Underwriters Lab vs Smart Meter Fires: Commentary re. Berkshire Edge's Eversource Smart Meter Article
A Letter to the Editor/Outreach and thanks to the Berkshire Edge; Also for Fire Captains?
Smart Meters won’t pass overvolt test so can they cause fires? | S.A.F.E. Helps You
I believe that one of the most important issues facing public servants and the news media is the restoration of public trust, and I am very grateful to the Western MA news source “The Berkshire Edge” News and Ideas Worth Sharing, and to reporter Leslee Bassman for her recent coverage of the Massachusetts Smart Meter rollout.
The article is: “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.
The reporter covered concerns expressed by Lee resident Cindy Mathias.
[] 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.
Leslee Bassman reported, “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.”
For interested readers, here are some referenced comments.
Fires and Smart Meters
Here is a January 2026 article about the fact that overvoltage caused meters to be blown off homes Ohio: Transformer Explosion Causes Outages, and “electric meters on multiple houses down the street were blown off”
Crews found a gas fire in the basement of the home, plus electric meters on multiple houses down the street were blown off. “I mean, it indicates a dangerous situation. I think, for us,” Norman told 3News on Tuesday. “And I talked to the battalion chief this morning, we’re both surprised that we didn’t have more house fires, actually. With that the damage that was done to those electrical meters, a lot of times that can lead to house fires.
This situation reminded me of a similar news story from 2015 about Stockton CA as reported by Stop Smart Meters, as I reported here:
Excerpt from the Stockton Record on the exploding smart meters:
“Stockton fire Capt. Bryan Carr with Engine 6, one of several fire crews dispatched Monday morning as dozens of electric customers began reporting explosions, smoke or the smell of burning wires, described the scene as “unreal” when his engine pulled onto Fairbury Lane, a residential street in southeast Stockton. Expecting to pull up to a specific address, Carr’s crew was greeted by a number of residents out on the street wondering why his engine wasn’t stopping at their house.
“In some cases, meters were literally blown off the panels. People described it as hearing a whirring sound like the meter was speeding up, then like an explosion. Some of the meters weren’t blown off, but they were fried and the glass was gone,” Carr said.”
Insurance Industry Smart Meter Fire Whistleblower
I recently contacted a local fire captain in my area about the Ohio fires. I explained that he probably has not heard about the meter fires because, according to insurance industry whistleblower Norm Lambe, utilities reportedly pull the meters from the fire scene before the fire investigation takes place, so they have no data
Here is the testimony from the insurance industry whistleblower.
Testimony & Exhibits by Norman Lambe, Insurance Adjuster – New Mexico PRC – July 13, 2016 | Coalition to Stop Smart Meters in BC
See also: May 30, 2024 – https://citizensforsafertech.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NORM-LAMBE–INSURANCE-INDUSTRY-SMART-METER-FIRES-WHISTLEBLOWER.pdf
Articles by Norman Lambe, Insurance Adjuster – Smart Meters & Fires (2011-2016)
Norm now publishes at Substack here: Norman’s Substack | Norman Lambe | Substack
Fire Reports, fatality included
See also: The 50-page paper “Overview: Fire and Electrical Hazards from ‘Smart’, Wireless, PLC, and Digital Utility Meters” by Nina Beety, available free for downloading and printing. It provides information from experts on utility meters used in the U.S. and Canada.
See also The Discovery and Science of Smart Meter Fires Vyto Babrauskas, Ph.D. Fire Science and Technology Inc. 66 pages
Some citizen science resources, because the industry and its regulators didn’t collect it, or investigate:
EMF Safety Network, Smart Meter Fires and Explosions – EMF Safety Network
Stop Smart Meters, FAQ: Fire and Safety Issues | Stop Smart Meters!
Smart Meter Education Network (Michigan) Smart Meter Education Network - Fires
Stop BC Hydro Smart Meters: SMART METER FIRES | Coalition to Stop Smart Meters in BC
The site is now moved to SMART METER FIRES | Citizens For Safer Tech
Are Smart Meters “Independently Tested?”
When I reached out to the fire captain I knew, I asked if it would be possible for MA Fire Officials to require that utilities not remove the meters before any fire is investigated.
Why would this be necessary?
Regarding the idea that the meters are tested independently, (as Eversource told the Berkshire Edge reporter) - when I was researching the question for a reference, I found it because I knew where to look.
Does the 2025 edition of UL 2735 test for overvoltage?
As reported by the Scientific Alliance for Education (SAFE) in January of 2025:
THE ELECTRONIC SMART METERS WILL NEVER PASS AN OVERVOLTAGE TEST! as of 2014, the spec sheets for smart meters only list UL2735…but they do NOT say UL2735 approved. And when you ask the Utility for their test results, they have nothing to show.
Then some sort of Chat Assist appeared on my computer screen, unsolicited, to help. I wrote about it in a longer article here:
Does the 2025 edition of UL 2735 test for overvoltage?
Short answer: the UL 2735 standard itself does not explicitly mandate an overvoltage protection device or specific extended overvoltage tests as part of the core requirements, but it does address safety under high-voltage/overload conditions in general electrical safety testing.
Informed Citizens Have Questions
Regarding fires, informed citizens may have access to information that is not readily available to journalists and researchers because the data has not been collected or is suppressed.
But all concerns expressed by Cindy Mathias and reported by Leslee Bassman deserve much further scrutiny, including
adverse health impacts, including acute onset of disability, because the MA DPU promoted the opinions of a mercenary tobacco scientist in 12-76-B.
the infrastructure costs being passed on to ratepayers that were approved by the MA DPU - (this is not free)
the surveillance capacity of the meters that record all device use in the home (Eversource is reportedly installing Itron meters. Itron has also partnered with Sense. Are the new meters being installed in MA by Eversource now collecting all of the personal device/appliance usage data from Massachusetts ratepayers? Much more at this article)
MA4SafeTechnology is one good resource for concerned ratepayers.
In the Berkshires, look to Hilltown Health
and the Scientific Alliance for Education.
When a ubiquitous environmental exposure is associated with access to an essential service like electricity, gas, heat, water, and propone, everyone should be concerned. Thanks for being here.