August 7, 2014 – Sensus says it is conducting utility site inspections and performing lab testing to determine the root cause of recent smart meter incidents. Results to-date point to contributing external factors, says the company, such as water intrusion due to holes in meter boxes, hot socket conditions in the meter box and over-voltage in the distribution system.

“Safety is our number one priority and all Sensus meters go through rigorous testing and meet or exceed industry safety standards,” insisted president Randy Bays. “I have been personally involved with our customers and Sensus quality and engineering teams as we work to collect fact-based and data-driven information on these specific incidents.”

To-date, data received from seven recent issues in an installed base of 175,000 meters points to contributing, long-standing industry issues, says Sensus: one was caused by an issue with a meter base attached to a home; three were caused by utility over-voltage; two were caused by water intrusion through the meter base; and one remains under investigation.

Sensus continued by underscoring the “critical importance of careful meter installation procedures, including the examination of meter boxes and wiring at installation, training of meter installers and the need to have rapid remedial action when field problems are observed”.