“Smart” Meters to Blame in East Palo Alto Power Surge?

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Josh Hart

KTVU Reporter on the scene in E. Palo Alto where 'smart' meters popped on Aug.25.

Reports were coming in yesterday of a major power surge that left more than 200 without electricity and burned out appliances and wiring in East Palo Alto, a low income community in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Many of the affected homes were in apartment buildings, where clusters of the new wireless meters have recently been installed.

The power outage affected 10 blocks and started after 9 pm Thursday night, with
400 volts of electricity surging through homes, rather than the usual 110 volts, according to PG&E.  Residents reported loud bangs, pops, glass shattering, TVs blowing up, lines sparking, smoke, lightbulbs exploding, and other electrical problems.

PG&E tried to blame it on the trees, but fire officials warned residents not to turn their electricity on until the smart meters are inspected.

Now no one is sure what caused this incident- let’s make sure we don’t jump to conclusions here, but new readers on this site should be aware that ‘smart’ meters are not UL certified, have been linked with numerous fires and electrical explosions, and that a fire that burned the Santa Rosa Mall in April appears to have been caused by ‘smart’ meters and then covered up by PG&E.  Whistleblowers who worked for Wellington Energy- PG&E’s ‘smart’ meter contractor- have alleged unsafe installations that have led to arcing, which certainly could have caused this incident.

If anyone has further information about this incident, please post it below in the comments section.

Update Tuesday Aug. 30th 4:30pm:  We obtained a copy of the fire incident report from the Menlo Park Fire Dept. (that serves E. Palo Alto)- it states:

“Received alarm as smoke & flame from electrical box.
On arrival Eng. 5 personnel met with PR he stated that PG&E power lines (&) house meters popped.”

KTVU TV coverage here.

Palo Alto Online Coverage here.

 

Posted in Class Issues and Social Equality, CPUC, Dirty Electricity, PG&E, Safety | 16 Comments

PG&E: “We just don’t want to get into a debate about it”

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Josh Hart

There’s a reason Pacific Gas and Electric and other utilities don’t want to get into a debate about their ‘smart’ meter program.  It’s because the truth is not on their side.    When a condo homeowners association in San Francisco invited a PG&E rep to their monthly meeting to answer questions about the new meters the utility wants to install on their homes, at their own expense, the company simply declined.

That’s customer service for you.

PG&E has been invited more than a dozen times to openly debate the issues with Stop Smart Meters! at events, and on radio and television shows.  They have declined every single time.

 

Posted in Citizen rebellion, PG&E, San Francisco | Leave a comment

Reckless Driving, Reckless Microwave Experiment

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Josh Hart

Posted in Citizen rebellion, PG&E, Safety, Santa Cruz County | 2 Comments

“Smart” Meters: More Radiation Than a Cell Tower

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Josh Hart

PG&E and other utilities claim that wireless ‘smart’ meters emit a fraction of radiation compared to other common wireless devices.  This is a blatant lie, as anyone with an analyzer can determine for themselves.  Thanks to San Francisco resident Amy O’Hair for going out and doing this critical work.   Where is the Department of Public Health?  Where is the FCC? Or the CPUC?  It seems that if people want to know the truth, we can no longer rely on government agencies.   We just have to organize and do it ourselves.

Posted in Health studies, PG&E, San Francisco | 29 Comments

Residents Forced to Take Matters Into Their Own Hands

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Josh Hart

Neighbors are having to intervene to physically stop installations of 'smart' meters, because Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak refuses to enforce local laws banning the devices, putting people in danger and violating their civil rights.

This account was sent to us yesterday.  Names have been changed to protect identities because of a fear of possible retribution by the utilities.  (Why must we live in fear of a corporation? -ed.)

My name is Bruce and I live in the Seabright area of Santa Cruz, California.  Here is an account of what happened today August 18th in my neighborhood.

Around 12:30 p.m. I noticed a Wellington Energy truck, license #8R45814, on our court.  He parked just past our house in front of our neighbor’s driveway.  I asked him if he was going to install a smart meter.  He said “yes I am.”  I then called out to the son of our neighbors, who was home and I informed him that he could refuse the installation of the smart meter.

The installer went to their door.  The son had the installer call his father.  The father refused the installation and the installer went to the next house- home of John and Susie who were out of town.  They had a sign on their meter requesting no installation and I informed him they were on the “delay” list.  The installer then moved on to the next home where Dan and Julie lived.  No one was home.  I didn’t know if Dan and Julie are on the Delay list.  The installer went ahead and quickly installed the meter even though I asked him to check.

The installer then moved his truck up the court to the next house, home of Rita and Tom.  Also Tom’s father, Dave, lives with them.  I know this family is on the delay list as Dave has a pacemaker.  I told this to the installer, and he approached their meter.  I walked up to the meter and said, “I cannot let you install a smart meter.  I know that Rita has placed their house meter on the delay list until there is definite proof that the smart meter will not cause a malfunction in Walt’s pacemaker and  kill him.”

I confronted him and further stated,” If you put that smart meter on, it could kill him.  You can punch me out but I will fight you.”  (I am a 64 hear old heart patient myself)  The installer pulled out the pin of the slot at the bottom of the meter and reached to pull the meter off and I pushed his hand away.  He said, “Don’t you touch me” and reached for the meter again.  I lightly brushed his arm away and he said, “Don’t touch me.”  I replied, “You can’t do this.  These people are on the delay list.”

He then stopped, checked his hand held device and found that they were in fact on the delay list.  He then put a new clip on their meter to replace the one he had removed.  Jenny, my housemate, took pictures of me standing beside him in front of the meter.  She also got a picture of his truck and license number.

Next the installer went over to the meter for our HOA (home owners association) pump that services all 5 homes.  I didn’t have any knowledge that our association was on a delay list, so I didn’t oppose him.  He then installed a smart meter on the pump, read the meter, and then got in his truck and drove away.  He returned to the cul de sac and worked the rest of the afternoon on neighboring houses and apartments until 5:25 p.m.

This installer, in my mind, was deliberately ignoring checking the delay list until I intervened.  He was installing meters without checking to see if owners etc. were on the delay list.  Can PG&E do this?  They are doing it.  We saw this with our own eyes today.

What a sick society we live in that people have to go to great trouble and expense to build elaborate defenses around meters on their own homes because our state regulatory agencies are controlled by the utility companies and won't do their job to protect the public.

Posted in Citizen rebellion, PG&E, Santa Cruz County | 18 Comments