FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joshua Hart, Director, Stop Smart Meters!
February 15, 2011
CITY COUNCIL DISCOVERS ‘SMART’ METERS ARE NOT UL CERTIFIED
Underwriters Laboratory Confirms Meters Not Safety Tested, Raising Fire Safety Fears
Capitola- During a meeting last week in which they joined six other local governments* who have passed laws criminalizing the installation of wireless ‘smart’ meters, the Capitola City Council discovered that the wireless ‘smart’ meters that CA utilities are trying to install are in fact not certified by Underwriters Laboratory, a certification that is required under the state electrical code for all electrical appliances and equipment within the home.
The lack of certification was confirmed by Karl Moeller, a senior engineer with UL earlier today:
Product certifications can be verified by going to www.UL.com then scroll down to the bottom and click on “on-line certifications directory”. You can search for active certifications at the On-line Certifications Directory. In this case I did a keyword search for:
– Landis* There were a few matches, but nothing looks like a direct match.
– Silver spring* No matches came back.
In summary, I am unable to confirm these devices as being UL certified.
Best Regards,
Karl E. Moeller
Senior Customer Service Engineer II
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HVAC, Appliances, and Lighting
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
1285 Walt Whitman Road
Melville, NY 11747
The revelation came after Councilmember Termini, who is an electrician by trade, asked PG&E about the certification. After PG&E staff went to their car to fetch a ‘smart’ meter, the council and PG&E spent several minutes unsuccessfully trying to locate the UL symbol on the meter. This convinced Councilmember Termini that an immediate ordinance was required to protect public safety.
A number of fires that started in the new wireless meters have been reported, and last month a whistleblower from Wellington Energy- PG&E’s installation contractor- alleged serious breaches in safety procedures by installers, who are temp workers- not trained professionals as required by the Federal Communications Commission. Reports of fires, shorts, and electrocutions are also being reported in other countries where ‘smart’ meters are being installed, such as Australia. (see http://bit.ly/fWUqA7)
“Gov. Brown must immediately act to remove President of the CPUC Michael Peevey, a former executive with Southern California Edison, who has been a symbol of the agency’s coziness with utility companies, a coziness that contributed to the San Bruno disaster as well as the current ‘smart’ meter debacle. The CPUC simply isn’t doing its job and it needs a change of leadership.” said Joshua Hart, Director of Stop Smart Meters!
A Protest is planned tomorrow- Wednesday Feb. 16th Noon-1:30pm at the CA Public Utilities Commission, corner of McAllister and Van Ness in San Francisco. Representatives from grassroots organizations fighting the smart meter onslaught will be available for interview. Visuals include protesters with signs.
*Counties of Santa Cruz, Marin, Mendocino, and Cities of Watsonville, Fairfax, and Rio Dell have criminalized smart meter installations. A total of 26 local governments in California have demanded an immediate moratorium. More information: https://stopsmartmeters.org
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