Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

In speaking last week with Keith Carnahan, President and CEO of MLEC (Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative), his concerns were with mis-information being spread about meter upgrades in the MLEC service area.

‘Radio Frequency (RF) Smart Meters are currently being installed in the five county area of Lewis, Perry, Hickman, Humphreys and Houston,’ said Carnahan. ‘These meters are replacing years old out-dated equipment that cannot be serviced due to replacement parts not being available.

MLEC Board of Directors discussed these old and new meters in meetings last year and approved the upgrades. MLEC members were advised of the coming changes in the monthly publication Tennessee Magazine.

Carnahan continued, ‘The new meters send a signal once a day to record usage, the signal lasts only a few seconds. Concerns of privacy invasion are false, the equipment is unable to do that. This is not 5G, it is very secure.’

Research compiled by Dr. Yakov P. Shkolnikov, Ph.D. at Princeton University shows RF exposure from smart meters emit 0.000015 milliwatts at one yard away compared to cell phones 0.19 next to your head, 12,667 times greater.

MLEC District Manager Jason Graves says the City of Hohenwald has been using the Smart Meters for 2-3 years for water and gas readings.

Carnahan said that options are available and MLEC has been working with individual customers about their concerns.