Smart Meter Did Not Cause House Fire, Claremore Spokesperson Says

Controversy over smart meters took off on social media this week thanks to a house fire in Claremore.  Some people believe a smart meter caused the fire.

The city says that's not true, and it's trying a different approach to douse the controversy.

A recent house fire in Claremore has a lot of people asking questions if the fire was caused by a smart meter. The city because manages the power in Claremore, and they addressed a lot of the concerns by residents. 

Sam Martin never thought the electric meter on the side of his home would cause so much controversy.

"It was just an unfortunate event where the wiring must have gotten messed up on our side, and I mean it sucks to have to deal with," said homeowner Sam Martin.

The fire marshal says the fire in Martin's home Wednesday night started in a wall between the electrical meter and the electrical service panel. The Claremore Fire Department says rumors started flying on the Internet the smart meter installed by the city's power utility was to blame.

8/4/2015 Related Story: Claremore Residents Shocked Over High Utility Bills

The city's hired a person specifically to respond to the rumors. He says the melted plastic and smoke damage from Martin's meter proves the fire didn't start there.

"If you look at the back of the meter, you can see how it's all warped from the heat, but these spades are what plug into the meter can and you can see they're not even discolored," said John McComb, City of Claremore.

"If they had been loose or heated up, these would've been a discolored metal from the heat."

Over the summer, many customers blamed higher utility bills on the new meters. John McComb says the big difference between the new and old meters is a little chip that sends usage data back to the electric company. He says Claremore customers can call to get their meters checked to see how accurate their meters are. He says the data provided can also teach customers where they can save money.

"It's a thing we can measure it, we need the customer to work with us if they want to find out what's using it and how they can reduce it," McComb said.

Martin just can't wait to get his wall fixed and the power turned back on.

"I was neutral; didn't care one way or the other. Just another meter. Never had thought of it in anyway. I walked by it one day and noticed it was different, and my bills haven't changed much," Sam Martin said of the smart meter on his house.

Residents will have the opportunity to opt-out of the smart meter program, but the city tells me on January 1st, they will start charging $30 a bill if they do opt out.