We Shut Down PG&E Smart Meter Installation in Santa Cruz County Today!

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Josh Hart

Come and join us tomorrow (Friday) morning and every morning until the County protects the citizens and passes an emergency ordinance banning ‘smart’ meters in Santa Cruz County.  Call your supervisor at (831) 454-2200 and demand that they act ASAP!

PROTESTERS HALT SMART METER INSTALLATION IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

PG&E Contractor Wellington Energy Backs Down as Local Governments Unite Against Meters

Early Thursday morning, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy at 38th and Portola in Capitola to protest what they say is a forced installation of radiating ‘smart’ meters against the will of residents and nearly two dozen local governments throughout the Greater Bay Area.  Despite the fact that the $2.2 billion program is being funded by ratepayers, and the new meters installed on people’s homes, there has been virtually no public consultation in advance of what PG&E itself admits is one of the largest rollouts of technology in history.

PG&E’s smart meter troubles have mounted significantly this week.  Tuesday night, the City of Novato demanded a halt to the program, and Watsonville unanimously passed the most stringent law in the state banning smart meters within city limits, following the lead of Fairfax in Marin County.  Santa Cruz County, Capitola and numerous other local governments throughout the state are planning to follow their lead, responding to inaction by PG&E and the CA Public Utilities Commission in the face of peer-reviewed scientific studies that suggest the meters may have serious unintended health consequences, similar to cell phones which have been linked with brain tumors in many recent studies.[1]

Heidi Bazzano, one of the protesters at 38th and Portola this morning, said, “there are so many problems with ‘smart’ meters. PG&E, the government, and any hacker worth his salt will know when you wake up, what appliances you use, when you go on vacation.  The meters overcharge people, increase carbon emissions, expose us to EMF which is a confirmed carcinogen, and worst of all, we’re paying for them through hikes in our electric rates!”

Those who are electrically sensitive have reported that the intense bursts of radiation from ‘smart’ meters are amongst the worst they have ever experienced.  People throughout the state have been reporting headaches, nausea, dizziness, sleep disruption and other health impacts after smart meters are installed.   PG&E has declined to remove the new meters even though they are causing adverse health impacts, leading some local residents to flee the state and stay with relatives.  Some have even been forced into homelessness, living in their cars with the hope that their smart meter will be removed.

In addition, plans to charge customers more during peak times have been condemned by consumer groups.  The elderly, invalid, and people with small children are typically unable to avoid using energy during peak times, especially during winter and daylight savings time. These vulnerable populations will be penalized the most by being forced to pay dramatically increased rates during peak times.

Protesters vow to continue their protests at the former Big Creek lumber site at 38th and Portola in Capitola until the County of Santa Cruz passes an emergency ordinance banning smart meters in the County.

The following local governments, politicians, and organizations are calling for a moratorium, have enacted a ban, or are opposing Smart Meters:

The Utility Reform Network, State Senator Dean Florez, the City and County of San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Marin County Board of Supervisors, Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, the cities of Sebastopol, Berkeley, Cotati, Fairfax, Santa Cruz, Piedmont, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Watsonville, Sausalito, Belvedere, Monte Sereno, Novato, Richmond, Ross, Bolinas, Camp Meeker, the Peace and Freedom Party, the Marin Association of Realtors and The EMF Safety Network.

Details of tomorrow’s emergency protest:

Where: Corner of 38th and Portola, Capitola

When:  Friday, August 27th 7:30am- 9:30am or longer

[1] http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/59296/title/Interphone_study_finds_hints_of_brain_cancer_risk_in_heavy_cell-phone_users

Posted in Citizen rebellion, Democracy, PG&E | 24 Comments

No Opting Out? Time for Direct Action

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Josh Hart

Posted in Citizen rebellion, Climate Change, CPUC, Democracy, PG&E | 13 Comments

The Brushfire Grows……

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Josh Hart

Posted in Citizen rebellion, Climate Change, CPUC, Democracy, Environmental Concerns, PG&E | Leave a comment

Sorry Darbee, No Opting Out!

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Josh Hart

SVNASM Director Joshua Hart holding the "dumb meter" in front of the CPUC

Yesterday, in front of a large audience of print, radio, and TV media, a growing grassroots movement of those opposed to PG&E’s smart meter program confronted Peter Darbee, the CEO of PG&E Corp. during his speech at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in San Francisco. They presented him with a ‘dumb meter’ symbolizing the ill-fated roll out of the ‘smart’ meter onto homes and businesses throughout PG&E’s service territory. While much of the audience continued to hiss and heckle at Darbee, others held banners and chanted outside along Van Ness: “1,2,3,4 SMART METERS NO MORE. 5,6,7,8 FIRST WE MUST INVESTIGATE!”  KTVU coverage of the protests can be seen here.

As residents continue to alert local governments to the threats posed by the new meters, the warnings seem to be gaining traction as every week new cities and counties add themselves to the list of those demanding an immediate halt to the installation of ‘smart’ meters. On Tuesday, the City of Watsonville joined Fairfax in stating its intention to pass a city ordinance banning the devices that would allow city police to arrest anyone trying to install a meter in the City.

While the most pressing concern centers around the health impacts of wireless radiation from the new meters, there have been a smorgasbord of problems plaguing the smart meter program since its inception in 2006. The meters will allow PG&E to disconnect power remotely from the head office, report detailed electrical usage data to the utility (and potentially to hackers who might use the information to aid in burglaries or identity theft) and have been widely reported to increase electric bills. They have also been reported to catch fire and disable electrical safety devices.

Certificate presented to Darbee on the steps of the CPUC

After the numerous disruptions, Darbee was forced into a sort of mea culpa for the devices. He stated that the utility was taken aback by all the controversy, and had just thought of the new meters as an “infrastructure project” that people wouldn’t really care about.

One can’t really blame poor PG&E. Who would have thought that a device attached to your own home that emits radiation linked to cancer, broadcasts intimate personal details of one’s home life, increases your utility bill, risks setting fire to your house, and contributes to climate change would bother anyone?

Friday update: Video to come shortly…..

Posted in Citizen rebellion, Climate Change, CPUC, Democracy, Health studies, PG&E | 2 Comments

Watsonville Joins Fight Against Smart Meters in a Big Way

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Josh Hart

Earlier this evening, Watsonville City Council joined the growing list of local governments calling on the CPUC to immediately halt the installation of smart meters within the state of California.  In a 7-0 vote, the council took some of the strongest action that any city council has taken to date, signing on to both the EMF Safety Network and San Francisco petitions before the CPUC.   They also directed their city attorney to investigate what powers the city might have in legally restricting PG&E from installing any meters within city limits, along the lines of the ordinance that the town of Fairfax approved last week.

PG&E gave a scripted presentation, saying how they are listening to customer concerns, and working to allay fears (using incomplete and outdated WHO reports).  The opposition was led by SVNASM’s own Joshua Hart, who outlined the many problems with the smart meter program and PG&E’s arrogance in foricng smart meters onto communities who don’t want them, as well as Dr. Karl Maret, a medical doctor and trained electrical engineer who testified about the health impacts of EMF radiation.

Here is some of what the council said, before sending a clear message to PG&E and the CPUC:

Councilmember Caput: “PG&E is the definition of arrogance…I don’t like to see residents and city councils being pushed around.  People can be pushed only so far…..  The company failing to listen to residents and forcing smart meters on communities may lead to the end of the smart meter in California.”

Councilmember Bersamin: “We need to protect vulnerable, low income citizens, and developing children…we will get our friends in Sacramento to do something about this.   We will write letters to our representatives in state government, to the PUC, to anyone who will listen and we encourage other cities and counties to do the same.”

Mayor Alejo: “PG&E failed to carry out adequate testing before rolling out the smart meter program….communities can stand together and send a message….cities will continue to sign on to these petitions….this will continue throughout the state unless PG&E begins to respect the wishes of local governments and halts further deployment.   I would like to direct the city attorney to investigate any and all powers the City of Watsonville may have to stop smart meters being installed in our City.”

Posted in Citizen rebellion, CPUC, Democracy | 5 Comments