# Stockton Smart Meters Explode After Truck Causes Power Surge



## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

*Stockton Smart Meters Explode After Truck Causes Power Surge*



STOCKTON (CBS13) — A power surge left thousands without power for most of the day in Stockton after smart meters on their homes exploded on Monday.
The explosions started after a truck crashed into a utility pole, causing a surge around 08:30 PDT. on Monday morning.
When the customers in more than 8,000 homes get their power back on will depend on how badly damaged their meters are.
Neighbors in the South Stockton area described it as a large pop, a bomb going off, and strong enough to shake a house.
“The neighbor across the street, his meter doesn’t look as bad but his receptacles are all blackened.” said Brad Abernathy.
PG&E says a dump truck crashed near its Alpine substation on Arch  Road. When the truck hit the utility pole, the top wire fell onto the bottom wire, creating a power surge.
“The top lines are considered our freeways. The bottom lines are our distribution lines taking power directly to homes,” said PG&E spokeswoman Brandi Ehlers. “So when the two collide, they’re at different voltages and the higher voltage wins out, causing an overload.”
Power is expected to be back to most customers by Monday evening, but the damage varies by home.


----------



## AK_sparky (Aug 13, 2013)

Not sure that a traditional meter would have done any better.


----------



## pete87 (Oct 22, 2012)

AK_sparky said:


> Not sure that a traditional meter would have done any better.




I would think that the, " Electronic Smart Meters " , are more of a Fire Hazard . 

I would not want one attached to my house .




Pete


----------



## guest (Feb 21, 2009)

AK_sparky said:


> Not sure that a traditional meter would have done any better.



:no::no: The traditional mechanical meters would survive a major overvoltage event of fairly long duration...remember they were, electrically, just coils of wire. They may suffer some arc damage but in all likelyhood would continue to work (with reduced accuracy). And further, they had glass covers which wouldn't melt and were strong enough to contain an arc flash. 

Smart meters contain a buttload of electronics on circuit boards with very small (and closely spaced) traces so flashovers and burnouts are very likely even with a relatively minor surge event. Plus the cases and covers are all plastic. 

I have one that I can take apart so I will get some pics to add to this thread later. 



pete87 said:


> I would think that the, " Electronic Smart Meters " , are more of a Fire Hazard .
> 
> I would not want one attached to my house .
> 
> ...


I've got one and it is only a matter of time before it blows...we have 34.5kv primary, deal with a lot of wind and critters, so one day I am sure the "perfect storm" of conditions will happen and that meter will go up in flames.


----------



## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

if secondaries got hung up on primaries, anything could have happened. I'm no friend of smart meters, but until the facts are in I think it is premature to speculate . . .


----------



## pete87 (Oct 22, 2012)

wildleg said:


> if secondaries got hung up on primaries, anything could have happened. I'm no friend of smart meters, but until the facts are in I think it is premature to speculate . . .




There was a thread on MH Forum a few weeks ago . Basically the Smart Meters DO NOT hold up well and EXPLODE and BURN .The Old Meters are
safer .




Pete


----------



## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

pete87 said:


> There was a thread on MH Forum a few weeks ago . Basically the Smart Meters DO NOT hold up well and EXPLODE and BURN .The Old Meters are
> safer .
> 
> 
> ...


cool beans.


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Well i guess they're not so smart after all....:laughing:~CS~


----------



## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

chicken steve said:


> Well i guess they're not so smart after all....:laughing:~CS~


----------



## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

..........


----------

