Stop Smart Meters!

“Red” States and “Blue” States Agree: The Smart Grid is a corporate-led plan to deprive the public of our basic rights to safety, privacy, and health

Yesterday’s Washington Post article, Smart meter installations stir rowdy response from gun-toting, cage-building Texans, covered the increasingly contentious debate swirling around “smart” meters in the Lone Star state.   It’s become clear that opposition to the “smart” grid has spread to so-called “red” and “blue” states alike.  While the industry gets richer from overcharging us and selling our private data, people of all political persuasions are getting sick from pulsed radiation so strong that it would be illegal in many European countries.  Such high levels are only allowable in the US under weak FCC guidelines that fail to be informed by expert medical opinion, or research reflecting the damage of what’s happening in the real world.  People have had enough of the lies and corruption, and this is manifesting itself in the streets:

“(Texas Utility) CenterPoint says contract installers are encountering tough resistance in some neighborhoods.”

This isn’t Damascus we’re talking about but Houston, Texas.  These are undoubtedly the neighborhoods where someone like you has taken the initiative to educate their neighbors about the truth of the smart meter installation program.   Walking door to door with printed materials can make the difference between a smart meter free zone where people take responsibility for protecting their neighborhood and your area becoming totally smetered overnight.  When people learn the truth, more often than not they refuse- and help spread the word themselves.  The important thing is to get people educated before installation.  That is why utilities across the country are accelerating their deployment schedules- so people don’t have a chance to learn the truth about the risks of smart meters- before the installer shows up at their door.

No one should be forced to pull out a gun to defend their homes against utility personnel, who are meant to serve the public and keep our lights on.   The law is the law. If you ask anyone (besides a law enforcement officer with a warrant) to leave your property, they must comply or they are guilty of trespassing. 

It’s getting crazy out there.  We encourage everyone to remain peaceful (which can be difficult given the overt violence of the forced smart meter deployment).   This doesn’t mean just sit back and let them install.  Stop Smart Meters! is a strong supporter of communities defending themselves through direct action and peaceful civil disobedience.

Whatever your political affiliation, it’s time to ramp up the fight.  Take back your power and refuse to go along with the machine.

“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!”

-Mario Savio, Dec. 3rd. 1964

Pay to not have your house burn down? Isn’t that a protection racket?

We know of at least several hundred people in California and other states who are holding the line and refusing to pay unjustified fees being charged by utilities with a smart meter “opt out” program.  This must be just the tip of the iceberg- there must be thousands more of us out there.  Read comments from fee refusers here.

Why should we have to pay for a smart meter program that is rife with problems- from overbilling to fires to health damage and privacy violations- through rate increases or taxes- and then pay an extra fee to avoid having the meter?  Sounds like a double dipping scam to us.  Pay for a service and then pay to avoid it?  We Refuse.

The truth is that utilities have no legal mandate to install a smart meter on your property against your will.  It’s also likely that they have no right to enroll you in a higher fee program without your expressed consent.  What does that mean? You have a right to safe, reliable analog meter at no extra charge.  Doesn’t mean you don’t have to fight for that right.

This leaves the utilities- many of whom have already signed contracts with the equipment manufacturers and received billions in misdirected federal stimulus funds- in a tough place.  They can only install if we let them- if we believe their lies and their false claims of entitlement.  No wonder they are resorting to bullying, threatening, and intimidating people to force their unpopular stupid meters.

If you are fortunate enough to still have your analog meter, or have replaced your smart meter with an analog and are refusing to pay any opt out fees, we want to hear from you.

We can stop these outrageous and illegal fees- if we stick together and organize!

1)   Do you have your old analog meter still, or a utility/ electrician installed one?

2)   Are you being charged an “opt out” fee?

3)   Are you refusing to pay these fees?

4)   Who is your utility and where are you located?

5)   Has your utility taken any action or made any threats against you?

6)   Are you willing to risk “camping out in your house” i.e. getting your power shut off – if it helps eliminate the fees once and for all?

7)   Would you be willing to be interviewed or participate in a public protest against opt out fees and smart meters in general?

8)   Would you be willing to be a contact in your area, to help coordinate unified actions?

We have heard that PG&E and other CA utilities may soon start attempts to install smart meters or switch off the electricity to those refusing to pay fees. Make sure your analog meter is monitored and protected.  Ask a retired or work at home neighbor to demand that any unauthorized utility personnel leave your property at once.  Require (in writing) 48 hours notice prior to any utility maintenance visit.

People in Santa Cruz, CA who organized and returned their smart meters to PG&E last December ended up with their old trusty analog meters back on their homes once again.

Please get in touch immediately if your utility attempts any action against you.  Disconnection, or other harassment against customers who pay the full cost of their usage is outrageous, unreasonable, and should not be tolerated by a civilized society.

When people in Santa Cruz, California got together and returned our unwanted smart meters to PG&E in December, they disconnected our electricity two weeks before Christmas, but were finally forced by public pressure to back down and switch the families back on so they could have a proper Christmas.  The lesson here is that when communities organize, stick together, and stand up for each other, we can prevail.

“Opt out” is an industry sponsored idea that doesn’t address serious systemic problems with the smart grid.  There is no “opting out” of widespread involuntary exposure to radiation, fire risk, or an unreliable and vulnerable grid.  Nevertheless, keeping an analog and refusing to pay fees can be an effective protest against the smart meter debacle.

Thank you for taking collective action against utility extortion!  Please Donate Today and help us ramp up the resistance.  -SSM!