Concerns about smart meters in ESB’s Dingle plan
CONCERNS about the potential health effects of electromagnetic radiation from ‘smart’ metres that may be used in the ESB’s sustainable energy pilot scheme planned for Dingle will be raised at a public meeting later this month.
Under a €1.2 million StoreNet project announced by the ESB last September, 20 homes in Dingle are to be involved in a pilot scheme “to test the potential of a new storage technology to support the use of variable renewable energy supply resources and smart connection to the Irish electricity grid”.
Essentially what this means is that batteries will be installed in people’s houses so they can store electricity that they generate from solar panels, wind turbines or other home-based renewable energy sources. They will then be able to use this stored electricity at times of peak energy usage, thereby taking pressure off the national grid.
According to the ESB, the project “aims to reduce energy costs for residents, relieve pressure on the [electricity] grid during peak times, and contribute to our transition to a sustainable energy future”.
Although the ESB has not yet detailed the kind of technology that will be used in the Dingle project, it is expected that it will involve installing ‘smart’ metres in people’s homes to monitor and control electricity usage. And it is smart meters that are the focus of the concerns that will be aired at the meeting to be held in the Skellig Hotel on March 27.
Smart metres operating through a wifi-based system emit electromagnetic radiation – as do mobile phones - and there are growing concerns that it is damaging to people’s health.
Evidence in relation to this is the subject of ongoing debate. The World Health Organisation has referred to radiation from mobile phones as “possibly carcinogenic”, but also stated in 2014 that: “current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields”. Members of the Irish Doctors Environmental Association issued a statement in 2013 stating that: “There is growing concern that long-term exposure to radio frequency/microwave radiation from wireless technologies causes damage, particularly genetic damage, cognitive damage, cancer and decreased fertility.”
The ad-hoc group ‘Wired Atlantic Way’ which is behind the meeting in the Skellig Hotel, supports the aim of moving towards sustainable energy but believes the ESB should avoid using wireless smart meters and opt instead for connecting the meters through West Kerry’s newly installed fibre optic network, which would avoid any health risks.
“There are many good things about a smartgrid but maybe the use of EMF [electromagnetic frequency] smart meters is not one of them. Let’s have a Wired Atlantic Way!” the group says.
The meeting in the Skellig Hotel will be held from 8-10pm on Tuesday, March 27.