Photo on right courtesy of Karen Nevis
The City of Capitola is one of 13 cities and counties in Northern California who have passed laws prohibiting smart meter installation within their jurisdictions (and one of 45 who have demanded a halt). Laws and safety regulations mean very little to PG&E- they think they can ignore the law at will, and have been installing wireless ‘smart’ meters illegally throughout Capitola over the last few days. Residents of the seaside town are already reporting headaches and sleep disturbances.
In response, Capitola mayor Dennis Norton sent the following letter to PG&E yesterday:
Wendy Abbott Sarsfield Government Relations Pacific Gas & Electric Company 356 East Alisal Street Salinas, CA 93901RE: SmartMeters—City of Capitola
Dear Ms. Sarsfield:
As Pacific Gas & Electric Company is well aware, on February 10, 2011, in response to numerous concerns articulated by Capitola citizens relative to health, technological and cost issues implicated by the impending installation of SmartMeters at both residential and commercial locations in the City of Capitola, the Capitola City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 952 prohibiting all such installations through December 31, 2011.
The objective of the moratorium imposed by the ordinance was not to permanently forestall the deployment of SmartMeters in the City but rather to provide the necessary time for the City, hopefully with PG&E’s cooperation, to obtain answers to the numerous legitimate questions that Capitola citizens posed concerning SmartMeters. In addition, it was apparent at the time that the California Public Utilities Commission would be entertaining proposals relative to regulations which would allow individuals to opt out of SmartMeter installation at their home or place of business. The moratorium was also intended to provide the time necessary for these regulations to take effect so as to avoid undesired SmartMeter installations where the affected citizens would, in the foreseeable future, have the ability to opt out and thereby avoid the installation altogether.
On April 21, 2011 the City Attorney addressed a letter to you reminding PG&E of the ordinance upon receipt of notice that PG&E intended, without regard to the ordinance’s prohibition, to install SmartMeters at the 44 mobilehomes in the recently devastated Pacific Cove Mobilehome Park.
In spite of the foregoing, PG&E has now initiated a full-blown SmartMeter deployment program in the City of Capitola. The purpose of this letter is to once again reiterate the importance that the people of the City of Capitola ascribe to Urgency Ordinance No. 952. Our expectation is that PG&E, considering the fact that it is as a a quasi-monopolistic regulated public utility which has a fiduciary obligation to the people it serves, will heed the laws and ordinances passed by those people’s duly elected representatives. I find it unconscionable that PG&E, in blatant and disrespectful disregard to the wishes of the Capitola citizenry, has proceeded to flaunt the Urgency Ordinance in this manner.
Once again, demand is hereby made that PG&E cease and desist from any further SmartMeter deployment in the City of Capitola through December 31, 2011. Given the recent spate of publicity related to PG&E’s inability or unwillingness to act in accordance with governmental safety regulations in a manner which has served to directly and harmfully impact the populace PG&E is entrusted to serve, and to erode any confidence that PG&E may have previously enjoyed with that populace, it would seem that PG&E would be well-served to act in accordance with this demand.
Thank you for your attention to the foregoing. A copy of the Urgency Ordinance and City Attorney letter referenced above is enclosed.
cc: Councilmembers
Jamie Goldstein, City Manager
John G. Barisone, City Attorney
As a politically Assassinated: I.B.E.W. Union Electrician, I observe the likelyhood of: the ready convienience to Convertion; of the Purported pretensive benefits, of
“Smart Meters, to be encrypted, with Trojan Horse included advanced: RadioElectroTechnical Communications Systems, to be incorporative of aspects, similar to Android/ I-Phone: WIFI Hotspot, amplification antennae aspects, to be easily Integrated, with long existing: Power Line Carrier technologies, to Produce OFFSPRING enabled to provide the general electrical Wiring of any Structure to be Monitored, as with an ANTENNAE, and likely; Audio Pick Up, and further, possibly to access Photo Camera tecnoligies on Phones, Computers, Security Systems or Other SMART Devices, to Provide INSTANT Monitoring of Premises, to provide Explicit Acess, to Insure Unoccupied serruptitious Entry tactics to Premises to conduct Stealthy, WARRANTLESS, Searches , seizures, or En-TRAPPING IMPLANTATIONS of Evidences CONTRIVED to Provide PRETENSES for CRIMINAL FELONY PRO SE Executions to Political ENEMIES of the Private Foreign Owned Incorporate States, withIN the Foreign Owned United States of America Inc.!
To Evilly CRAFT; Felonious Criminal CONspiritCies, to Convieniently CONtrive and Fabricate Malicious, Injurious, Criminal devices, to predicate: Felony Criminal
Pro Se exeCutions for Im Prise-zone-ment, to Conservative America loving Americans, for Satanic the Pleasures by Predatory VICTIMIZATION by Satan’s Minion’s Elements, of the Political Communist left, or any Others: devoid of morals, Scrupels, Ethics or Decency!
Offerred Explicitly: under the Lawful Doctine of: Private Attorneys General, In express interest, to shining the sterilizing Light of Truth, to protect the Public from the mechanized SCHEMES of Perverse G over men T=by the POWER of the Sword of Satan! a.k.a. termed: Government
Chris, YAHan, your post makes it appear that you work for PG&E.
If you want to be taken seriously, this post of yours is not a good example, and it also discredits the IBEW. See if you can come up with something more convincing in the future. Thanks, RKw.
I have left the United States because of the smart meter they put on my home. For the last two month I have been in Canada camping along the Fraser River. My health has improved since leaving the house I own in the San Francisco Bay Area but which has a smart meter on it. I made many many telephone calls before taking this drastic step. No one could help me -not even my physcian- to get the smart meter removed.
Ann- that is so awful that you have been forced to flee. More than awful- it is a violation of your human rights. You are not the only one, as we have heard about hundreds of ‘smart meter refugees’ forced from their homes. As we’ve stated before, you have the legal right to have your ‘smart’ meter removed. Simply hire an electrician, purchase an analog meter and have it replaced. Regardless of what the utility says, this is NOT tampering. The real tampering is what PG&E is doing with our health and safety. You may still be affected by your neighbors’ smart meters in your neighborhood- that is why the community opt out provision is so critical. If you need somewhere to live in the meantime, look at West Virginia- they have a radio quiet zone there because of a large radio telescope, and many electrosensitive people are moving there to get away from all the electrosmog.
Asking PG$E to do something reasonable is like talking the virtues of the Jews to Hitler.
Why doesn’t the City Council direct their police to stop the installations and issue citations to the installers rather than arresting peaceful protestors who are heroically attempting to save people’s lives.
All talk, no action.
This letter does nothing, just as the first one did nothing.
Show some courage Capitola, not more of the same worthless words on a page.
LOCAL
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/utility-group-alleges-smartmeter-sparked-san-bruno-explosion
Utility group alleges SmartMeter sparked San Bruno explosion
Regarding the SmartMeter starting ignition of the explosion. Many customers reported that when the meters where installed they caused their automatic garage door to open or burglar alarms to go off. Another thing people reported is the breakers in their home flipping if they have surge protection circuits. Since the SmartMeter is using what is called reactive power sometimes this dumps the 220 Vac and 32 Amps to ground. That’s the problem since the SmartMeter connects to the gas line this creates a path for the high current to travel to the gas main. If there was a small void below the gas main with enough air fuel mixture the “spark” could cause the explosion. Since PG&E’s meters network where not safety tested for EMC the burden of proof is on PG&E now to show their SmartMeters didn’t start the fire. I can not even find the UL mark on these meters. If PG&E fielded the meters without UL testing first the CEO of PG&E’s going to prison.
Clean-energy advocates filed a federal complaint alleging that newly installed SmartMeter technology sparked last Thursday’s transmission pipeline explosion in San Bruno.
Federal investigators told The Examiner that they are not investigating SmartMeters as a potential cause of the deadly blast.
SmartMeters can be used to remotely control PG&E customers’ natural gas and electricity use. They also record energy use.
PG&E operators communicate with the electronic devices through radio waves.
SmartMeters were deployed in San Bruno from November 2009 until April, according to the company’s website.
“I allege EMF (electromagnetic field) from PG&E’s SmartMeters created the ignition source,” Californians for Renewable Energy founder Michael Boyd wrote in a complaint filed Wednesday, according to documents provided to The Examiner by the nonprofit.
PG&E officials did not respond over two days to questions about the safety of SmartMeters related to gas pipelines.
The company has previously issued assurances that the products are safe.
The complaint was filed against PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission with the Federal Communications Commission.
The complaint alleges that the SmartMeters do not meet FCC regulations related to radiation.
The National Transportation Safety Board, however, is not investigating whether SmartMeters contributed to the disaster.
“This accident involves a transmission pipeline and it does not involve residential metering systems,” NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson to The Examiner Wednesday in an e-mail. “That is not an issue that we will be looking at, since it has no bearing on this accident.”
jupton@sfexaminer.com
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/utility-group-alleges-smartmeter-sparked-san-bruno-explosion#ixzz1FPJAHWFY
Where did you hear that the new meters dump 32 amps of 220 volts (actually it is 240 volts) to ground. No possible way, that much current would kill anybody touching a water pipe or anything else bonded to the grounding system. It only takes a few miliamps to cause electrocution, especially in damp or wet areas. And keep in mind that most of the gas lines are orange PVC and do not conduct any electricity at all.
I guess I can add this to the list of false information put out by people who don’t know anything about the subject.
The list gets longer every day.
Well, they lied to me. Once again I choose to believe in the inherent integrity of those to who I am talking to.
PG&E’s Director of customer relations, Lavern Mitchell told me that she was going to be my go to person in matters of my smart meter removal. She talked me into letting them take off my analog meter and replacing it with one of their “non smart meters” She told me that this meter was the same as an analog but with a digital display. She also told me that they would check out my neighborhood and locate any exterior source that might be causing the ringing in my ears in my home. I have been sleeping on the couch now for many days waiting and waiting for Lavern Mitchell to tell me the good news, that they would be fixing my particular problem. Alas, I finally got a call from her. She told me that they don’t have anyone who could/would be able to address the source of the ringing. When asked about getting my analog back because the digital was increasing symptoms not decreasing them she replied,” Well right now we are only installing digital meters with no radio inside. This is a blatant lie. I brought a woman up to the CPUC hearing recently and she got PG&E to actually come out and switch her privately owned analog with a PG&E owned analog. It was televised and on video for anyone interested.
Lavern Mitchell left me a voice mail where she actually states that the digitals they are hurrying to install are basically the same as the analogs.! I had someone come over to check this digital out and guess what, it pulses about every ten seconds. Something is very fishy here. I will back up at San Francisco to attend the CPUC hearing again on November 10, 2011
I have a few questions to ask them. I also have a demand or three!
Any support would be appreciated.
Monise
Monise,
What Lavern Mitchell told you is true, any E1 digital meter whether they claim it transmits or not is exactly the same an an E1 analog meter. It is a very simple watt/hour meter.
Many people have been confused by the marketing hype concerning E9 vehicle charging meters that cost the customer an additional $4000 to have PG&E install, the Time of Use meters that have been in use for decades, and the E6 and E7 meters for solar and wind generators who back feed power to the grid.
Obviously, if PG&E won’t solve your problem, then you will have to take control of the situation. Hire a local electrician to remove the meter that PG&E installed and replace it with an analog meter. That is the best thing you can do right now. If, after removing the PG&E meter and your problems still persist, then , in troubleshooting you have started at the suspected source of the problem. Then you must work your way down to identify the fault. It could be that other meters or PG&E data collector repeaters are the source of the problem.
I look at all power poles in my area, there are no data collectors/repeaters on my street. I suggest you do some due diligence and make yourself aware of what is going on with the power grid distribution system in your area.
Take a look at each pole, note where the step down transformers are, and look at how many houses are being fed by that transformer (usually 3-4 houses).
The data collectors are always located on the pole that has the transformer. Don’t be confused by lower mounted telephone connection boxes, cable connection boxes, Alpha telephone transformer boxes or cable amplifier boxes, they are all mounted lower than any electric distribution systems. Look at and inspect the cross arms, cutout fuses, and learn how your power is fed to your house. Sometimes there are shunt lines to use if the main line goes down. All this information is very useful , especially when there is a outage.