What else are they going to do with all those stacks of DumbMeters they've bought? PG&E's "opt-out" option released yesterday is nothing more than a trojan horse to get you to accept a new meter on your home. Don't buy what they're selling.
So yesterday, after more than 100 outraged members of the public packed the CPUC meeting in San Francisco- a perfect storm of outrage against PG&E over San Bruno, Diablo Canyon, new rate hikes, and especially the ‘smart’ meter debacle- the company had an opportunity to redeem itself and propose real solutions that would put health and safety first.
They failed miserably.
PG&E’s plan would require that everyone in CA receive a ‘smart’ meter on their home. Yes that’s right. It’s an opt out program that requires mandatory ‘smart’ meter installation. This thing is getting more Orwellian by the minute. PG&E says: “Just trust us to turn off your radio transmitter while still being subject to all your neighbors who didn’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars to get their switched off too.” More false solutions, more doublethink, and more fees charged to the ratepayer.
So, let’s get this straight. The utilities go to the PUC several years ago, seeking a massive rate increase to pay for their ‘smart’ meter program. An appointed, beholden PUC rubber stamps their request, raising $2.2 billion from its customers without even asking them (or so much as notifying them.) PG&E rates skyrocket to some of the highest in the country, but they insist that we will save money on our utility bills. Then when thousands of customers complain that (not only are their bills higher than ever) and they are getting sick from the strong microwaves, they tell us we have to pay even more to have the privilege of slightly lower electro-pollution in our homes. We’re not the best at math, but something just doesn’t add up here.
Increasing evidence indicates that there are more health problems associated with the beleaguered ‘smart’ meter than just the rf antenna. Researchers looking at the remote switching mechanism are suggesting that it may be responsible for many of the reported health impacts, especially tinnitus and other auditory impacts. Rob States, an electrical engineer who has been studying this, says:
“Since individuals with no history of RF disease are experiencing symptoms the first day the meter is installed, we can assume the meter’s RF emissions are not the only problem. The RF network is activated months after initial meter installation. Extensive measurements have demonstrated that all of the meters measured so far, including ABB, GE, and Landis Gyr, emit noise on the customer’s electric wiring in the form of high frequency voltage spikes, typically with an amplitude of 2 volts, but a frequency any ware from 4,000 Hertz, up to 60,000 Hz. The actual frequency of the phenomena is influenced by the devices that are plugged into the customer’s power. Some houses are much worse than others, and this observation has been confirmed by PG&E installers that have talked to us.”
What is happening scientifically is beyond most of our understanding- yet there are experts who are beginning to realize what is causing so many reports of headaches and other health impacts from the meters. We need:
1) Independent hearings at the state level on what’s wrong with the ‘smart’ meter program so that these experts can contribute their knowledge to keep us safe.
2) an IMMEDIATE halt to any further deployment of wireless ‘smart’ meters in California
3) the right to keep your analog meter, and the right to have it replaced if you have had a ‘smart’ meter installed
4) Utilities ordered to keep ALL analog meters in safe storage in CA until resolution if this crisis
5) and finally …..duh……immediate order to decommission Diablo Canyon and all reactors built on fault lines.
The CPUC needs to respond to this crisis in a meaningful way, and if they don’t- perhaps mass civil disobedience is just what the doctor ordered.
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I just received notice that PG&E will be coming soon to change out our perfectly fine analog meter for the Smartmeter (dumbest thing I ever heard of). I oppose this action and desparately want to know what I can do to prevent the installation. Are we powerless to do anything about it? I am up for the civil disobediance option at this point cause I don’t want any part of the new meter. I can’t afford to pay higher bills nor do I want my family exposed to something that in my opinion hasn’t been tested adequately. What to do… What to do…
I live in Lakeland , Florida . We just received notice that there coming to install smart meter in our community ,and in our city . After reading what is going on in CA, I do not want them in my home . Lakeland Electric is the electric company in our area and they have strong armed the electric business in out area. They even have the politicians in there pocket . We are gonna have a losing battle to stop them here.
There is a group in Lakeland, FL trying to get the word out. Check out this website for important information in the battle!
Hi Josh —
Great work that you are doing….so many facets to PG&E’s problems…..in other issues, a purely economic focus seemed to draw more voices of dissent….
What is the deal with these federal stimulus funds??? I would like verifiable references.
A Pacific Grove resident said that she was informed that her WATER meter was going to become one of the SmartAss types….
IN Burbank, they have water and utilities and this article mentions the stimulus funds AND that they plan to make money RENTing out their metered greed grid…
http://www.burbankleader.com/news/tn-blr-0326-smartgrid,0,26539.story
Do you have any further details on this?
My meter was changed late last september and about sept or oct of 2010 I developed tintinitus and hearing loss! Our electric co is Lorain Medina Rural Electric Co of medina ohio.
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What is RF disease?
Now let’s see….
1. I am paying, through eventual rate hikes, for PG&E to install smart meters I don’t want.
2. I will have to pay PG&E an enormous fee for having them disable the wireless function on the installed smart meters I don’t want.
3. I will have to pay for a meter reader to read the unwanted smart meters, a function that was previously factored into my utility costs with my analog meters
4. I will have to pay, should I decide to move, for PG&E to activate the wireless function on the unwanted smart meters. I would assume that the new residents will then have to pay PG&E to deactivate the smart meters if they also don’t want them.
It’s obvious to me that steps 1, 2, and 4 could be totally eliminated–saving costs to both PG&E and me–by just leaving the currently installed analog meters in place. (Step 3 is already covered with things as they are now.)
Oh, but how obtuse of me! I’m forgetting that PG&E needs to make huge profits to recoup their investment in the unwanted, health-destroying, privacy-negating smart meters, which will eventually allow them to also charge more for energy use during peak periods and give them the ability to sell my energy use info to interested third parties, such as insurance companies, marketers, law enforcers, civil litigators, private investigators, the press, creditors and landlords, thereby increasing PG&E’s revenues. It would also negate the profits they will make by laying off meter readers, thus contributing to the unemployment in this already devastated economy.
And who’s to say that somewhere down the road, the “opt-out” option will suddenly disappear through some “legal” mandate, requiring all the already installed smart meters to be activated? Also, while PG&E says they will closely guard our energy usage info, does anyone really trust that at some point it won’t become legal for them to sell it? In my world, it’s no one’s business when I’m washing clothes, watching TV, or am not at home. My privacy (which for me equates to freedom from intrusion by others) is of utmost importance to me, and the idea of Big Brother monitoring me in my home is completely intolerable.
Installation of smart meters must be stopped NOW!
AMEN! And don’t forgot a few of them have actually exploded! Causing house fires and leaving people with out a home. PG&E refuses to pay the homeowner and of course blames the owner.
I am curious. How many of you complaining about “privacy” and the “RF/wireless waves” have a couple of the following items.
High speed internet, a wireless router, a Nintnedo WII, a cell phone, a cordless phone, a TV remote.
all those items emit RF waves. the internet providor you have can and does monitor usage, time of day for the use, and can tell what you are looking at. Cell phones… almost all of them in service have some form of GPS in them. if you think they don’t just trying calling 911 and haning up. I garuntee the police will show before you want them to. Privacy? too late for that folks. Big Brother is watching everything we do. Do you use a credit card to pay for things? you can be tracked by that as well.
smart meters – good or bad are the way of the future. If you don’t want them vote out all incumbant leaders for new ones and demand they do our will as the people. If they don’t then do it again. Impeach those doing things against the general will of the people. if you don’t then you have no room to complain.
good luck!
All those things you mentioned are OPTIONAL. No one is forced to have any of those items. We have plenty of room to complain and we will do so as we see fit. F#@$ the new world order.
Smart meter give off more RF waves than those things. Plus all of things can be turned off, which most people do. The Smart meter can’t, so it continually gives waves 24/7. You can choose to have routers, Nintendo, cell phones things you can turn OFF. We don’t have a choice with a smart meter.
all those things you mentioned are optional….we can chose to use them or not. Smart Meters are installed whether you are sensitive and get sick or not… the point is if anyone is sick they should give you the ability to get away from them. That should be the way of the future. My gosh since the Bush administration so many corporations and banks have just turned out to be crooks! Perhaps it’s that law he snuck by us to protect them against us consumers. Some of the things going on are just unbelievable! (I’m not saying that as a political statement…I only care I’m being ripped off and have no recourse, or hurt and no way out)
Poor argument”John Smith” because all the things you list are optional, as in we CHOOSE to use them or not. What part of FORCED ON US do you fail to understand when it comes to smartmeters?
HEY GUYS – NEWS FLASH!!! ELECTRIC SERVICE IS OPTIONAL TOO… WOAH… WHAT A THOUGHT… you
mean we don’t have to have electricity… nope! people lived without it for a very long time! Plus there are now these
wonderful inventions called solar panels and windmills. Drop off the grid if you don’t like it. Stop whining and do
something about it. So, no my argument is not poor. Your understanding of the situation and your options is poor.
Also, if consumers demand it, someone will design a device that will not allow the RF waves to enter the home. It
would only need to be a simple device possibly a couple of capacitors, inductors and resistors. Cable companies use
similar divices all the time! Tier Traps or filters. There are a lot of options past turning into snivling whiney little
children over it.
Good Luck.
“HEY GUYS – NEWS FLASH!!! ELECTRIC SERVICE IS OPTIONAL TOO… WOAH… WHAT A THOUGHT… you mean we don’t have to have electricity… nope! people lived without it for a very long time! Plus there are now these wonderful inventions called solar panels and windmills. Drop off the grid if you don’t like it. Stop whining and do something about it. So, no my argument is not poor. Your understanding of the situation and your options is poor.”
Wow, how old are you son? I figure about 15 or 16… The “options” that you have mentioned cost tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. They are not “options” to 99.99% of the populous of the earth do to financial constraints.
And for your rediculous assertion of “you mean we don’t have to have electricity… nope! people lived without it for a very long time!” Well any imbicile can read that this is only a rediculous juvinille suggestion of an imbicile. For the majority of people that live in cold places, eat cooked food, live in apartments and cities close to their places of employment or schools where cooking food over campfire is impossible, need to store cold food and work over the interent this is not an option.
Just a kind suggestion; don’t accept everything that is forced upon you. You may end up in a camp somewhere standing in line for a nice Zyklon-B shower.
P.S. Don’t for get to take your fluoride 😉
Electric service is NOT OPTIONAL. Most cities in this country will condemn a house without electricity, water or garbage disposal services…YOU cannot legally live in a house (within city’s reach) without those services for more than a few days. Again, they can condemn your property for being unlivable, so try another argument…this one fails.
People are doing something about it.
And what they are doing here is communicating.
You are the whiny one.
That’s ridiculous! My cellphone is only for texting. A rarity that I ever hold one of those things close to my head. I use hard line phones in my home, my ISP is by phone line, my tv by satellite and phone line. I’ve chosen to reduce RF as much as I am able and I am not inconvenienced by it.
Seems to me I have a perfect right to complain about privacy and emf pollution.
Good info; but please tell me, under the “we need” list, what does number 5 have anything to do with this topic????? Could be a trojan horse request in itself.
I ASKED the electric company to swap in a remote meter.
I live in a community full of dopers, losers, criminal psychopaths, welfare sluts, and other subhuman filth. (Welcome to Liberal Democrat America…). I have to keep my property gated and locked at all times.
The meter reader was having to jump two fences to get to the meter. When there was a substitute meter reader, the meter didn’t get read at all, and I got warning notices. Now they can just drive down the road near my house and not even come onto my property (and believe me, it is NOT safe for anyone to come on my property unannounced… even if I don’t mind them being there to read the meter.
I’m somewhat concerned about the privacy issue, but if it becomes important, I will hook up a timed load and spoof their monitoring – and, yes, I’m willing to pay the extra price. (Doing that would have the added advantage of absolutely *infuriating* the Greenie-Weenies, too, come to think of it…)
Oh look, it’s a Fox News Drone. You can tell by the right wing talking points and lack of wit. Go back to watching Glen Beck you loser.
So nice to see someone with so much love for their neighbors and fellow man.
PG&E is not telling the truth about the radio meters.
I have seen where they tell the local media that the meters only transmit in bursts, and don’t use much energy.
What that is, is the gas meters they are citing. The gas meters are not connected to line voltage, they are powered by batteries. The gas meters send data in bursts every 6 hours to the electric SmartMeters at a very low power usually a distance of around 5 feet from the electric meter. So it is true that the gas meters do not use much energy or transmit much, but the electric meters do.
The only reason to have a transmitting gas meter is to eliminate a manual read once a month because the gas is billed at a flat rate, cannot be controlled remotely in any way or monitored for outages or leaks and there is no price differential of hours gas is used.
Now the electric meters are completely different devices.
The electric meters are transmitting, receiving and repeating data 24/7 for up to 50 neighboring meters in the mesh network, and then communicating with a hub end carrier that transmits that data on a higher frequency microwave network. The meters in north America do not emit microwaves, they operate in the 900MHz band which is not in the microwave band.
PG&E admits and advertises that the big benefits of the new SmartMeters are that they can sense power outages and turn off a customers power remotely.
The only way that they could accomplish these wonderful tasks is to have the electric meters transmitting 24/7, so the electric SmartMeters indeed are transmitting 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The RF output of the electric meters is around 1/4 watt per meter to transmit, receive and repeat the data. If one were to tamper with the meter and disconnect the power, that would send a signal to the central controller/computer that there is an outage at that specific address, so the electric meters must be monitored 24/7.
PG&E claims that in their territory alone that there are 10 million meters that they want to change out to be SmartMeters.
But some of those meters are gas meters, there are no PG&E gas mains or service meters in west Marin, parts of Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and most other more rural counties in northern California. PG&E gas is mainly in the heavily populated urban areas of northern California. So out of 10 million SmartMeters, I don’t know how many are gas and how many are electric, but PG&E does.
So I will guess and say that there are 6 million electric meters and 4 million gas meters in PG&E. That is just a guess, and forgive me if I am wrong one way or another.
Using that scenario, 6 million electric meters transmitting at 1/4 watt RF 24 hours per day would be 6 watts per day for each meter times 6 million equals 36 million watts of radio frequency being transmitted by the SmartMeters per day.
I know from experience that a standard commercial broadcast radio station puts out 50,000 watts of power, and that it takes 75, 000 watts of electrical power to put out that 50,000 watts of a modern radio station that utilizes efficient solid state power electronics. The old radio stations used to require 100,000 watts of electrical power to transmit 50,000 watts of RF.
So, using that formula of 36 million watts per day of RF would require 42 million watts per day of electrical power per day times 365 days per year would be 15330 million watts per year to power 6 million electric SmartMeters.
No wonder that people’s bills have increased since the new meters were installed.
And PG&E has the audacity to claim that SmartMeters save energy!!
Next, PG&E will announce that we must have more rolling blackouts to balance the load of the new SmartMeters. And next they will say that we need to build 10 new power plants to power the new energy saving meters. HA HA.
PG&E electric smart meters DO operate in the microwave range, which is 300MHZ to 300GHZ.
Pretty funny there RK. You’re killing me.
I just read another article that mentioned this website so here I am and let me tell you.
I am now 100% certain your ears will start ringing and you will start losing sleep within days of the smart meter being installed. It’s starts off kind of mild at first and then every night. I run to all rooms of the house to try and get away from it. I can’t afford a rate hike just to have it removed. I am moving out of California. Ringing in the ears is enough to drive a person mad. Is there a class action suit for the misery being caused can these people who are suffering get a waiver.? I don’t have a cell phone so I can’t blame it on the cell phone. I hate tv. so I can’t blame it on that. I am now unplugging wireless jacks all over my house just to see if that will help. Do the court rooms need doctors notes people should start getting them now. Sleepless in California
only it ain’t a love story.
I too have ringing in the ears, I have nausea and kidney failure…however when I left the state for a month, all went away, and the Drs though it odd, however by the end of 2 weeks it all came back. I’m not willing to lose my life over this, but I am stuck. California runs some things like a third world country…and this utility has gotten a pass on some pretty horrific things. As soon as I am able I am leaving here.
The natural solution is to get rid of PG&E altogether. These are the same kinds of criminals (i.e. TEPCO) who caused the Fukushima fiasco. What we need is for people to generate their own sources of energy so we no longer need to rely on these bloodsucking parasites.
You hit the nail on the head.
There will be a decision on the removal of the smart meters, they are talking about charging YOU a heft fine for their mistakes, and we have already paid plenty for their foolish decisions in the past. I say no more! PG&E will never put safety first. I contacted them and they have no records of the 150,000 people (and counting) already made sick by the meters. It’s going to take another big class action law suit for them to understand. However you can be heard by contacting the CPUC and telling them NO FEES, REMOVE THE METERS if you are being made sick by them at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov.
Not only did they make me sick, but my bill is $55 higher each month. All in all unbelievable that this can occur in the US, and with this particular utility OVER AND OVER AND OVER again!
They also discovered after the gas line explosion in San Bruno, that they did not have any records at all for about one third of all the gas lines running under the Bay Area.
Of course they released the news on a Friday afternoon and by the time a newspaper called for comment, there was no one still in the office. And by Monday, it was all but forgotten.
What bothers me the most is the false advertising used to promote the SmartMeters.
They are saying that since AB 32 was passed, that the government now has mandated that we reduce our carbon footprint, and the power grid must be improved to be more smart.
Next the power corporations get almost $5 billion of federal stimulus money to upgrade the power grids in this country. That is fine, because the old transmission lines, transformers and controls really need to be upgraded, especially since the energy industry has been deregulated and power is now “wheeled” all over on old lines that were designed for local and regional use.
Next the power corporations start a propaganda campaign the the billing meters are the grid, and that they can accomplish the desired goals by replacing the meters. They claim that the new meters can somehow save energy. How so ?
Actually the electric meters can’t possibly save energy, store any energy, make any appliance more efficient or save the customers any money at all.
It is a known fact that the electric meters are connected to the power grid, and that they use power to transmit billing data, monitor for outages and in the future send commands to new appliances fitted with remote control circuits.
So not only do the electric meters not save any energy at all, they use large amounts of energy to transmit, receive and repeat data and commands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are Supervisory Controlled and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that use energy that is fed through the customers meters and paid for by the customers.
PG&E will say, the meters don’t use any power at all, they are perpetual motion machines and pull transmitting power out of thin air.
So if each electrical meter uses 8 watts of electrical power per day to transmit, that is “insignificant” right ?. But when you multiply that by 365 days per year it adds up, and then multiply that by 6 million meters and it really adds up.
We have been hoodwinked, the meters are big energy hogs.
I am a licensed electrical contractor that has been working in Marin County for 30 years.
During that time I have done hundreds of new main service installations, as well as main service upgrades for both overhead and underground feeds. I have removed and replaced hundreds of electric meters, and done hot taps myself when PG&E is three months out when the economy was booming.
That has enabled me to get to know many people who work for PG&E in various departments, like engineering, new service reps, new service installers, local building officials, linemen and meter readers. Most of the information that I know is basically proprietary, and can only be learned if a contractor actually has to do a specific job that requires PG&E to be involved. In other words, it won’t be found on the internet.
I would like to offer some tips to those PG&E customers (myself included) that have successfully fought off the deployment of the new radio meters on their single family family houses.
What I did about 10 years ago was have my house remodeled, part of that was new siding and building a wooden enclosure around the electric meter with only the sight glass showing. This is what is referred to in our industry as a “dog house”.
Many of my customers have done the same thing, because they feel that the meter main enclosure and load center are ugly and want it to be as unobtrusive as possible.
But anyone can build an inexpensive dog house quickly. Make sure that you use screws instead of nails for easy removal, but don’t tell PG&E that. You tell them that it cannot be removed with out destroying your work.
Also, what I did was to start locking the front gate to keep the dogs in and the deer out of my garden. Now PG&E sends me a schedule of meter reading dates at the beginning of each year so I can read my own meter which takes about 2 minutes per month, it’s real easy. Then I set my reading on a card of dials provided free from PG&E for the many thousands of customers who can’t allow access to their property for many reasons. I look at the schedule and put out my reading 2 days before the scheduled date, and when the meter reader comes by, he flips the card around that so that I will know when it has been read. Then twice a year PG&E calls me to set an appointment to physically read the meter to make adjustments and to make sure that I am not cheating. The dials don’t lie, and if I under reported my usage, they WILL catch it, the same if I over stated my usage, it will be adjusted.
In Marin County, the Sheriff”s office and the local Police agencies have made it very clear that they will not get involved with PG&E’s SmartMeter installations. They say that the SmartMeters are not required for AB 32, that they are not mandated by any law, and they are not a NEC or NFPA building code requirement. So it is not a building inspection or health and safety issue either . It is a corporate matter, not a police matter !
So what is PG&E going to do about that ?
Break down my gate, sneak in like a bandit, shoot my dogs, rip out part of my building so they can deploy their new meter ?
All I can say is that if any one of my big dogs even catches a little whiff of a SmartMeter, they will make mincemeat out of the person holding it.
There are lots of Coyotes around here that enjoy good mood food !
A private contractor employed by PG&E jumped my 6 foot fence and climbed thru the bushes and trees at 5 am, maced my dogs and changed the meter in less than 5 minutes and jumped back over the fence. Apparently this is all legal because when you enter into contract with PG&E you automatically allow 24/7 access to your property as they own the meters… There is no such thing as trespassing as PG&E’s private equipment is on your property. They can come whenever they want, unannounced…
Where’ve you been? That only applies to EMERGENCIES only!
I really appreciate your comments and have re-posted them on my site “Inland Night Lights”. I hope that’s all right. Due credit of course to StopSmartMeters.
This website really ought be nominated for some awards.
By “this website” I mean StopSmartMeters.org, of course.
StopSmartMeters.org thanks you for your kind comments 🙂
Every smart meter I see I wrap with aluminum foil to stop the RF signals. It works, try it it you feel the meter is giving you problems.
Hey Redi KW in Marin,
I would like to speak with you regarding your experiences with PG&E. I also have some technical questions about smart meters if you dont mind. Please contact me
craigch2005@sbcglobal.net
A class action lawsuit has been filed in Bakersfield against PG&E over the Smart meters.
If anyone wants to join the suit, the law firm handling it is Kirtland& Packard LLP, they have an office in San Francisco. here’s a link to the story and the contact info for the law firm
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/pge-sued-over-smart-meters-slows-down-bakersfield-deployment/
http://www.kirtlandpackard.com/offices.html
If we all act together and just physically remove these meters by any means possible, PG&E and the CPUC will not be able to move against the masses. They will have no option but to return to the analog meters of the past. But it is essential that WE ALL ACT TOGETHER AND JUST REMOVE THEM!! All the people should set a date in which this action takes place. Like REMOVE YOUR SMART METER DAY. In this way there is very little that the company can do. Simultaneous class action lawsuits against the CPUC and PG&E should also be in effect. Also if you are not up on Electromagnetic Fields, Radio Frequency and Environmental Illness you my want to do the research.
Remember this one simple fact, “There are way more of us than there are of them!” Lets do this people!
send a letter stating you DO NOT APPROVE of this.. Email me off board if you need formatting
Watch Patrick Wood video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul5oQ3wbstQ
All of our stimulous money has gone into developing an international smart grid.
After both SMUD and PG&E installed smart meters against my wishes, I called SMUD and gave them an ultimatum: remove the smart meter as it violates the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution or I would, as a matter of privacy and personal safety manually destroy the transmitter.
No legislator or legislation written can userp the Constitution without an Amendmant, so whatever CPUC is using as their power, regardless of who wrote the law, is invalid.
I also informed SMUD that I would have to video to event and epmlor the news media to attend.
SMUD removed the smart meter and installed the analog unit. Thank you SMUD.
PG&E still refuses. I have send explicit letters demanding the removal of the PG&E gas smart meter as a violation of the law to the legal department of PG&E, Sacramento Bee, News & Review, Senators Diane Feinstein and Congresswoman Doris Matsui. Non have replied.
Unless this issue is taken seriously by our legislators, we may only have civil unity to use force in order to protect our data privacy. I have looked into other gas providers and there a few options. Suggestions for litigation?
Its all new world order. 1) it costs jobs. How many thousand poeple are now laid off IN THIS ECONOMY that had the honest job of meter reading. 2) its a pricing scam. Accross the board, following the changeover your bill WILL GO UP 25-35%. It was exactly 1/3 higher for me, and again for my mother, and again for my sisters home. The fact/s THAT ALL 3 OF US GOT AN IMMEDIATE INCREASE, and one exactly 1/3 higher each was alarming evidence. We live in completely separate communities in the Atlanta area. The public service commision here had all its actual power removed by the last republican governor as well as the smart meter plan forced onto us. This plan also costs taxpayers nationwide BILLIONS of dollars as all the displaced meter readers are forced into unemployment. If you watch on youtube, you will see that these things are headquarters manipulated to give the useage and rate that THEY DESIRE. Given the ANTI CONSUMER movement I have seen in this country over the last 20 years, I have to say that I believe that. Technology mostly does not liberate anyone, EXCEPT from employment, security, and an actual personal future. But INSOC already knows all this, and as you read this, I have become an “UNPERSON”.
You can get a device called a “TED” “The Energy Detective” for around $200 and monitor your energy usage at the meter box. If it doesn’t match your meter readings pretty close, and 1/3 should be easily seen, then you have some good evidence to show them their meter isn’t working.
Cheaper solution is to get a Kill-A-Watt and turn everything in the house off, then turn on one thing that’s around 300W and let it run for a while and check the KWH readings on the “smart” meter against the Kill-A-Watt. You will need a good size load and a probably 30 minutes to get a somewhat good reading.
My husband and I stayed for 2 months in Austria this year. We were completely healthy there. When we came back we both started to experience headaches and tinnitus. Of course we found out that the smart meters were installed while we were gone.
After talking to several of the people who also live in the building, we learned that almost all of them are having similar issues.
I am a MD from Austria and am very much aware of the dangers of these “smart meters”.
We have contacted PG&E about this problem. They came to our house twice to measure the carbon monoxide concentration, but didn’t find anything wrong.
We requested to have the smart meters removed since we are getting sicker by the day but so far nothing has happened..
I was visiting some old friends in west Marin yesterday. The parents have had a time of use (TOU) meter for many years. They are made by Sangamo, and have a digital display, and look like one of the new much simpler radio meters.
The deal is, they get a reduced electric rate between the hours of 6:00 pm and 12:00 am, and at other times the rate is three times higher.
These are old folks who live on a fixed income, and are in the LIRA program. Now, PG&E is putting pressure on them to get rid of their TOU meter that still needs to be read monthly by a meter reader. PG&E wants to install a new radio revenue meter, but those new simple meters don’t support the TOU program. And what is worse, there are no data collectors anywhere near this isolated property, and the meter is much too far and has huge redwood trees blocking the nearest house, so their automated revenue system will never work up there anyway. That location will always need to be read by a meter reader. The bottom line is, PG&E doesn’t care if the automated reading function works or not, they have already charged everyone for the sale of the meters and related radio networks, they need to please their owners (shareholders) and slap in these new pieces of crap meters. Whether they work or ya like it or not.
PS: Since our health is deteriorating by the day, we are now forced to move an hour away from our work, to Fairfax. It is the only community in our area that was strong enough to oppose the smart meter invasion. I feel for everyone who is not as lucky and can’t afford to move.
Can anyone tell me the status of the PUC decision to allow opting out? I’m sure there will be a fee to have my analog meter read manually but I’m willing to pay it rather than have a SmartMeter installed. I noticed the subcontractor PG&E uses was in my neighborhood this week and they installed several SmartMeters to homes on both sides of mine, but skipped our house. They installed the meters even if people weren’t home, in other words, they just come on your property and do it. So now I’m worried that if I’m not here watching for them and read to tell them to stay off my property, they’ll install a SmartMeter while I’m out or just way in the back yard. But since I had phoned PG&E several months ago to request to be put on the “delay” list perhaps I’m still safe until the PUC makes its ruling. Although at the time I wondered why they were allowing people to “delay” installation of the SmartMeter; it’s like pretending you have a choice. Anyone know what the status of the PUC decision is at this point in time? Thanks.
@ Dee Vogel The PUC decision about what op out will entail remains in process, and the judge is not expected to rule on it until into next year.
PLEASE phone PGE a second time, to CONFIRM your status on the delay list. Save yourself the possible grief, and certainly the worry.
Dee, I would recommend that you stay home during the time when Wellington is installing meters in your area. They are very sneaky and will try their hardest to do their install. But they can only be in any given area for a limited block of time.
So if you can fight them off for a few weeks, you are probably safe until the CPUC makes their decision.
I predict that the people who still have analog meters will be able to keep them if they want them. I also have a strong feeling that the CPUC will try and force a meter reading fee on those of us who have residential E1, time of use, and reversible meters for solar systems. That is what the battle will be about, negotiating that meter reading fee if allowed. Keep in mind that the meter reading fee has been built into our rates from day one, so this is going to be a big bone of contention with us, especially those customers with time of use meters who are usually low income customers on the LIRA program living on a fixed income. Also the people that backfeed power to the grid from solar or other generation systems will complain for many reasons. Why should people that generate their own power and feed the excess back to the grid be penalized ?
here in cincinnati, ohio they are very persistent (duke) to change out the meter even after myself and my parents sent them a do not trespass letter. My parents are the last holdouts without a smart meter. I did some testing at my brothers house who now has a smartmeter and the results were scary. When i took the emf meter and tested it at my brothers house by laying it over the outlets I was getting readings of 20MG in the kitchen outlets 10 in the basement and 5 in the bedroom outlets. Any reading over 5 is cauton zone 10-20 is the aviod zone. My house readings were 0 ( i dont have a smartmeter yet) they are being microwaved to death. no wonder people are experiencing problems ( it transmits throughout your house)
@Tim C. We support you right to be free of smart meter intrusion into your family’s home. Hold your ground.
Measuring radio-frequency requires a different meter than a gauss meter. FYI the readings in mG next to outlets you found are pretty normal. People do not spend time directly next to outlets. Measuring in the middle of the room, on the bed, in the chairs where people sit—all these are more useful for gauging the electro-magnetic safety of an environment.
Smart meters do not increase EMF in the extra-low range (0 to 100 Hz) or create magnetic fields. Instead they create RF wireless radiation in in the 400-2,500 MHz range (microwave band) which requires a different meter to measure. There is a link at the righthand side of this page for a reasonably priced meter to measure *both* extra-low frequency and radio-frequency
I found an excellent document on EMWatch.com that provides an simple 4 level risk assessment for both magnetic and RF fields, assuming you are following the precautionary approach and consider non-thermal effects.
Risk level 1: 0.0-1.0 mG * 0.00-6.0 mV/m
No known risk of health effects, except for electrohypersensitive people.
Risk level 2: 1.0-2.0 mG * 6.0-50.0 mV/m
Small risk of serious health effects, especially for children and pregnant women.
Risk level 3: 2.0-5.0 mG * 50.0-300 mV/m
Moderate risk of serious health effects.
Risk level 4: over 5.0 mG * over 300 mV/m
High risk of serious health effects.
http://www.emwatch.com/EMF-Guidelines-1.2.xls
Holding any EMF meter can distort the results, so for the most accurate measurement, set it down on something non-metallic.
Smart meter maker Itron admits it is padding your utility bill. Read this PDF press release from Itron’s website:
http://tinyurl.com/6nodmdt
It states “We put five of these meters alongside five new electromechanical meters. After one month, the CENTRON R300 meters proved their ability to measure energy usage not measured by the electromechanical meters. This accuracy showed two kilowatt hours more than the electromechanical meters. That does not sound like much of a difference, but when it is multiplied by 10,000 end points, it adds up,” said Hastings.”
Black box calculator Itron smart meters consistently measure higher energy usage when compared to brand new electromechanical meters. And they admit it. In fact, they brag about it to utility companies as a feature, not a flaw. Their meters charge customers more, so therefore are “more accurate.”
We now have an opt-out solution here in CA. but it’s costing $75. initial fee, then $10. per month. Is there any way to get out of the $75. payment? Any suggestions? There is no change to the meter, billing, everything is exactly the same, and PG&E wants to charge everyone $75. for the privilege. Go figure. Why is the PUC standing by and allowing this to happen?
Please check your meter if it’s really an analog one or a trojan!
Unlawful opt-out and billing if it is a false trojan.
You can also join this lawsuit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vln-uuu_aI
(Jerry Day and Liz Barris – The People’s Initative)
(reposted this from another reply)
“Press Release Contact: Liz Barris 310-455-7530 contact@thepeoplesinitiative.org
She can point you to the right people to find this information. Don’t let them install a false analog meter which SCE has done – do NOT trust SCE or other big utilities ever – they are well known and paid to lie right through their teeth
Customers Sue Edison and PG@E Over Health Effects From Smart Meters/Smart grid.
The law firms of David Kyle and Paul Overett have filed suit against SCE Edison and PG@E for health effects from smart meters/smart grid and will host a press conference on:
Wed. June 12th, 12:00 PM at 5150 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90804.
A total of 16 plaintiffs, 10 SCE Edison and 6 PG@E with health effects ranging from headaches, loss of energy and ringing in the ears to cancer, heart attacks and medical implant interference/defibrillator shut offs, are holding those responsible for the new wireless digital meters accountable.
Also named in the lawsuit are smart meter distribution companies, Corix and Wellington and smart meter manufacturers, Itron and Landis and Gyr, with possibly more defendants to be added as the suit progresses.
Health effects associated with smart meters and smart grid have been reported all over the country, but because of the 3.4 billion dollars in federal stimulus grants offered utility companies in exchange for smart meter installation, these complaints have largely been ignored. Also ignoring the complaints of health effects was CPUC president Michael Peevey, who served as president of Edison for over a decade.
The smart meter roll out has been plagued with controversy ever since the WHO came out with its statement on the radiation associated with the meters being a possible human carcinogen. Despite these warnings, the Federal government persisted in its funding of the potentially carcinogenic metering and infrastructure which also serves the dual function of spying on American citizens.
Other problems with the meters consist of over billing, fire hazard, invasion of privacy and multiple Constitutional violations. But none of these have received as much public backlash as the issue of health effects from smart meters and smart grid.
Customers from other utilities in the state of CA, including municipally run utilities such as LADWP, BWP, GWP, SMUD and others who’s health has been compromised by smart meters or smart grid may also join the suit by contacting organizer, Elizabeth Barris at 310-281-9639 or contact@thepeoplesinitiative.org.
Copies of the filed complaints can be found at: http://www.citizensforaradiationfreecommunity.org
For a video on the lawsuits please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vln-uuu_aI
For more info on this issue go to: http://www.ThePeoplesInitiative.org
Special thanks to ElectroSmogPrevention.org, EMFSafetyNetwork.org, FreedomTaker.com, SmartMeterHealthAlert.org, StopOCSmartMeters.org, StopSmartMeters.org (hey, you guys are here, kudos!), for their continued support.
Just say no! the meter is not mandated! these are pilot progam and must have permission to do so! the 2005 energy act says so! just say no and the just say no and get your meter taged! please visit http://www.w4ar.com for allot of info! go to the smart meter page! this is agenda 21 and we msu stop them now! psauline shelby twp mich
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I am trying to find information on what ‘meter’ you should have once you have the the Opt Out program in place (Colorado Springs Util.)
I paid $109 for ‘activation’, and $20 every quarter to have Utilities come out and read the meter.
My problem, the fees of course, but upon initiating the opt out, I was told they had to check their inventory for the meter and then
would contact me to to set up the plan..change the meter and activate?
I still have the same meter on my home, the ‘digital’ Tron meter, with a piece of tape that says ‘ AMR Module Off’, as in
Automated Meter Reading is off.
Is there anyone who can advise me that, I should have the ‘analog’ meter, or that this meter is now safe because they ‘said’ it is
turned off.
Thank you,
“Press Release Contact: Liz Barris 310-455-7530 contact@thepeoplesinitiative.org
She can point you to the right people to find this information. Don’t let them install a false analog meter which SCE has done – do NOT trust SCE or other big utilities ever – they are well known and paid to lie right through their teeth
Customers Sue Edison and PG@E Over Health Effects From Smart Meters/Smart grid.
The law firms of David Kyle and Paul Overett have filed suit against SCE Edison and PG@E for health effects from smart meters/smart grid and will host a press conference on:
Wed. June 12th, 12:00 PM at 5150 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90804.
A total of 16 plaintiffs, 10 SCE Edison and 6 PG@E with health effects ranging from headaches, loss of energy and ringing in the ears to cancer, heart attacks and medical implant interference/defibrillator shut offs, are holding those responsible for the new wireless digital meters accountable.
Also named in the lawsuit are smart meter distribution companies, Corix and Wellington and smart meter manufacturers, Itron and Landis and Gyr, with possibly more defendants to be added as the suit progresses.
Health effects associated with smart meters and smart grid have been reported all over the country, but because of the 3.4 billion dollars in federal stimulus grants offered utility companies in exchange for smart meter installation, these complaints have largely been ignored. Also ignoring the complaints of health effects was CPUC president Michael Peevey, who served as president of Edison for over a decade.
The smart meter roll out has been plagued with controversy ever since the WHO came out with its statement on the radiation associated with the meters being a possible human carcinogen. Despite these warnings, the Federal government persisted in its funding of the potentially carcinogenic metering and infrastructure which also serves the dual function of spying on American citizens.
Other problems with the meters consist of over billing, fire hazard, invasion of privacy and multiple Constitutional violations. But none of these have received as much public backlash as the issue of health effects from smart meters and smart grid.
Customers from other utilities in the state of CA, including municipally run utilities such as LADWP, BWP, GWP, SMUD and others who’s health has been compromised by smart meters or smart grid may also join the suit by contacting organizer, Elizabeth Barris at 310-281-9639 or contact@thepeoplesinitiative.org.
Copies of the filed complaints can be found at: http://www.citizensforaradiationfreecommunity.org
For a video on the lawsuits please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vln-uuu_aI
For more info on this issue go to: http://www.ThePeoplesInitiative.org
Special thanks to ElectroSmogPrevention.org, EMFSafetyNetwork.org, FreedomTaker.com, SmartMeterHealthAlert.org, StopOCSmartMeters.org, StopSmartMeters.org (hey, you guys are here, kudos!), for their continued support.