Smart Grid Off the Rails, Says New Report

Is it possible that billions of dollars in stimulus and ratepayer funds spent on the ‘smart grid’ have been essentially wasted? A new report concludes just that.

Billions of taxpayer dollars spent on “smart meters” will not lead to U.S. sustainability; Place citizens and economy at risk
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. —  A new policy report focused on the electric grid and economy of energy, “Getting Smarter About the Smart Grid”, was published today by the National Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy (NISLAPP) in Washington, D.C. The report states that billions of dollars in federal subsidies for “smart” utility meters have been misspent on meter technology that will not lead to energy sustainability or contribute to the possibility of a more efficient and responsive electricity grid.

Authored by engineering and policy consultant, Dr. Timothy Schoechle of Boulder, CO, an expert in smart grid technologies who serves on several international smart grid standard setting committees, the new report “Getting Smarter About the Smart Grid” states:

• Congress, state and local governments, as well as ratepayers, have been misled about the potential energy and cost saving benefits of the new “smart” meters, paid for in large part with taxpayer dollars, as well as ratepayer dollars.

• The present policy approach to electricity infrastructure in the United States depicted in the report, Policy Framework for the 21st Century: Enabling Our Secure Energy Future, issued by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of the Executive Office of the President, evidences a fundamental lack of understanding of the problems associated with the future of electricity and energy.

• The growing grass roots rebellion against smart meters now happening in 18 states, such as CA, VT, AZ, TX, FL, PA, ME, IL, OR and the District of Columbia, is only the “tip of the iceberg”—one that conceals a deeply dysfunctional energy economy needing urgent federal, state and local attention.

• Ratepayers’ desire to “opt-out” of the new wireless meters on privacy, security, reliability, cost and potential public health grounds may herald an “epochal transformation of the political economy of energy”.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

A conference call with the authors of the report and members of the media will take place Monday December 3rd at 1pm PST:  (641) 715-3200  passcode 784589#

This entry was posted in Citizen rebellion, Environmental Concerns, Federal Government, Smart Grid. Bookmark the permalink.

10 Responses to Smart Grid Off the Rails, Says New Report

  1. Richard says:

    “A new policy report … by the National Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy (NISLAPP) in Washington, D.C.” … I was really curious about the name, so I searched, and it sounds a lot more impressive than it really is.
    While their objective sounds noble: “… to bring practitioners of science and law together to develop intelligent policy that best serves all interested parties in a given controversy” (LINK) http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/wireless-technologies-cause-harm-to-children-and-adults-legislators-and-journalists-are-told/ NISLPP seems like just another front for the unsubstantiated claims of health effects due to low-power wireless communication (e.g., cellular, wifi, microwave/radio, etc).
    These efforts are futile UNLESS the claims are substantiated either by the masses or by data…In the absence of masses, I’m still waiting for the data.

    • Ronny Rat says:

      Hey Ri ch …. are you w/PG&E?

      • Richard says:

        Nope…Just someone with an interest in science 🙂 I’d really just like to see the claims substantiated with some hard evidence (i.e., scientific investigation)…Claims of EHS and health problems caused by SmartMeters (or other wireless transmitters) are just that: claims; and the case for wireless radiation causing health problems has no chance when argued with hearsay alone. We need more research, and I am not the one to do it, but I do take an interest in the topic. Recent studies, like this one: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=645813#Abstract suggest some correlation, but it’s significance is uncertain. This study alone seems to suggest that there *is* some chemical effect, but does it cause harm?…That was not an objective of the study. So, I’m not ready to say that the sky is falling.

        • Richard, maybe we can strap you to a chair at various distances from a smart meter and take physiological measurements. How’s that for scientific investigation? What exactly do you propose then? I believe human ethics boards would not allow the experiment that utilities are running every day.

          • Richard says:

            I’m just saying that hearsay will only get so much attention. I’ve made proposals before and they’ve usually been met with “who has time to volunteer” and “how could anyone afford to volunteer” and “there are too many variables to control” and “the effects are based on cumulative exposure, not immediate” (that may have been posted on emfsafetynetwork.org)… I just don’t see “the movement” gaining any momentum without some data to support the stories.

          • Ronny Rat says:

            GOOD ONE ‘onthelevel’, HA,HA! I can’t stop
            LAUGHING.

          • Paul H says:

            With lots of metal in the room preferably sitting on a metal chair. Maybe add a WiFi router sending data just for fun?

          • Richard says:

            Which is worse? –

            (1) Premeditated hope of causing harm, as you propose; or (2) being skeptical of unsubstantiated claims of harm, as I propose.

            You may not like my proposal, but, really: which is worse?

            I’ll say it again, if EHS is real (and I think it may be), then it should be testable. You want something to organize and get behind, then organize the research community to conduct a robust investigation beyond posting videos with EMF meters on the street and in parks…We all know the radiation is there…It’s the effects that need to be tested. It’s simply cruel to scare people with opinion and hyperbole. Simply cruel; like your premeditated hope for me.

    • “The island of doubt-It’s like the taste of medicine… still waiting… still waiting…”

      – ENO/BYRNE

  2. Paul H says:

    Anyone that is being affected by the smart meter emmissions want the problem to stop. THEY WANT IT TO END! Not take some test where it could induce a stroke or heart attack. Richard get your head checked, please! Since you don’t personally have this problem leave us that do have identical symptoms alone! If you would like to read studies there are plenty at magdahavas.com or just listen to what Mi5 Agent Barrie Trower is warning the world about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrBLO1rAMM

    I should have suggested you have dancing girls in the room with him. Maybe have a tickle festival? I wouldn’t want anyone to think that it was cruel. Just like the customer service agents at the power company when I begged them to take the meter off 2 days after it was installed. They thought I was strange for even thinking that their meter was waking me at 3:12am every morning. It was simple for them because they were told that it wasn’t cruel or since they were told by an authority figure that it was ok, like the Milgram Experiment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W147ybOdgpE

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