Maine’s top public health official has given the green light to so-called “smart meters,” the electricity-use measuring devices that are being installed by Central Maine Power Co. as part of its grid modernization program.

But if you think that will be the end of opposition to the program, think again. In this era when every threat is magnified by someone, and every side of an argument has its own set of facts, don’t expect anything to die down quickly.

The Public Utilities Commission should not be swayed, however, and should deny requests for a moratorium on installation of the devices.

Opposition to the smart meters comes from two directions. Union officials and their supporters, who are upset that the electronic meters will result in fewer jobs for meter readers, are lined up with certain environmentalists who say that the devices pose a health risk.

The environmentalists argue that the devices could cause cancer because they emit radiation. They want to stop the installation until scientific study of the question can be resolved definitively. But if smart meters are a cancer danger, then so are cell phones, baby monitors and laptop computers, or any other device that uses radio waves to transmit information.

Delaying the installation of smart meters would have little impact on the amount of a typical person’s exposure to non-ionizing radiation, which is different from the cancer-causing radiation emitted by nuclear fuel and weapons.

We are walking through wireless networks virtually everywhere we go. A meter that operates 10 minutes a day would cause less exposure to the average person than the wireless routers set up in schools, offices, restaurants and many homes already.

And an electric meter that tells a consumer how much he is spending has the potential to produce a great environmental benefit. Like a dieter counting calories, a thrifty consumer will be able to see how much he can save by shutting out the lights in an empty room or by unplugging charging devices when they are not needed.

That alone will encourage people to use less electricity, reducing the demand for power, which, for the most part in Maine, is generated by burning natural gas, a fossil fuel.

If there is a health problem associated with wireless devices, fixing it would require a much broader solution than slowing down the installation of smart meters in Maine.

In the meantime, Maine’s consumers should be allowed to benefit from better access to information that will help them track and control their spending on electricity.

 

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