportunity exists for homeowners to opt out of the installation, such measures can be taken, but at a charge of $34 per month. That fee covers the cost of an Eversource technician reading a meter in person, Pizano said, in addition to an upfront charge should a customer decide to decline the smart meter after it has already been installed.
Although his company “want[ed] all customers to take advantage of this program” and consumers always have the right to object to the installations, Pizano clarified that “we don’t want to put that in the customer’s head who wasn’t even thinking about it.” “Our goal is to have every customer have a smart meter, to take advantage of it,” he said. “It helps us operationally, and we really believe customers will benefit from this.”
Legislators seek rights for consumers as courts mull governing regulations
About a year ago, State Rep. Estela Reyes (D – 4th Essex District) filed House Bill 3551, a proposal to allow ratepayers a choice in the type of utility meters installed in their homes or businesses. Reyes also joined State Sens. Michael O. Moore (D – 2nd Worcester District) and Ryan Fattman (R – Worcester and Hampden District) on a parallel measure, Senate Bill 2306, with the legislation similarly providing that customers will not incur any added cost to retain their analog meters or replace an existing non-transmitting type of smart meter. The pending measure also mandates that utility companies must obtain a ratepayer’s written consent before installing the wireless meters, notify those customers who have already had their meters installed that such action has already been taken, and detail their right to have their RF meter removed without added cost.
Reyes’ actions followed concerns voiced by her constituents about the project’s potential health and privacy issues, specifically “how utility usage data is collected and shared,” Reyes’ Legislative Aide Luca Cordero-Slater said. “Rep. Reyes explained that the bill is meant to make clear what options residents have when it comes to utility meters and to ensure those options can be exercised without added cost or penalty,” Cordero-Slater stated. After a public hearing, House Bill 3551 now sits with the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, where its reporting deadline has been extended to March 18.
James Wilusz, executive director of the Tri-Town Board of Health, agrees that more investigation is warranted into emissions posed by such devices. However, he explained that local officials’ hands are tied when it comes to electromagnetic field regulation. Tri-Town represents the public health boards for the Berkshire towns of Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge.
Wilusz pointed to a December landmark case under consideration by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) that matches the Pittsfield Board of Health against cell phone conglomerate Verizon in the community’s effort to regulate a telecommunications company’s actions. The local group sought to impose a cease-and-desist order on the construction of a cell phone tower within city borders. The state’s high court decision now hinges on whether a ruling by a local jurisdiction—in this case a board of health—can preempt or have authority over federal regulations covering the telecommunications industry given reported related health and safety issues.
“What we know is that we have no authority over the telecommunications industry with respect to public health issues associated with [electromagnetic field] frequencies,” Wilusz said. “So many of us in public health are paying attention to that because we don’t know what our jurisdiction is, if at all, on that.”
For Wilusz, federal standards for the telecommunications industry may need “to play catch up” from the 1990s and address issues faced by a 2026 society bombarded by radio frequency releases emitted from cell phones and Wi-Fi.
“The ongoing question is: ‘Is there a link between [electromagnetic releases] and other health risks?” Wilusz said. “At the end of the day, people should have a right to opt out if they feel uncomfortable or they suffer from [electromagnetic field] disorders.”
Mathias approached the Lee Select Board on January 20 with her concerns, sounding an alarm for those in power to more completely research the program before it is too late, before meters are attached to the façade of every Berkshire home. She urged board members to contact state, local, and health agency officials about the risks and say “no” to smart meters through a town-wide ban or, at the very least, negotiate lower fees for those electing to retain their analog meters.
“Tell Eversource the town is not opting out; we are refusing to opt in,” she addressed the dais.
https://theberkshireedge.com/eversource-roll-out-of-smart-meters-roils-some-berkshire-residents-over-possible-health-issues-increased-fees-fire-risks-privacy-concerns/?fbclid=IwdGRzaAPpRnljbGNrA-lFhmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHuZv2VhBl6H7gDl6PbKViYQUj0kndpXJEu1k1FDrGDnFx4da-qnrID2BfEcs_aem_dga6eJAux_AMyalNU1A4Rw
Although proponents tout the state-wide program for its efficiency, transparency, and safety, local governments and state legislators push for greater consumer rights when it comes to installing the frequency-emitting devices.
