WE SAY NO FEE: CHARGE THE UTILITY

At tomorrow’s meeting, the CPUC will vote on the proposed opt out. The commission wants to charge you hundreds of dollars to keep the safe analog meter you already have, or to get rid of the smart meter you never agreed to have installed.

If these fees are approved, California utilities will be extorting money from unwilling and helpless ratepayers.

That cost should instead be recouped from utility profits.

Most ratepayers do not want smart meters. They don’t want the RF radiation health damage, the intrusive monitoring technology, or the dubious safety. Without fees, over half of ratepayers would opt out. With fees, it drops to less than 3%. This is a failed program, deeply unpopular.

Beyond its lack of popularity, there is the consistent flow of criticism from experts in various fields: The American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the American Civil Liberties Union (VT), the Public Health Officer of Santa Cruz County, Dan Hirsch, (UC Professor), Dr David Carpenter (Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Albany), and many others who are expert in related fields.

Notably, the landmark designation of smart meter radiation as a Class2B carcinogen by the W.H.O. last year apparently did not drive home to the CPUC the public health implications of putting an RF emitter on every single home in CA, often within a few feet of a bed–and often in banks of multiple meters with disproportionate effects on certain homes.

Then there are the 49 cities, counties, and other municipalities in California who have weighed in with a clear “No.” These are local jurisdictions whose officials take seriously the pledge to protect the health and safety of residents. Many elected officials recently signed a petition to the CPUC, that no fees be charged, signed unanimously by all members of the Boards of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, Marin County and Lake County, as well as the Mayors and all members of the City Councils of Ross, Fairfax and Sebastopol.

The investors in these monopoly utilities are the ones who should foot the bill for this failed project. They took their chances buying stock in a company that made such flawed decisions, with so little relevant input from the ratepayer base, and it is they who should absorb the shock of this huge mistake.

We call on the CPUC to provide: Free opt-out. Immediate relief for those made ill. Community opt-outs. No co-location of meters. Conduct an environmental review.

Please come to the CPUC meeting, Wednesday February 1, 2012, 9 A.M. Sign up to speak at 8:45 A.M. for one-two minutes at beginning of meeting. 505 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco CA. Parking nearby at Civic Center Garage (Polk and McAllister).