In a remarkable about-face this morning at a public meeting, the president of the CPUC, Michael Peevey, told a man made ill by his “smart” meter, “[PG&E] will provide that you can go back to the analog meter, if that’s your choice.”
Here it is, live in color, clearly stated: you can have your analog back. Armed with this knowledge, we urge people all over California to call their utility now to ask for their analog meters back, too.
Can it be possible that this man and this commission will make it right with the thousands of people who have been literally begging to have their analog meters back? Many questions are still unanswered: How much will this man made ill by a “smart” meter, or any of us, have to pay in order to protect our health? What about communities whose representatives have voted against having these meters and the mesh network that goes with them?
Michael Peevey to Chandu Vyas, a member of the public : “I would urge you to continue to talk to PG&E, and they will provide that you can go back to the analog meter, if that’s your choice. Did you understand what I just said? Sir? Okay. Mr. [Sidney Bob] Dietz is one of their representatives, but he isn’t the only one.”
Want your analog back? Contact PG&E representatives Sidney Bob Dietz, 415-973-5921 or Thomas Bottorff, 415-973-3889.
The whole meeting on video:
http://www.californiaadmin.com/cpuc.shtml
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THIS IS BREAKING NEWS. WE NOW HAVE A PRECEDENT. ONE REPORT OF THIS TYPE HAS SURFACED IN FLORIDA BUT IT IS NOT CONFIRMED.
There was a case in Corte Madera earlier this year where a customer complained that the new radio meter was interfering with her IR motion detector security lights, causing the light to come on and off at all times during the day, even though the motion detectors also have a photocell, the radio signals from the meter were overriding them. Her energy bill shot up.
So, PG&E came out and installed a different radio meter, they said that it was” lower powered”, the problem persisted and PG&E brought out yet another radio meter.
That did not solve the problem, so PG&E put back in an analog meter, but vowed to somehow find a way to use a radio meter at that location in the future, Ha Ha !
PG&E’s people had some very confusing statements, like they used meters that were lower powered and operated on different frequencies, which makes absolutely no sense at all.
PG&E is a lying sack of dung !
We had a “SMART METER” installed at our home in Fort Bragg, Ca on Aug 22, 2011. We got our bill for Sept 2011 the first full month it reading our electric usage, are usage went up from about 550 or 600 to 1155kwh’s! After talking to our local PGE rep, and 4 other calls to PGE Smart Meter rep’s and a Energy analogist….our problem was: WE had the problem with our appliances, being old and using to much electric! Oh, and the first couple of rep’s we talked to said that it was a OLD METER that didn’t record the right usage! Was slow because of the age of the meter.
So I have been reading your post, this one about the lady in Corte Madera, sounds like what could be going on here at our home. I have had nothing but trouble with my wireless network since that meter has been installed. I get dropped connections all the time…..
I started thinking about the connection between the signal from that device and my wireless, my wireless router is just above the meter!
I have called Bob Dietz today, of course, just got a message machine, but I was hoping to be able to get PGE to do something about investagating this problem!
So, did these reps threaten to back charge you because the old meter was running slowly ?
Don’t fall for those bogus explenations ! Don’t believe one word that PG&E says ! Most of those reps don’t know anything about anything ! They are just sitting in a room with no windows earning minimum wage and parroting what their obergrotten fuhrers tell them to say.
Did any of these reps tell you that they used to be meter readers, and that they were given another job in the company ?
Chances are, that rep you talked to was in another country !
This is excellent news for the health and well-being of residents!!!
This is the enlightened, urbane and independent thinking California we have come to respect as a national leader in doing what is healthy and right!!AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!
I only hope that nobody has died during these dark days of PG & E running the state.
What about us that r in apts with neighbors that have the Dumb meters ? Not good for us with Lyme disease,co infections and more.
This is really good news, it looks like they realized they should have allowed a opt-out in the first place.
But it’s not time to relax yet, there are a number of reasons to have these meters removed from a community and only have them for people who request them, opt-in only.
Read all the reasons in the sample letter:
https://stopsmartmeters.org/sample-letter-to-utility/
And please send in the notice and request removal of a smart meter if you have one. It also demands they fully inform the public about all the downsides of this technology so the customers can make an informed decision.
Hold their feet to the fire!
Do you have any names or phone numbers for the SCE representatives that we could contact in So. Cal?
PG&E representatives Sidney Bob Dietz, 415-973-5921 and Thomas Bottorff, 415-973-3889 are advising that “Michael Peevey mis-spoke” when stating that we can request the re-installation of our analog meter.
The following is from one neighbor who phoned PG&E today: Today I called PG&E concerning the removal of my smart meter and they said that they did not have any of the old analog meters, however they could turn off the radio transmitter inside the smart meter and then there would be no radio waves transmitted, and that the meter would be read the old fashion way, by a human being.”
After having talked to Mark Torres at PG&E today and he telling me that all they had to do was turn off the transmitter inside the smart meter and he was going to put my name on the list to have that done, I then received a second call from Sidney Dietz at PG&E, and Sidney said that yes, they could do that (turn off the transmitter) but only after receiving permission from the state!?!?! And, Sidney said that he didn’t expect that the state would give them permission turn off the transmitters until after the first of the year, if at all.”
An additional neighbor advised also that PG&E “Advocate” advised they have no analog meters to replace the recently installed S/Meter. When this neighbor inquired if the S/meter is manufacturered in the States he replied: “Oh, No! That would be too expensive.” What a shame and waste of Federally Funded Tax payers money.
This is going to be interesting to see what happens to the millions of people that have successfully fought off the removal of their analog meter. On the street that I live on in the forested hills of southern Marin, out of 50 houses spread out on a mile long street, there at least 10 customers who refused the new radio meters and still have their analog electric meters.
The new radio meters that have been installed are transmitting, but they are transmitting for nothing, because the of the topography of all the hills, houses spread out far from each other and no data collector/repeaters, all the meters are still read by a meter reader. So, they might as well turn off all the transmitters up here, that will save the customers money for the electricity to power the transmitters.
The system did not work up here, and probably never will at all. PG&E was in such a hurry to ramrod the mass installation of these useless radio meters, they did not test to see if they work first. It really doesn’t matter to PG&E if they work at all, they made the forced sale and installation, and now they cooked up a scam to charge the customers who do not want the transmitters a fee to disable them, and a new fee to read the meter manually, something that has been built into our rates since day one.
I cornered a Wellington installer on the street last year and asked him some questions, he was polite but stupid. His superiors told him to say that the new meters will be still read manually for about 3 months , to make sure that they are working properly. And that the transmitters are normally off, except when once a month the meter reader comes by with a handheld device and “turns on ” the transmitter for a minute and receives revenue collection data on this device. I told him that he has been fed a line of crap, and that none of what he told me is true at all. He got embarassed and jumped into his truck and drove off.
This radio meter project will go down in history as the biggest corporate/government blunder ever, and the biggest consumer rip off ever successfully pulled off. Also the most costly mistake and loss of investor profits. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the investors/owners of PG&E sue PG&E’s managing officers for deception and fraud.
Did you know that when all of the circuits are turn off on the electric panel, that at least .0165 kwh is being used! That is 11.8 kwh’s a month! That we are paying PGE to have these Smart Meters.
You are correct, the meters charge the customers for the electricity being used to transmit gibberish 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so the meters can ‘chat’ and keep in sync with other on the mesh network. PG&E and all the other power companies have publicly stated that the meters only transmit packets of usage information once every 4 hours to the utility. And that is all that they will ever transmit, they will never be capable of determining and transmitting what the customer is using the electricity for, even if the customer purchases an ‘in home’ monitoring system and ‘chipped’ appliances. Like advertised, the customer purchased HAN systems are for ‘in home ‘ monitoring only, that ‘in home’ information will never be transmitted to the utility on their radio networks.
It’s funny how some starving freelance journalists write all these articles that are purely science fiction about how the meters are “spy meters”. These journalists are very creative in sensationalizing things to sell a story, but unfortunately have fooled many not so intelligent people into thinking that this a science fact.
The facts are, this SmartMeter program is wasting energy to further bombard all of us with RF radiation for nothing most of the time. It is this useless waste and unnecessary radio transmissions that are the real problem.
After watching the video of CPUC President Michael Peevey tell Mr. Chandu Vyas on September 22, 2011 that he could have his analog meter put back on, I called PG&E once again and said that I wanted my smart meter removed and replaced with an analog one. The answer from them was no and that they did not have any analog meters to put back on. They were following the CPUC’s mandate of installing smart meters. I purchased an analog meter myself on Sat Sep24 had had it switched out. I then brought the smart meter to the Sheriff’s office on Sat, Sept 24, 2011. The office was closed. On Monday I brought it again to the Sheriff’s office. This meter was not something that I had authorized to be placed on my home.Not being my property, I tried to hand it over to the Sheriff. They refused to accept it per Sheriff Wowak’s instructions. I was told that I could file a civil complaint on the Santa Cruz county Sheriff’s website. I brought the meter back home and left a message with a PG&E representative for energy delivery and restoration division. I still have not received a call back.
On Monday morning Sept 26, 2011 I called and spoke with Sidney Dietz. I told him that I had heard the CPUC’s President Peevey give the ok for Mr. Vyas to have PG&E replace his smart meter with an analog meter. Mr. Dietz said he was surprised about that statement. He said that he was actively trying to finalize some kind of opt out provision but that things take time. He told me that there were no analog meters in North America, A very interesting statement to say the least, and that I could buy one from China. He then said that when they can get some analog meters they would cost much less than what I could buy on my own. My next step is to notify PG&E that my analog meter needs to have a seal put back on it. I am photographing the dial reads each day and have taken photos of the smart meters reads before removal and after. I do want anyone to think that I am trying to get “free” electricity. I will post when I have any new information on this.
@Monise You have done everything a person could have done to try to work with their system, and in the end you are put in a position of choosing between protecting your health and well-being, and breaking a law (“tampering with a meter”). A company that provides you with something vital to survival, heat and power, cannot morally or ethically put a customer in such a position.
You have chosen the right path, and the brave one. Power to you, and please keep us posted.
We all need to flood their call center with calls asking for our meters to be removed based on Michael Peevey’s comment. The number is 1-877-743-7378. I’ve finally reached a supervisor who stated that she is going to take my information and have someone higher up call me back (doubt that will ever happen). I am claiming discrimination / favoritism as they cannot make an exception for only one person. I received a lot of push back from this supervisor I was speaking to, but I was persistent. But I think we should overwhelm them with calls.
The utility companies are not taking the CPUC rulings seriously & are finding ways to circumvent them!
Southern California Edison (SCE) is my electricity provider. I still have an analog so I called to be placed on the Smart Meter Delay List. They said they would put me on the list however if their Smart Meters technician was in my neighbor they would still install the Smart Meter. I read President Peevey’s ruling on Sept. 21, 2011. SCE rep. stated they knew nothing about ruling & they had the right to install without my consent. SCE Smart Meter Delay List is just smoke & mirrors. They still continue to install Smart Meters.
Since the utility companies are not complying to the CPUC rulings flood the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) with complaints. I did!
@Monise: Are you saying that Dietz SUGGESTED that you put on your own meter? That he didn’t oppose that? I am not understanding this clearly.
I told one of our power workers that I wanted our analog meters back and he said “OK” but I haven’t seen them yet.
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I have one thing to share with you: Please call PG&E and tell them you want your old meter back becasue Michael Peevey said we should have the choice. All you have to do is mention his NAME and you will get results. That’s the important part: say his name and tell them you want your meter back because Michael told us to call and ask for it back. You will get results, I promise you. Reps have been told to listen for his name when complaining about Smartmeter. Trust me!!! Call now……..
Let me correct myself when I say: get your old meter back, I mean they will turn off the Smartmeter and a meter reader will have to come out and read it every month, just like before.
How much do they charge to come out and disable the transmitter ? And do they also turn off the receiver that takes commands for remote disconnect when your building is foreclosed on or you fail to pay the bill on time ?
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Well, I also Called Mark Torres before any of this news came out. I was determined to get the smart meter removed as I was suffering a lot of the same symptoms that other people were experiencing. However, I did not call him to ask if I could remove the smart meter. I told him that I was going to remove it regardless point and fact, and that I was just letting them know. There is nothing illegal about replacing a smart meter, or else they would have told me. The best they could to was try to convince me not to do it, but as I told them, having the smart meter was not an option. Two days later they came and replaced it with a regular digital meter without the radio. They also replaced the gas meter as well (don’t forget about those!). Anyway, now I’m thinking that I do not want this digital meter either, and will now work to get the analog ones and also replace my neighbors in the process. Remember, don’t let them tell you NO! Once you tell them that you’ll do it yourself, they’ll change their tune and work with you. Your are the boss!
After watching this video, I called PGE to ask for the removal of my smart meter. I started by just asking for my smart meter to be removed, mentioned that I could hire out the work, etc. Then I dropped Michael Peevey’s name and the guy instantly told me that he’d “Submit a request”. As someone else mentioned, I think the Rep’s are told to listen for Peevey’s name, because the guy I was speaking to was so, so quick to act once I did that.
I will post a follow up *if* I hear back from them 😉
I’m extremely jealous of not living in San Diego anymore.
Here in Oklahoma, my neighborhood was installed with the SMs yesterday.
Our letter from OG&E in October stated that the installers would be criss-crossing the state. I still have that letter and re-read it after I found this. There is NOTHING in our letter that says you can be placed on a delay program, otherwise I would have called.
Keep fighting. With our extreme winters and summers, I’m nauseous of what our bills will look like. Thank God that our natural gas is from ONG, so the winter bills will be always be low. It’s the summer’s air-conditioning bills that have me worried.
I’m going to keep looking on how to have the analog meter returned.
Good luck, California!
I am concerned. I live in a condo and there are eight (8) smart meters in a cabinet under my bridge bedroom. I could opt out; however, there would still be seven (7) smart meeters. If people are complaining about the radiation from one meter — what about eight or ten meters? What is safe? We were not asked, and did not give approval. This should not be allowed. All condos, apartments, and multi-units have this problem. This may be a serious health problem
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