Today’s meters collect data on a monthly basis. An Eversource vehicle drives by and reads meters from the street.

Smart meters will automatically transmit data to our systems in regular intervals without a vehicle needing to drive by.

You’ll be notified several times prior to receiving a new smart meter through a variety of channels such as email, mail and text.

We cannot provide you with an exact day and time.

There is no fee at the time of installation and the installers will not ask you for money.

The charge for smart meter work is included in the Distribution Charge listed on page 2 of your monthly bill. For an average household that uses 600 kWh per month, the charge is approximately $1.75 a month, and that started July 1, 2024.

This program and its associated costs will be reviewed and adjusted every year through 2028 by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

See a sample bill

If you are present at the time of installation, you may notice a brief power outage while the meter is installed.

If you’re responsible for paying your electric bill, you’ll have access to all smart meter benefits.

If your electric bill is paid by your landlord, they will have access to the information and benefits provided by the new meter.

Yes. You currently have two meters, a regular meter and a net meter. Your regular meter will be upgraded to a smart meter.

Some net meters may need to be upgraded at the same time your regular meter is changed to a smart meter.

A smart meter does not rely on Wi-Fi to collect the meter data. It has an embedded radio that enables two-way communication between the meter and our systems. This means the collected data is more secure than information transmitted via Wi-Fi.

Yes. Data sent from a smart meter is sent over a private network and stored on our secure company servers. In addition, smart meters are not used to transmit any customer personal information, such as name and address.

We rely on Radio Frequency (RF), which is a type of Electromagnetic Field Radiation, for many devices in our everyday lives, such as police and fire radio systems, cell phones, wireless internet and more. The Federal Communications Commission requires that all wireless devices sold in the United States, including smart meters, meet minimum guidelines for safe human exposure to RF energy. RF is also monitored and regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The low levels of RF emitted from a smart meter are well below regulatory limits. When a smart meter is transmitting, the exposure to RF energy at a distance of 8 inches from the meter is 0.06 mW/cm² at 902 Mhz, or almost 10 times lower than the exposure limit set by the FCC.

Here are some additional resources on smart meters and RF.

• Electric Power Research Institute
• American Cancer Society

Smart meters are not used to control your energy use. The information we collect from smart meters is used for billing and outage purposes and to determine if the meter is functioning properly.