Two upcoming events in California: Southern California Smart Meter Forum, on Thurs. Nov. 10 in Glendale CA. Speakers include Cindy Sage, EMF expert, and Mindy Spatt of TURN.
Cell Phone Safety Public Forum (poster below with info) will be held on Tues. Nov. 8 in Berkeley CA. Speakers include Stan Glantz, pioneer in public health, and Devra Davis, author of Disconnect.
Tuesday’s post documenting the return of Caitlin Phillips’ analog meter by PG&E brought a great number of emails to Stop Smart Meters! in the days that followed.
This was confirmation of what we already knew: many of California’s ratepayers are very eager to have their “smart” meters removed and replaced by an analog—often these are people who have been suffering with persistent health complaints, like insomnia and headaches, since installation.
Caitlin jumped through many hoops before PG&E stooped to her simple request: to regain what she never consented to have removed—her old, fully functioning electric meter. She wrote to PG&E, the CPUC, and when her requests were ignored, bought a replacement analog meter and had the smart meter removed. Only when she spoke at a CPUC meeting on Oct. 20th and told the Commission what she had been forced to do, did President Peevey direct PG&E to replace the analog meter on her home.
Unfortunately, right now, anyone wanting to get back an analog meter will also have to work hard to get this to happen. If you are within driving/transit distance of San Francisco, we urge you to come to the next meeting of the California Public Utilities Commission, on Thursday November 10, 2011, 9 a.m. Arrive 15 minutes early to sign up to speak. Chandu Vyas and Elizabeth Barris both asked for and were granted analog meters during the public comment portion of CPUC meetings. (CPUC, 505 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco CA.) For those who cannot make the trip, see the end of this post for a way to participate via phone.
Make sure you ask for—and get—an analog meter, not a “non-transmitting” digital meter, as these have also been linked with health effects. Basically, it is your home and no one has the right to force a device on your home that you don’t want—it’s as simple as that! Don’t give your utility the power over you by asking them if they can please remove the meter—demand that they do so immediately and let them know you will contract with a professional to get the job done if they refuse.
Other news: Article on SFGate.com confirming the huge number of data pulses each day from electric “smart” meters: “SmartMeters send almost 10,000 signals a day”. Some ‘smart’ meters send out over 190,000 signals every day! We’ve been warning the Commission and the public about this for months and it turns out we were right! Read more analysis of the radio-frequency problems of ‘smart’ meters disclosed by the utilities in this recent post on EMFSafetyNetwork.org.
Participating via phone in the public comment portion of the CPUC meeting: If you cannot make the trip, then, please contact the CPUC and request accommodation to speak during public comments by phone. They say they need three days to arrange accommodation, so contact them by Monday morning Nov. 7. The Public Advisor’s office is (415) 703-2074
Widening Call for Immediate Return of Analogs;
Disconnection of “Mesh” Wireless Network
UPDATE, Nov. 3, 2011: Glendale CA resident also has ‘smart’ meter replaced with analog meter by utility GWP. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_jT3-36KRg
SANTA CRUZ, CA—Just as PG&E enters the final phase of its deployment of wireless “smart” meters in California, the largest of the state’s Investor Owned Utilities (IOU’s) has reversed course, quietly beginning to replace the ‘smart’ meters of those reporting health impacts with the old trusty analog version. Consumer rights and health groups immediately seized on the news, demanding that millions of Californians unhappy with their new wireless meters get their analogs returned immediately at no cost.
‘Smart’ meters are new wireless utility meters being installed as part of the “smart” grid initiative, spearheaded by technology firms and backed by the Obama administration and the Department of Energy. Promises ranging from lower utility bills to enhanced renewable generation capacity have failed to materialize, with widespread reports of higher bills, privacy violations, fires and explosions, and commonly reported health impacts such as headaches, nausea, tinnitus, and heart problems associated with powerful wireless transmissions. Widely disparate political groups- from members of the Green Party to the Tea Party and Occupy protesters have attacked the program, and dozens of grassroots organizations have sprouted up over the past several months to fight what they call an undemocratic, unconstitutional and dangerous assault on people in their own homes and neighborhoods. Dozens of people have been detained or arrested for peaceful civil disobedience and even simply speaking out against deployments.
In California, more than 47 cities and counties have demanded a halt to installation, and a dozen local governments have passed laws prohibiting the controversial technology. [2] The ‘smart’ meter issue has further angered a public already seething at the utilities over repeated gas explosions, safety breaches at nuclear reactors, and an increasingly extortionate rate structure. Word of California’s ‘smart’ meter nightmare has spread across the country and around the world, prompting some utilities to place smart meter plans on hold, and recently Nevada’s PUC to call for investigations into the health effects and other smart meter problems.
Now in a dramatic turnaround that could signal the beginning of a widespread recall of wireless ‘smart’ meters, on October 28th PG&E re-installed a classic spinning disc analog meter on the home of Santa Cruz, CA resident Caitlin Phillips, who had been suffering headaches and other symptoms from her ‘smart’ meter. The move comes in response to verbal directives from the California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey, who recently told members of the public that the utility “will provide for you to go back to the analog meter if that’s your choice.” The CPUC has been slow to respond to thousands of ordinary citizens reporting health effects from the new meters.
When a Wellington Energy installer (contracted with PG&E) came to install a smart meter at her home, Caitlin asked the installer to get off her property and not install, because of what a neighbor had told her about possible health damage and privacy violations. “When I returned home later, I discovered a smart meter on my house. That night I awoke to severe anxiety, headache, and buzzing in my teeth, and realized the new smart meter was on the other side of the wall from my bed.” Caitlin reported her experience to PG&E and the CPUC, who both declined to rectify the situation. When the symptoms persisted, Caitlin sought the assistance of the Scotts Valley based group Stop Smart Meters! who provided an analog meter and referred her to a professional who could help her remove her ‘smart’ meter. As soon as the analog was installed, Caitlin’s symptoms disappeared.
Frustrated and outraged about her treatment by the utility and the PUC, Caitlin travelled to San Francisco to speak at a commission meeting on Oct. 20th. About a week later, PG&E crews were at her house replacing her temporary analog meter with a brand new official PG&E analog meter. This is believed to be the first time PG&E have willingly replaced an analog meter on the home of someone suffering from health effects.
An “opt-out” proceeding overseen by an Administrative Law Judge is underway at the CA Public Utilities Commission, yet those suffering (in some cases severe) health impacts have been stuck in limbo as utilities refuse to remove the harmful meters upon request- until now.
“There are hundreds of thousands- if not millions- of people suffering in their homes from forced ‘smart’ meter radiation,” said Joshua Hart, Director of the grassroots organization Stop Smart Meters! “The utilities and PUC’s must respond promptly to all requests that analogs be returned. The alternative is that people will increasingly turn to independent professionals to remove unwanted ‘smart’ meters from their homes, a reasonable action we assert is within our legal rights. Protecting your family’s health is not tampering.”
PG&E and other utilities have also been responding to health complaints by replacing wireless ‘smart’ meters with digital meters that are “wireless-ready.” These digital meters have been associated with health problems from “dirty electricity” frequencies that pass into a home via the electrical wiring. These “trojan horse” meters have been roundly rejected by those who report continuing health impacts after installation. Susan Brinchman, Director of San Diego based Center for Electrosmog Prevention. said “At this point, the burden of responsibility is on the utilities to demonstrate that any new meter they want to install on our homes is safe. Communities have the right to retain analog meters at no extra charge. Period.”
Video Interview of Caitlin on KION News: [Warning: this news site crashes some browsers]: http://www.kionrightnow.com/story/15936211/santa-cruz-woman-fights-smartmeter-wins
Want a fright for Halloween? How about our food supply being seriously disrupted? Now, according to a letter to the editor from Prescott AZ, we have installers promising residents that the EMF from the meters will “get rid of bees.” We’ve heard a number of reports now about bees disappearing around the vicinity of wireless meters.
We know that bees are critical pollinators that we depend on for much of our food supply. We know that bee populations are in decline, and this is being linked with EMF’s by many researchers. Yet no environmental impact report (EIR) was ever carried out on the ‘smart’ meter program to assess- much less prevent such disruptions to natural systems. Here’s the letter:
I love my smart meter.
We had a bee colony close to my meter. When the APS guys came to put in the smart meter, I warned them of it. One told me, “Don’t worry, this will get rid of them.”
After a few days, they abandoned and never returned.
So, I am a giant smart meter fan, since it got rid of possible killer bees. My bills are a little higher than comparable periods in the past, but I am willing to pay that price to stop worrying about the bees.
Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona
“Finally we’re questioning things like the collapse of the bee colonies all over the world. It’s significant. It’s global and It spells great threat for our human species. If we lose the pollinators, game over. We won’t be able to feed the planet.
It’s clear to me that bees which again operate within the natural background field of electromagnetic energy that the earth produces and that actually locate their food sources and their hives and communicate that to the rest of the bees in the hives-they come back and do the dance and say here’s where we go to find the pollen and then off they go–following a natural lay line-these are being confused and completely cross modulated”
-Starling Childs, Geologist and Forestry Consultant, Yale.
Okay so they didn’t exactly give a green light to having your “smart” meter removed. But it wasn’t a red light either. More like a flashing yellow caution sign.
First of all, as is clear to anyone who reads the post they refer to, we never encourage anyone who is not qualified to work on electrical equipment or to change their meter themselves. PG&E is right about one thing — it could be dangerous and even lethal (much like the “smart” meter itself). We are promoting residents who have requested ‘smart’ meter removal and have been met with a denial by their utility company to find a qualified professional who can swap the meter out for them. Particularly if they are suffering common symptoms like headaches, nausea, tinnitus, or insomnia from the microwave emissions. No one deserves to be forced to endure those kinds of health effects in the sanctity of their own home. In addition, Michael Peevey, President of the CPUC, has authorized analog replacements for customers who request them. Get with the program, Piggy.
Utilities could avoid people having their meters removed by third parties if they did their job and had their own technicians remove ‘smart’ meters upon customer request. Until that day comes, utilities should not be surprised when people take matters into their own hands and have the smart meter removed.
If the originator of this letter, Mr. Christopher Myers, Safety Engineering and Health, really wants to live up to his job title, then he should order an immediate recall of ‘smart’ meters due to their threat to the aims of his job title. Do your job, Chris!
Let’s just review what the utility company has threatened to do to people who want to have their meter removed, and find out whether any of these threats hold water:
1) “You will be arrested and thrown in jail” Again, having a meter changed is NOT a crime. Tampering with an intent to defraud the utility is a crime, but if you are careful and document each step of the process, it’s unlikely that a jury of your peers would find you guilty of tampering. Even PG&E does not pretend that meter changing with intent to protect your health and safety is equivalent to tampering with intent to defraud.
2) “We will disconnect your power” State utility code does not allow utilities to disconnect anyone who has paid their bill on time simply for swapping a meter.
3) “We will charge you hundreds of dollars” They can only charge you more if your state PUC allows them to do so, and this is typically a lengthy process. Maine’s PUC, for example charges about $10-$20/ month to keep your analog (which is still extortion) It will likely be months – if ever – before any fees are allowed to be charged by the CA PUC.
The proof is in the pudding. Not one person has been arrested, had their electricity switched off, or charged one extra cent for refusing or replacing a ‘smart’ meter. So ignore their threats, stand your ground, and have that analog put back in its rightful place – on the side of your home! Then lock it up!
Typical of the utility’s dysfunctional circular logic, the last sentence reads: “tampering violates numerous state laws intended to … protect the public from … unlawful activities.” Those are the best kinds of laws — ones that protect the public from law breaking!
This letter is interesting as much for what it does say as for what it does not say. It does not say that having your meter changed is illegal. It does not say that changing a meter constitutes tampering. Because it isn’t and it doesn’t.
This is where PG&E’s claim falls to the ground. They are hoping that by intimidating individuals who want their ‘smart’ meter off — by sending threatening letters, and using scary words — that they can dissuade 99% of the public from taking the very reasonable step of having the class 2B carcinogen-emitting meter removed from their property.
The truth is that the so-called “mandatory” ‘smart’ meter program is so much smoke and mirrors – a house of cards ready to fall. In reality, a utility like PG&E would be impotent in the face of thousands of people returning their unwanted ‘smart’ meters. This is the stuff of smart grid company executive nightmares.
Let’s make those nightmares a reality.
