We have been getting emails from people around the state who have received automated calls from PG&E, telling them to contact the utility–even people who are not on the “delay” list. Apparently they think this fight is over, and the slightly-altered version of their proposed “smart” meter opt-out is a done deal.
Well, it’s not a done deal. Don’t call PG&E back, and thereby demonstrate a degree of tacit agreement to this extortion (with no provision for keeping an analog).
Instead…..
TAKE ACTION
1) ATTEND AND SPEAK OUT at this Thursday’s CPUC meeting in San Francisco– Thursday December 1st 9am 505 Van Ness Avenue (at McAllister) in SF.
The CPUC typically allows public comment of 1-2 minutes, but you must arrive by 9am to sign up. If you arrive before the end of public comment (possibly 9:15- 10am) you can raise your hand to speak and they must give you 1 min. Take a minute and spread the word to friends and family- let’s pack the chambers and remind this commission (and the utilities) who they’re working for and who pays their salaries- the 99%!!!
2) CALL AND E-MAIL CPUC COMMISSIONERS, STATE LEGISLATORS AND THE GOVERNOR
The commission as a whole has the power to vote down this extortionate opt out proposal, and they need to know how much we object to it. Comments should be submitted asap, but latest by December 12th. You should also contact your legislators and Gov. Brown at (916) 445-2841.
CPUC Public Advisor, San Francisco:
Telephone: 866-849-8390 or 415-703-2074
Email: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov
Postal Service: CPUC Public Advisor, 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 2103, San Francisco, CA 94102
CPUC Public Advisor, Los Angeles:
Telephone: 866-849-8391 or 213-576-7055
Email: public.advisor.la@cpuc.ca.gov
Postal Service: CPUC Public Advisor, 320 West 4th Street Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90013
TTY 866-836-7825
Phone numbers for CPUC Commissioners:
Mike Florio 415-703-1840,
Catharine Sandoval 415-703-2593,
President Michael Peevey 415-703-3703,
Timothy Simon 415-703-1407,
Mark Ferron 415-703-2782
Tell them to reject the extortionate ‘opt out’ plan, open a full and independent investigation into ‘smart’ meter health damage being linked to wireless radiation, and to pull the plug on the ‘smart’ meter mesh network NOW.
Thank you for taking action to protect our unalienable rights to health, safety, and privacy.
Like I said before. Turn this around, demand that everyone who gets a “Smart” Meter be given a permanent $15 a month CREDIT on their bill.
How can they charge you for something they never should have installed in the first place? It’s their mistake, let them eat it!
They have not done a independent technical evaluation of these meters. They relied on the SALES INFORMATION of the manufacturers who stand to make a lot of money selling these. It’s their fault for not doing the due diligence research on these meters. They need to EAT IT!
It’s their fault and their error and their problem.
They have not addressed the 25 plus issues that these meters have. These meters should have never been installed in the first place.
They need to be removed and returned for credit because they are defective and unsafe in this application. They are a threat to national security when installed in mass.
The power company and the public have been swindled. An investigation of commercial fraud should be pursued by your attorney general.
The minute they found out about the problems with these meters they should have stopped installing them, but they continued. Further deliberate commercial fraud.
There’s also a question of how long these plastic meters will last out in the weather and sun. Will the public be paying over and over for equipment that has otherwise been proven to last 50 years or more?
Why should anyone pay anything if they still have the old meter?
Please please make a fb page so we can gather there!
Did you read what PGE is proposing? BIG FEES to keep your non-SM.
http://www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/smartmeter/programupdates/
The concept of PGE charging a fee for a new meter (when they have thousands of perfectly good refurbished analog meters in warehouses) and then charging by the month to read them is the worst kind of double dipping.
PGE’s rate structure already accounts for the cost of meters and the cost of meter readers. It has for YEARS. PGE is trying to steal money, they want to be paid TWICE.
This is wrong. This must be stopped by WHATEVER MEANS IS NEEDED.
If it costs them $15 a month to read a meter, then they MUST give everyone $15 back every month if they “opt-in” to have a “Smart” Meter.
Watch them cry when they have to give money back.
Oh, and don’t forget to charge those that “opt-in” to have a “Smart” Meter $200 to cover the price of the meter (less what people have already paid to the Feds to pay for 1/2 the meter program).
The old meters are already paid for, no need to charge for those.
Let’s propose the following bill to be placed for California voters:
ALL CPUC commissioners should be elected, not appointed!
The CPUC does not represent California consumers, California citizens deserve a commission which is designed to protect their interests.
Who’s on board?
You are right, who thought having a consumer protection division of government should be filled with appointed officials was a good idea?
These meters are really not in the public’s best interest, and violate unfair trade practice acts.
Unfortunately, this is a global problem. New radio transmitting meters are being forced on many countries around the world. The technicalities vary by region and country, but I have been reading some of the government press releases from around the world, and the propaganda is the same.
In the United States, the propaganda campaigns are very strong, with much of the money to pay for all this false advertising coming from the U.S. taxpayers themselves in the form of ARRA stimulus funds, and the rest from the ratepayers.
Many people actually believe these stupid TV ads, with the little colored bars jumping up and down, with no numbers, but supposed to be showing real time energy use.
Many people don’t even know what a SmartMeter is, and don’t really care about the issue at all. Some who have been fooled by all this expensive advertising actually think that the meters are the power grid, and they believe that somehow these meters are going to save the customers money. These are the people that want the new meters, and have no clue as to why anyone would not want one.
What we have is a lack of truth in advertising, and a lack of knowledge by most of the public about energy generation, transmission, distribution (the power grid) and billing for it all (the SmartMeters).
To the many of us who are very aware of what is going on, we wish that the whole project is scrapped, and all new SmartMeters be yanked out and replaced with analog meters. There are many valid reasons that we wish this scrapping would happen, but unfortunately, I think it might be too late for that to ever happen. PG&E alone spends millions of dollars per day on TV ads, printing marketing brochures and holding “educational meetings” of all the benefits of the new meters. The advertising agencies, television stations, speakers and printing companies have enjoyed a wonderful windfall of profits from this propaganda campaign. And it has really worked, they have have even fooled some people who oppose the project into believing some of the lies, the worst one being that the billing meters are part of the power grid.
In a perfect world, the people that are adversely affected could be released from any suffering caused by the wishes of others who could not care less about anyone else or have some financial gain from the meter project.
But this is not a perfect world, and it is ruled by corporations, so the best that we can hope for is that those who do not want a new SmartMeters keep their analog meters, or if they have a new meter, have it replaced with an analog meter with no upfront fees or monthly meter reading fees either. We could even offer to phone in or email in our monthly meter reads in lieu of paying a monthly meter reading fee.
In Houston, TX, you are sent a card that you fill out with the markings that are on the old meter and you send that back to the power company. No one has to come to your house as most do have fences to keep their dogs off the street. It is simple and easy. All power companies can do that same thing if it is that they want to cut back on employees that have to walk the streets and go house to house to read the meters.
When the dude came to my house to change out my meter I let him have a few choice words and he beat feet to hurry and leave me alone. That was back in June of this year and I have heard nothing from the electric company and my bill is still the same each month. I live alone and have gotten my bill down under $15.00 a month. I could not afford to pay extra for what they might attempt to do. If I had that extra money I would not bother to walk around in the dark at night, and of course I would want to spend it on something else anyway then to have to give it to Edison.
Jim: agreed.
Redi: we have great power – if we exercise it. The worst thing we can do now is do nothing. That means they’ve won and we’re left sick, enslaved to the Evil Empire, and America ceased to exist.
We are sovereign individuals. The Constitution was written for US TO USE. Let’s use it. WE are the OWNERS OF this great land.
We can evict evil relatively easily here, and by so doing serve a good example to people of other countries.
so thats why my bill skyrocketed they charged me an extra $200 for installation and i cant get any response from them so far to GET THIS FN THING OFF MY HOUSE THAT I OWN
Right now the meter is read once a month by the meter reading person. The meter could do the same thing by turning itself on for few seconds each month, sending info, turning itself, and waiting for another month to forward information again. A second or even few seconds per month would not harm anybody. I think PG&E should answer the question why the company is trying to damage our health, when solution to the problem is so simple.
From Toronto, Canada: We have had these digital recording anmeters ( smart meters ) on every residence in the city for a couple of years now. Concerns about health effects are well founded but the real reason these meters have been installed is very clear: TO SPY ON ALL RESIDENTS AND IDENTIFY MARIJUANA GROWERS. Homes using more than 90 kilowatt hours per day will have their energy use data studied for 18 and 12 hour blocks of power. If these patterns of electricity use are seen records will be given to local police department WITHOUT A WARRANT. Police can then stake out a home and if they don’t see anything suspicious on the outside they can make something up to get a search warrant signed. Even if you are growing a small amount, like let’s say 10 plants under one lamp, you will still be targeted. This is a violation of section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada and a violation of the 4th Amendment in the United States. Utility providers and law enforcement are flipping the bird at our rights. Smart meters are evil and should be abolished at all costs. There will be some high profile court cases coming up in Canada in the next few months challenging the warrantless sharing of DRA data. Hopefully justice will prevail.
That program would never work here in the area that I live.
Here, there are many wealthy households that live on posh estates, some of the things people use electricity for are:
Hillevators, elevators, electric skylights and blinds, electric curtains, electric gates, pool pumps, irrigation well pumps, sewer ejector pumps, home theater and multi-media entertainment rooms, air conditioning systems, heaters, freezers, refrigerators, ovens, clothes dryers, exercise equipment, computer trading rooms, home automation systems, security systems including CATV cameras, driveway loop detectors and amplifiers, guest houses, pool houses, servants houses, electric vehicle chargers, tennis court lighting (HID like growers use), landscape lighting and complex communications systems. I’m sure that I forgot some electricity using devices, but I think you get the idea.
An average power bill for an estate is probably around $2000 per month around here, but in the summer, running the irrigation well pumps bump it up another $1000 per month.
And none of these households are growing pot, they don’t have to, they can afford to buy it ! And they use power in 24 hour blocks, not 18 or 12 hour blocks.
They would have to put half the population under investigation here using a program like what you describe in Canada, and there are many wealthy high powered attorneys that live here who would pounce on any threat against their privacy or freedom.
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