Springfield, Eversource agree steps to avoid placing smart meters on historic facades

Councilor Brown convened a meeting with Eversource representatives, city preservation advocates and city planning staff to discuss the utility's smart meter rollout and recent cases of meters appearing on the fronts of buildings in Springfield's historic districts. Preservation advocates said the installations were occurring without homeowners being informed or the projects being routed to the Springfield Historical Commission for review. Eversource staff described the meter replacement process and agreed to review its internal guidance and work orders to reduce future problems.

The meeting matters because historic-district rules require review of exterior changes, and residents and preservation groups said visible meter placements can alter the appearance of protected properties. "We do want to make sure that the integrity of the historic properties are maintained and that homeowners of historic properties have a right to discuss what's where they're being placed," said Erica Swallow, president of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

Eversource officials described the technical scope of the smart meter program and how meter changes are handled. "What we're doing is we are exchanging the meter, but it's just the meter. It's not the meter socket," said Jason Blente, who represents Eversource's electric smart meter program. Blente and Christopher Kellogg, manager of meter operations, said the program replaces meters in place and does not move the meter socket unless the customer requests an electrical service upgrade. The company also said basement meters would be exchanged but that workers need homeowner access to perform exchanges.

Preservation advocates and city staff traced the problem to permitting and communication gaps. Andrew Schurstein, staff liaison to the Historic Commission in the Office of Planning and Economic Development, said building-department reviewers sometimes did not flag permits for historic-district review. "In historic districts, any exterior changes, anything being affixed to the building, would need review by the historical commission," Schurstein said. He said he expects permit applications filed by electricians to be flagged going forward so the Historic Commission can review installations.

Eversource staff described how meter-location decisions are typically made. "There is a work request that gets filed by the electrician," Christopher Kellogg said. He noted Eversource's information book lists a front-of-house placement as a default but that the company has accommodated side- or rear-siting and pedestal solutions in coordination with historic-review requirements.

Participants discussed practical steps to reduce future conflicts: the Historic Commission will expand outreach and consider a utility-meter placement guide with photos and guidance for homeowners and electricians; the city will aim to flag historic-district permits more reliably at the building-department review stage; and Eversource said it would review whether its work-order forms and contractor communications could include a prompt to check whether an address is in a historic district. John Caldwell, Eversource manager of community relations, said he would "bring that back" to company teams to see what language or checklist items could be added to work orders and contractor scripts.

Several residents asked whether the smart meters are mandatory and whether customers may opt out. "The meters, it is mandatory that they're replaced, but the customers are given an option to opt out of the technology. There is a fee associated with opting out," Blente said. Residents also raised radio-frequency concerns and billing questions; Eversource framed the rollout's benefits as improved customer usage data and faster outage restoration.

No formal votes or ordinance changes were taken at the meeting. Instead, city staff, the Historic Commission liaison and Eversource agreed to follow up with specific next steps: the Historic Commission will consider an updated guidance document and outreach plan; the city building department will aim to flag historic-district permit applications; and Eversource will review its contractor work requests and public-facing materials for an added prompt about historic-district status.

Participants asked that homeowners and preservation groups forward specific addresses where improper placements occurred so the city and Eversource can investigate individual cases. Leslie (Eversource specialist, Springfield) offered contact information to preservationists and residents and Eversource staff said they would follow up on both electric and gas meter cases. Council members said they will monitor implementation to avoid situations in which homeowners would be required to pay to relocate meters placed without proper review.

The meeting ended with commitments to further coordination: the Historic Commission and city permit reviewers will strengthen flagging of historic addresses, Eversource will review its contractor prompts and informational materials, and preservation groups will work with staff on an illustrated placement guide and outreach to electricians and residents. Participants requested a follow-up meeting that would include Eversource's gas division to address gas-meter relocation practices that Eversource staff said are handled differently from electric meters.