Ohio Utility Commission Rules Against Three Women Who Can’t Afford Smart Meter “Opt- Out” Fees

How many people do you know who would refuse smart meters but can’t afford the “opt out” fees?

Three women in Ohio filed legal complaints with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).  They have cited health reasons for not wanting smart meters installed on their homes but they can’t afford the PUCO-approved “opt out” fees.  Now their cases are all being dismissed (1, 2, 3).

Smart meter “opt-out” fees are unlawful for EMF-disabled persons and violate ADA because they are a surcharge.  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) refunded one California consumer’s opt-out fees when she filed a claim into their bankruptcy court proceeding.  A court waived “opt-out” fees for another California consumer by virtue of his disabling medical condition.

In 2017 a letter signed by 3 doctors was submitted to PUCO asking that there be no “opt-out” fees approved for Ohio consumers who refuse of smart meters.

The Ohio companies rejecting the women’s requests to drop the “opt out” fees are subsidiaries of FirstEnergy which has been under federal investigation for an ongoing scandal that has included offering bribes to Ohio officials (1, 2).  PUCO staff has been investigated in this scandal as well.

People are outraged about this attack on our fundamental rights to be safe in our homes. Those in poverty are being discriminated against, because of their inability to afford extortion fees for analog meters, and are thus facing lives of pain and medical issues because they can’t afford the opt out “protection money.”

Those  opposed to smart meters can email the following groups or join their Facebook pages. Grassroots direct refusal of these barbaric and illegal policies is the only way to obtain relief when government agencies, utilities, and courts are acting in collusion to deny the public their rights.

Children’s Health Defense Ohio Chapter, on Facebook, email oh.chd@childrenshealthdefense.org

Citizens for 5G Awareness, NE Ohio, email NEOSafeTech@gmail.com

SWORT (SW Ohio for Responsible Technology), email swo4responsibletech@fuse.net and swort_group@fuse.net

SWORT Dayton

ORT (Ohioans for Responsible Technology)

CORT (Central Ohio for Responsible Technology)

Toledo Smart Meter Dangers

Stop Smart Meters Ohio

This entry was posted in Changing a Meter, Class Issues and Social Equality, Democracy, Electro-Hyper-Sensitivity, legal issues, Ohio, radio-frequency radiation, Smart Grid. Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Ohio Utility Commission Rules Against Three Women Who Can’t Afford Smart Meter “Opt- Out” Fees

  1. Patricia bender says:

    Id move!

  2. Patricia Bender says:

    There is an attempt from Duke to attempt to make money on a loss they inccurred when the company that originally used defective meter and went bankrupt.
    I know I was improperly billed fir my electric fir last 7 years. And Duke uses excuse that don’t have records past 2 years ago. They have recods and just don’t want to research, as well as PUCO didn’t want to research either.
    And why did PUCO give DUKE approval for higher delivery charges starting in July??
    These woman won’t b able to afford that either.
    Also Duke is not telling customers they are charging high peak hour chargee betw 9am and 2pm. The reason they say they are doing this is because we didn’t have a really cold winter so they didn’t make a high enough profit margin..
    This feels very communistic

  3. Jackson says:

    DISCONNECT!! I got into a similar row here in Australia, including all sorts of threats from them Told them to get stuffed and installed a second-hand solar system of 2.4kW, which cost me $260, plus the price of a NEW battery-bank which should last about 6-8 years. I’m a frugal power-user by nature (having lived with solar-power since 1980), so the 8/9 kWh produced here in Melbourne Australia is about TWICE what I need. The neighbours in this retirement village (none of who have much money) are so impressed they’ve had me setting up similar systems for them, as used systems become available. Some of them have had bills lately in which the ‘Connection Charge’ is 50% higher than the cost of electricity they use! Contrary to commercial advertising, setting up a simple system is child’s-play which anyone can achieve with a few tips.
    With a few adjustments to power-usage ANYONE can make do with such a set-up, so tell the ‘service-providers’ to get stuffed and go independent. About $1000 can get you started, and can be expanded any time you wish, without further ado. Anyone wanting to discuss options/needing advice/etc. is welcome to contact dabbblesATgmailDOTCOM.
    All the best.

  4. Jackson says:

    DISCONNECT!! (With an axe if necessary!) I got into a similar row here in Australia, including all sorts of threats from them Told them to get stuffed and installed a second-hand solar system of 2.4kW, which cost me $260, plus the price of a NEW battery-bank which should last about 6-8 years. I’m a frugal power-user by nature (having lived with solar-power since 1980), so the 8/9 kWh produced here in Melbourne Australia is about TWICE what I need. The neighbours in this retirement village (none of who have much money) are so impressed they’ve had me setting up similar systems for them, as used systems become available. Some of them have had bills lately in which the ‘Connection Charge’ is 50% higher than the cost of electricity they use! Contrary to commercial advertising, setting up a simple system is child’s-play which anyone can achieve with a few tips.
    With a few adjustments to power-usage ANYONE can make do with such a set-up, so tell the ‘service-providers’ to get stuffed and go independent. About $1000 can get you started, and can be expanded any time you wish, without further ado. Anyone wanting to discuss options/needing advice/etc. is welcome to contact dabbblesATgmailDOTCOM.
    All the best.

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