Electric companies use more smart meters

By NYLA HUGHES
Capital News Service
LANSING — Utility companies across Michigan are using digital smart-grid meters to locate power outages, resolve power problems and gather more accurate readings. The meters at homes and businesses are connected by a cellular power line to the utilities. The utilities can signal a meter for information and it will send data back. But the meters aren’t without controversy. During a recent House committee hearing, some lawmakers raised concerns that the wireless communications that smart meters use pose a health risk State regulators say those concerns are not conclusive.