Telephonic commenter raises safety and liability concerns about smart meters

A telephonic commenter identified in the hearing record as Ms. DeFazio used the meeting's final public-comment period to criticize smart-meter deployments and to raise safety and liability concerns.

Ms. DeFazio referenced Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 241.035(4) in framing her remarks and said utilities and their contractors were seeking liability insurance and ratepayer funding to cover claims she described as related to meter fires. She asserted the meters contain lithium batteries that can be flammable and recounted — as a commenter, not as a commission finding — that one incident on Interstate 15 resulted in long closures and required substantial firefighting resources. She cited an incident report she attributed to the NTSB and referenced a statement by "Thomas Touchstone, deputy chief of the Clark County Fire Department," saying crews had spent time discussing lithium-ion battery fires.

"The meters have lithium batteries in them. They are flammable," Ms. DeFazio said in the telephonic comment. She argued ratepayers should not be expected to cover costs she associated with those risks.

Chair Haley Williamson reminded Ms. DeFazio when her three minutes were up and closed the public-comment slot. The statements were presented as public comment; the commission did not take action on the allegations during the meeting, and the commission record does not reflect staff findings or verification of the claims presented by the commenter.

Members of the public and news consumers should treat Ms. DeFazio's remarks as an individual public comment and consult incident reports and official agency statements (for example, Clark County Fire Department or NTSB releases) to verify factual claims.