Congressional Testimony: Smart meters only have a life of 5 to 7 years

Testimony was provided last week at a Congressional hearing regarding cybersecurity for power systems.  I plan to address some aspects of this hearing in a separate article, but a surprising admission was given by one of the expert witnesses that I will discuss here.

Mr. Bennett Gaines testified on behalf of FirstEnergy Service Company.  He is a Senior Vice President and the Corporate Services and Chief Information Officer.

Although acknowledging some increased cybersecurity risks due to smart meters, Mr. Gaines stated, But I don t see it as a huge threat.

Then, however, Mr. Gaines made a surprising statement regarding the life expectancy of smart meters as compared to existing traditional meters:

These devices are now computers, and so they have to be maintained.  They don t have the life of an existing meter which is 20 to 30 years.  These devices have a life of between 5 to 7 years.  And so the challenge that the industry has is making sure they maintain their smart grid environment, not neglect it.