So the Grinch backed down….
After a week of being pummeled by local government officials, the public, and the media for disconnecting electricity to families who had been injured by ‘smart’ meter radiation less than two weeks before Christmas – the power is now back on for Bianca Carn’s family, and the others who were forced to shiver in their dark homes just so PG&E could make a point.
Most of the people who returned their meters on December 7th refused to allow PG&E to replace either a smart meter or a so-called “non-transmitting digital” meter on their homes. Living without electricity for these people was preferable to living with a ‘smart’ meter- something perhaps PG&E hadn’t counted on. Others like Karyn Sanz- whose family’s livelihood required immediate re-connection, accepted PG&E’s offer of a “digital meter.” Immediately, according to Sanz, she experienced headaches and heart palpitations, backing up reports that suggest dirty electricity from these meters is also dangerous.
PG&E has been forced to install a meter place-holder to avoid installing an analog meter on the homes of people who have been sickened by smart meter radiation
Since PG&E has (falsely) claimed that they have no analog meters left, they were forced to save face by installing a device to bypass the meter – allowing unmetered electricity to flow to the homes. They plan to base their billing on last year’s usage. This device- pictured to the right- is used by installers as a place holder- and has never been safety tested for long term use, typically only used for a minute or two during problem installs.
The utilities are behaving like they are still fighting a battle against a small band of vocal activists. What they perhaps haven’t realized is that this movement has gone mainstream, and they are now pitted against the public at large- who are quickly catching on that all is not right with this so-called ‘meter upgrade.’ Needless to say, this is the same public that pays their salaries, and fattens their shareholder accounts- something they do care desperately about. This kind of ugly episode- where paying customers get shut off at Christmas- is what happens when Wall Street controls our basic public services.
Nevertheless, it was remarkable how the community came together over the past week to look out for our own. In less than a few hours yesterday we managed to raise more than $1200 to help these families get a safe power supply to their homes- without even posting an appeal on this site. This fund will continue to grow and be available for all those who are forced to take action to protect their health and safety. If you would like to donate, please contact us for details and ask how you can donate to Stop Smart Meters! Safe Power fund.
Gretchen Vandereen is again suffering from insomnia from the 3 smart meters that PG&E forced back on her home- out of the public spotlight
The Grinch may have backed down for these 5 families who were in the spotlight- but he is still the Grinch, and he is still stealing Christmas from thousands of families who are suffering health effects in their homes. For example, Gretchen Vandereen who spoke on Dec. 7th about her 3-month bout with insomnia- returned home last week to find that PG&E had threatened her neighbors with electricity disconnection- trespassed, vandalized her meter defenses, and installed 3 new smart meters. She hasn’t slept properly since then and doesn’t know what she’s going to do. Since she hasn’t been featured on the evening news, PG&E is hanging her- and thousands like her- out to dry.
If PG&E truly cared about safety, as they insist ad nauseum to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, then they must remove all unwanted ‘smart’ meters and replace with analogs- no questions asked. Local politicians claim to be in favor of choice- so let’s hear them call for an immediate and no-cost return to analogs- for those households and communities who want them. Not in Januray or February- but TODAY- so people can live in their homes without suffering terrible symptoms over the Holidays.
One thing is for sure- You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!
Media Coverage
KSBW News: Santa Cruz Smart Meter Rebels 1 PG&E 0
(note that at 1:53 in the above video- the radiation burst from the ‘smart’ meter actually interferes with the news camera’s microphone- you can hear the interference at the same time the analyzer detects the spike. Note that this Cornet meter time averages the bursts so the peak pulse is likely far higher than is indicated here…)
Santa Cruz Sentinel: PG&E restores power to Santa Cruz County residents who removed SmartMeters
SMART METER REALITY
The utility companies make tremendous amounts of money on sale and installation of smart meters – that is why it is occurring with reckless abandon.
Next, tremendous amounts of money will have to chase the problems and disappointments of the smart meter systems and the utility companies and their suppliers will make tremendous amounts of money on that too.
The promises of energy conservation, reduced customer bills and a greener system is pure propaganda.
Only (1) the transfer of $$ from customers to utility companies and (2) immediate health problems for some and long term health problems for many are the realities of smart meters.
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That bypass is safer than the meters the people installed?
The corporate execs need to be sued personally. They have exceeded their corporate charter and have gone beyond what they have power to do.
Anyone need anything welded for FREE? Big banks of batteries charged for FREE?
These people should throw a big welding “FREE POWER” month long party and everyone bring their welders and stuff and plug in!
I would also run an extension cord to all my neighbors for as long as that bypass was in place.
If the old meters are truly gone, I want to see an accounting of every cent and where it went when they sold them and who purchased them. Follow the money trail.
I found the company that makes that bypass device.
They have a device that annoys customers that don’t pay.
http://www.brooksutility.com/catalog/product-detail.asp?ID=735
So there’s another thing they will be doing with the “Smart” Meters. They turn your entire house off / on over and over and make you go crazy till you pay up. Nice.
“Provide an inconvenience for customer to persuade them to pay their bill”
How low will they go for revenue collection?
EKD 4J SP4346 – 30 minutes ON 30 minutes OFF
EKD 4J SP4347 – 20 minutes ON 10 minutes OFF
Or will hackers decide to play a joke on you from remote?
There’s another one that limits your power (cuts you off if you use too much)…..
“It is a tool that opens a door to collection methods that were unknown a few years ago.”
“With proper handling, increased collections can be achieved while projecting a very positive image to the public.”
“can also reduce the number of non-collectibles” … “In most cases, he must severely restrict the consumption of electricity, but he can exist. He is not forced to immediately pay, live without or move. He has been given a few days of reprieve, and he has been given a real test of what it is like to live without electricity.”
Read that again, here’s the threat they think they have over you: “a real test of what it is like to live without electricity”.
Get solar as soon as you can!
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Sweet !, the people got their power back on !
Some very important information I would like to share as being a licensed master electrician in California.
(1) The photo in this article depicts a very old meter socket, more modern ones have an enclosure with a meter socket and main circuit breaker combo.
(2) ALL equipment including the riser, weather head, wires inside the riser, the meter socket and enclosure, the main service disconnect, all load centers, and everything else electrical being fed by the meter are provided, installed, paid for and maintained by the customer. THE ONLY THING OWNED BY PG&E IS THE METER ITSELF !
(3) ANY AND ALL customers can do whatever they want to with the power that comes out of the meter, and can install as many other meters, circuit breakers, circuits, appliances and devices that they want to, as long as it is done according to local building codes.
My advice to customers who PG&E has put a jumper on the privately owned meter enclosure.
(1) If PG&E removed what they say is an unauthorized analog meter that was purchased and installed by the customer, DEMAND that they return your property !
(2) Have your electrician install that same analog meter (if returned by PG&E) into a new meter main enclosure DOWNLINE from the jumped panel. Then, keep track of your meter readings yourself. Keep very accurate records, and compare them with PG&E’s estimated monthly usage. Look at the bill sent to you carefully, and compare with your actual reads for accuracy. If you see a large discrepency, then the only ammo that you have is your own readings. PG&E can come in an do an investigation and see if you are diverting power away from your meter if they contest it.
If PG&E chooses this route to take of providing no meter, then customers need to know what they are being billed for, and have every legal right to measure their own power used as long as the system is up to code.
And on the 2012 meter reading schedule that PG&E just sent me, on the back there are 3 options that are available to people who have limited access to their property to meter readers.
(1) Customers’s Key : The customer can give a key to the gate and have only authorized PG&E employees use that key to gain access to the property. NOTE: A friend of mine has an electric gate on his driveway, and it is a keypad number that PG&E has to enter. One day, a Wellington employee showed up, and had the key code to the gate, so PG&E DOES give out keypad codes to Wellington. Fortunately, my friend was there and told the Wellington employee to “take a hike out of here” !
(2) Lock box: A customer can place a lock box where a meter reader can get inside and use the key to access the property , building or locked panel.
(3) Self-read : The customer can contact the customer service number and request to set up a phone- in reading system. On the brochure, it said this must be pre- approved, but actually anyone can phone in their meter reads as long is it is on the normal day of meter reading.
Many customers have old meter sockets and fused disconnects, so this customer performed upgrade will be a great improvement no matter what happens with PG&E and the PUC. And who knows, maybe PG&E will be ordered to let it be if they claim that they have no analog meters left. Knowing PG&E, they will probably, miraculously discover some analog meter in their shop. Then they can either install it in the customers existing enclosure where they put the SmartMeter, of leave the jumper in place and put their own analog meter with permission.
So, PG&E just left a message on my machine that they are going to ask the CPUC to approve a rate increase for people that want to keep their analog meters. PG&E said in the message that the CPUC will make a decision about the rate increase in a few months.
Now, since PG&E has basically admitted that their SmartMeter project was a complete failure, due to the hasty, wasteful scam being cooked up in such a hurry, with no real planning or testing, no research as to whether the public will want their products, and lack of vision of the marketing scheme in general.
Lets face it, most people don’t know what a SmartMeter is, don’t care if they have one or not, don’t even know if they have one on their property, probably never look at their bill, and watch a lot of TV. The SmartMeter ads on TV have all been proven to be completely false advertising, but most people are brainwashed by the false statements about the benefits of the new meters. They can’t understand why anyone would not want a wonderful product that will reduce global warming, carbon footprint, save energy, promote alternate energy and on and on.
But those of us that do have a clue about the project know that it was a complete marketing failure, and resent any rate increases so PG&E can recoup some of their losses (actually, PG&E didn’t lose a dime, it was the ratepayers money that they wasted).
The battle is partly won, but we all really need to put some heavy pressure on the CPUC to deny granting these rate increases and meter reading fees that PG&E is proposing.
Smart Meters – something to be afraid of? http://www.squidoo.com/beware-of-smart-meters
I live in England. We are under threat of having smart meters (plus Wi-Fi) placed on our homes.
I have studied the effects of (as I have learnt since victims of mobile phone mast emissions in my village suffered appalling symptoms for the last 10 years!) pulse-modulated non-thermal microwave emissions all of that time, and KNOW that Wi-Fi is the worst aspect of those emissions in this country -so far! I suffered palpitations in association with Wi-Fi in my cousin’s house, and know a great deal about the effects. If we are forced to have Wi-Fi near our house – I shall be very ill – and so will many other villagers -especially children! I hear that Canadian schools with WiFi have to have defibrillators in school to cope with heart problems suffered by the pupils!
We must take Wi-Fi out and hardwire everything!
Gill,
I read that in England, the SmartMeters are different than the ones that are being pushed here in the U.S. Their meters are not on a shared mesh network, so every meter communicates directly with the utility revenue collection bureau. The radios inside each meter have to be powerful enough to transmit without repeaters, and can report total usage every 15 minutes to the utility, unlike what we have here in the U.S. that only report total usage once every 4 hours.
Also, I read that in the U.K., the government orders mandatory “energy audits” of peoples homes.
The detectives do a detailed investigation of every room in the house, counting lights in each room, recording all appliances and devices and reading each rating plate that documents current draw. They know what brand and model of every appliance in ones house after this “energy audit”. Maybe that is where some of the science fiction writers have been confused about the SmartMeters. All SmartMeters can do is report total electrical and gas usage, any other individual appliance usage must be gleaned from an inspection in person by agents of the utility.
Also, I saw on RT TV news that in Bristol, England, they reported that the government is now mandating video cameras and microphone installed in houses. Maybe that is where the science fiction writers got confused into thinking that the SmartMeters are spy meters,
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