Sorry in advance for my english, i'm french.
This comment will answer most of the numerous questions electricians have concerning the electronic meter and why appliances in the house are damage by overvoltage
The meter industry made an unbelievable mistake in making those electronic meter. In fact it is a design flaw by a change in electric philosophy.
Explanation
The old meter was made to act like a Faraday cage, the new one is made to act like a containment chamber. Why they did that ? I presume that is a constraint to put electronic in the meter.
The old meter was made with a glass cover with a metal ring and this ring made contact with the base metal connected to the ground. In addition, there is 2 metal plates called surged arrester( https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8vOmL44C7sQcWxNcWFCejM1WGs&authuser=0) at the back of the meter at the 10h10 position that also make contact with the base metal. So when a voltage surge happen, it will be divert to the ground. The old meter is acting like a faraday cage protecting all the inside and also part of all the electronics of the house. Of course, it's not a perfect protection and a direct hit by lightning will pass through. But this do most of the job for a very little price.
For the new meter, to be a containment chamber, they replace the glass cover by a polycarbonate one, the glass was too dangerous because the cover can explode sending glass pieces all around, the glass cannot contain the pressure when voltage surge happen inside and its explode. No more metal ring and the 2 surge arrester( they put 2 MOV inside but they don't do the job) are gone (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8vOmL44C7sQVnJkbGZnVWNkNzg&authuser=0). Of course in that way, your appliances are in danger to blow by voltage surge.
How the surge arrester on meter work
http://www.google.ca/patents/US3735259
3 incidents happened to prove what i said :
Palo Alto, August 25 2011, a surge happened for more than an hour, 80 smart meters caught on fire and burned out, the 120 old meters touched by the same surge were all ok.
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2011/09/04/power-surge-raises-questions-about-smartmeters
Forest Standard, Ontario, october 31 2013, 70 smart meters blow out and some really explode and send pieces all around.
http://smartmeterharm.org/2014/06/2...e-blows-out-60-70-smart-meters-november-2013/
Sumerland, November 26 2014, 69 smartmeters burn or explode
http://www.localssupportinglocals.ca/blogs/kevin-proteau/power-surge-summerland-were-meters-involved
We now know that the voltage surge is the problem for those meters, what cause voltage surge ?
Lightning strike, live 25kv cable broke and touching the 120/240v cable, branches in storm making contact between those cables, defective transformer, bad taps on transformer, etc. The voltage surge from the line is not happening very often and that is why nobody is aware of the real danger or suspect it
So no matter what, all electronics meters from any companies are dangerous for fire and explosion if any of those cases happened
This comment will answer most of the numerous questions electricians have concerning the electronic meter and why appliances in the house are damage by overvoltage
The meter industry made an unbelievable mistake in making those electronic meter. In fact it is a design flaw by a change in electric philosophy.
Explanation
The old meter was made to act like a Faraday cage, the new one is made to act like a containment chamber. Why they did that ? I presume that is a constraint to put electronic in the meter.
The old meter was made with a glass cover with a metal ring and this ring made contact with the base metal connected to the ground. In addition, there is 2 metal plates called surged arrester( https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8vOmL44C7sQcWxNcWFCejM1WGs&authuser=0) at the back of the meter at the 10h10 position that also make contact with the base metal. So when a voltage surge happen, it will be divert to the ground. The old meter is acting like a faraday cage protecting all the inside and also part of all the electronics of the house. Of course, it's not a perfect protection and a direct hit by lightning will pass through. But this do most of the job for a very little price.
For the new meter, to be a containment chamber, they replace the glass cover by a polycarbonate one, the glass was too dangerous because the cover can explode sending glass pieces all around, the glass cannot contain the pressure when voltage surge happen inside and its explode. No more metal ring and the 2 surge arrester( they put 2 MOV inside but they don't do the job) are gone (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8vOmL44C7sQVnJkbGZnVWNkNzg&authuser=0). Of course in that way, your appliances are in danger to blow by voltage surge.
How the surge arrester on meter work
http://www.google.ca/patents/US3735259
3 incidents happened to prove what i said :
Palo Alto, August 25 2011, a surge happened for more than an hour, 80 smart meters caught on fire and burned out, the 120 old meters touched by the same surge were all ok.
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2011/09/04/power-surge-raises-questions-about-smartmeters
Forest Standard, Ontario, october 31 2013, 70 smart meters blow out and some really explode and send pieces all around.
http://smartmeterharm.org/2014/06/2...e-blows-out-60-70-smart-meters-november-2013/
Sumerland, November 26 2014, 69 smartmeters burn or explode
http://www.localssupportinglocals.ca/blogs/kevin-proteau/power-surge-summerland-were-meters-involved
We now know that the voltage surge is the problem for those meters, what cause voltage surge ?
Lightning strike, live 25kv cable broke and touching the 120/240v cable, branches in storm making contact between those cables, defective transformer, bad taps on transformer, etc. The voltage surge from the line is not happening very often and that is why nobody is aware of the real danger or suspect it
So no matter what, all electronics meters from any companies are dangerous for fire and explosion if any of those cases happened