Stop Smart Meters!

The Grinch Backs Down; PG&E Re-Connects Sickened Families

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Josh Hart

So the Grinch backed down….

After a week of being pummeled by local government officials, the public, and the media for disconnecting electricity to families who had been injured by ‘smart’ meter radiation less than two weeks before Christmas – the power is now back on for Bianca Carn’s family, and the others who were forced to shiver in their dark homes just so PG&E could make a point.

Most of the people who returned their meters on December 7^th refused to allow PG&E to replace either a smart meter or a so-called “non-transmitting digital” meter on their homes. Living without electricity for these people was preferable to living with a ‘smart’ meter- something perhaps PG&E hadn’t counted on. Others like Karyn Sanz- whose family’s livelihood required immediate re-connection, accepted PG&E’s offer of a “digital meter.” Immediately, according to Sanz, she experienced headaches and heart palpitations, backing up reports that suggest dirty electricity from these meters is also dangerous.

PG&E has been forced to install a meter place-holder to avoid installing an analog meter on the homes of people who have been sickened by smart meter radiation

Since PG&E has (falsely) claimed that they have no analog meters left, they were forced to save face by installing a device to bypass the meter – allowing unmetered electricity to flow to the homes. They plan to base their billing on last year’s usage. This device- pictured to the right- is used by installers as a place holder- and has never been safety tested for long term use, typically only used for a minute or two during problem installs.

The utilities are behaving like they are still fighting a battle against a small band of vocal activists. What they perhaps haven’t realized is that this movement has gone mainstream, and they are now pitted against the public at large- who are quickly catching on that all is not right with this so-called ‘meter upgrade.’ Needless to say, this is the same public that pays their salaries, and fattens their shareholder accounts- something they do care desperately about. This kind of ugly episode- where paying customers get shut off at Christmas- is what happens when Wall Street controls our basic public services.

Nevertheless, it was remarkable how the community came together over the past week to look out for our own. In less than a few hours yesterday we managed to raise more than $1200 to help these families get a safe power supply to their homes- without even posting an appeal on this site. This fund will continue to grow and be available for all those who are forced to take action to protect their health and safety. If you would like to donate, please contact us for details and ask how you can donate to Stop Smart Meters! Safe Power fund.

Gretchen Vandereen is again suffering from insomnia from the 3 smart meters that PG&E forced back on her home- out of the public spotlight

The Grinch may have backed down for these 5 families who were in the spotlight- but he is still the Grinch, and he is still stealing Christmas from thousands of families who are suffering health effects in their homes. For example, Gretchen Vandereen who spoke on Dec. 7^th about her 3-month bout with insomnia- returned home last week to find that PG&E had threatened her neighbors with electricity disconnection- trespassed, vandalized her meter defenses, and installed 3 new smart meters. She hasn’t slept properly since then and doesn’t know what she’s going to do. Since she hasn’t been featured on the evening news, PG&E is hanging her- and thousands like her- out to dry.

If PG&E truly cared about safety, as they insist ad nauseum to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, then they must remove all unwanted ‘smart’ meters and replace with analogs- no questions asked. Local politicians claim to be in favor of choice- so let’s hear them call for an immediate and no-cost return to analogs- for those households and communities who want them. Not in Januray or February- but TODAY- so people can live in their homes without suffering terrible symptoms over the Holidays.

One thing is for sure- You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!

Media Coverage

KSBW News: Santa Cruz Smart Meter Rebels 1 PG&E 0

(note that at 1:53 in the above video- the radiation burst from the ‘smart’ meter actually interferes with the news camera’s microphone- you can hear the interference at the same time the analyzer detects the spike. Note that this Cornet meter time averages the bursts so the peak pulse is likely far higher than is indicated here…)

Santa Cruz Sentinel: PG&E restores power to Santa Cruz County residents who removed SmartMeters

SF Chronicle: PG&E SmartMeter draws customer rebellion

KION: PG&E Restores Power

Posted in Changing a Meter, Citizen rebellion, Democracy, Fundraising, Installer Threats and Assaults, PG&E, Santa Cruz County | 18 Comments

Orwell, the 2011 Version: PG&E Claims They Are Only Concerned for Customer Safety When Turning Off The Power

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Josh Hart

PG&E representative Wendy Sarsfield got grilled this week by the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors. (Video below.) She claims PG&E only has their customers’ safety in mind when turning off power to people who, desperate to recover their health, have hired a qualified electrician to change their ‘smart’ meter back to an analog.

But the Supes are doing their job, and don’t let her get away with the bullying bluster: “There’s no public safety reason why you can’t replace the meter with a PG&E-approved analog meter. You’re holding customers hostage to make a point…. We’re having a Dickens moment, here!”

Citizen journalists covering the board meeting asked questions of PG&E yet there were no answers forthcoming- PG&E left the building to avoid discussing endangering the health and safety of residents- first by microwave radiation- then by withholding electricity to senior citizens in the middle of December.

More coverage on EMFSafetyNetwork.org

Posted in Changing a Meter, Citizen rebellion, Democracy, PG&E, Santa Cruz County | 7 Comments

PG&E Shuts Off Power to Sickened Families 2 Weeks Before Christmas

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Josh Hart

[News links follow.] Frightened by the prospect of a large scale public backlash against their stupid meter program, the cowards at Pacific Grinch and Ebeneezer have cut off power to at least 3 people in California who had been sickened by ‘smart’ meter radiation and had acted reasonably to have a safe analog meter replaced on their homes. [UPDATE: As of 2pm, Dec. 14, three more persons have been cut off by PG&E.]

Although PG&E has a policy of not disconnecting anyone during the holidays, they made a special exception for these families. Apparently PG&E feels it is more appropriate to force people to shiver in the cold and stumble around in the dark than simply replace an analog meter on their home (which of course they have millions of).

Seventy-five year old Peggy Lindsay, who spoke about the ‘smart’ meter’s toll on her health and returned her meter last Wednesday to PG&E- is one of those who has been disconnected. We’re worried about her safety, living alone, having been left in the cold and dark in the middle of December. So far, none of our ‘elected leaders’ have intervened on her behalf.

Monise and Peter Sheehan made every effort to get PG&E to work with them to eliminate the terrible ringing that had plagued their house ever since the meter went in. PG&E refused to fix the problem, and the Sheehans took reasonable action to replace their meter with an accurate analog model. They got home last night and their home was dark and cold. They were interviewed by local station KION news last night.

We need to be clear about this situation. The utilities are acting like a criminal syndicate, switching off power to those suffering from their unsafe and poorly executed smart meter ‘deployment.’ They are getting increasingly nervous- and they should be.

What do we do? The utilities are expecting that people will back down if they switch the power off. They are expecting that people care more about their electricity and their gadgets than their ability to sleep at night or live without headaches and tinnitus. Having spoken to thousands of people who are suffering from these meters, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say- THEY ARE WRONG. It is no time to back down and allow the noose of pulsed EMF to slip silently back over our heads.

If you are lucky enough to have had the foresight to lock up your analog meter before they came around, you might be reading these developments and thinking to your self, “well these people removed the meter- that’s why PG&E cut them off. Surely I’m safe with my locks and chains or my sign- I even called the opt out line.”

I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but they want to switch off your electricity as well if you refuse to allow them to install a ‘smart’ meter- regardless of what you are reading about a possible opt out. PG&E admits so themselves in a recent filing:

“For customers who continue to refuse to allow access to the meter, PG&E will have no choice but to temporarily discontinue service in accordance with existing Rules.”

If you still have your analog meter, make sure it is locked up and begin to make plans to live off the grid, or generate power locally with your neighbors. It’s not as hard as you think if you are willing to make a few lifestyle adjustments.

Convince your local authority- or perhaps general assembly- to take back the power and establish a municipal utility. For now (if you are able- at least for part of the day), turn off your power at the breaker in solidarity with those being plunged into darkness. Have a romantic candlelit dinner. You may even feel a whole lot better in your home.

And no matter what your electrical situation is, now is the time to unite together and take care of each other- take care of your community- making sure that your elderly neighbor has enough wood and candles- perhaps a propane fridge- to make it through safely. Our government/ utility is failing pretty miserably in this regard.

This threat is not isolated to California. In the last few days, we’ve heard reports that more than 200 families in Minnesota who refused wireless water meters have been cut off. Other scattered reports of disconnections from around the US have also been coming in to StopSmartMeters.Org

Let’s be clear about what’s going on here. This is an attack by PG&E and other utilities- who are owned by the 1% on Wall Street like Goldman Sachs, against the 99% whose exorbitant utility bills lead to investment returns of more than 11% in some cases. This is when you can’t even get 1% from a savings account and many homes are being foreclosed on.

The rich are getting richer and the rest of us are left choosing between a headache and a blackout. Welcome to 2011.

NEWS LINKS:

http://www.kcra.com/news/29997155/detail.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45673076/ns/local_news-sacramento_ca/t/woman-says-pge-smart-meter-was-causing-health-problems/

http://nation.foxnews.com/pge/2011/12/14/utility-company-turns-power-couple-who-removed-their-smart-meter

Monise Sheehan (left) came home to a dark home on Monday- retaliation for speaking out publicly about the damage PG&E has done to their health, and taking action to remove the hazard on their property. The others have been threatened with disconnection.

Posted in Changing a Meter, Citizen rebellion, Democracy, Electro-Hyper-Sensitivity, Installer Threats and Assaults, PG&E, Santa Cruz County, Smart Grid | 43 Comments

PG&E Threatens to Disconnect Families Protecting Their Health

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Josh Hart

Bianca Carn, Santa Cruz mother of 2, is now being threatened with electricity disconnection two weeks before Christmas- for removing the 'smart' meter outside her children's bedroom that was causing headaches.

Hundreds of Households Having SmartMeters Removed as Health Toll Mounts

Capitola, CA- Last Wednesday, more than a dozen Santa Cruz County residents- including mothers and grandmothers- assembled outside Pacific Gas and Electric’s Capitola Payment Center with their unwanted wireless electric meters in hand, and spoke about what prompted them to defy their utility and replace the ‘smart’ meter on their homes with widely available analog meters. After being interviewed by the media, they quietly got in line and waited for the next clerk. But before they could speak to anyone, PG&E called out half a dozen Capitola Police Officers, and kicked everyone out of the office. The unwanted ‘Smart’ Meters were left piled up on the counter. Late last week, PG&E sent letters threatening to disconnect power to those who returned their ‘smart’ meters on Wednesday, including a family of four with headaches and a single woman in her seventies.

The dozen residents who assembled last week outside a PG&E office just 30 miles south of Silicon Valley are the most visible part of a growing movement of people suffering from insomnia, headaches, tinnitus and other symptoms linked to smart meters- fed up with being ignored by the monopoly utilities and state regulatory agencies (who have received over 10,000 health complaints about the new meters). Many have begun taking matters into their own hands and having their smart meters removed from their homes. Their efforts have been bolstered by online videos showing how to do the switch, and ‘smart meter replacement kits’ are now being sold online for $49.95. (See FreedomTaker.com)

Despite thousands of threats, not one household has had their power disrupted for refusing or removing a ‘smart’ meter in California. According to many legal experts, utilities do not have the legal right to force a carcinogen on people’s homes. Nevertheless, the threats continue.

Last week’s events in Capitola should send shivers down the spines of utility executives, who are facing a growing backlash against their ‘smart’ meter programs. While investment banking and tech firms are looking forward to potential profits of $49 billion from rolling out the ‘smart grid’ worldwide- mainly through utility rate hikes- increasingly customers are rejecting ‘smart’ meters as surveillance devices, fire hazards, and as dangerous sources of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation- what the World Health Organization now identifies as a Class 2B carcinogen.

“The ‘smart’ meter was installed outside my children’s bedroom,” says Bianca Carn resident of Santa Cruz and mother of an 8 and a 6 year old. “Since the meter was installed, they are both complaining of headaches. I asked PG&E multiple times to take it off- they refused. So we hired an electrician and had it removed.”

PG&E’s ‘smart’ meters emit radiation bursts that are more powerful than wireless consumer devices and have been measured at levels that would exceed safety limits for RF exposure in much of Europe.

“PG&E does not care about health and safety and does not respect private property rights,” said Joshua Hart Director of Santa Cruz County based Stop Smart Meters! “Threatening to turn off the power to a family who are simply trying to protect their children from radiation-induced headaches- two weeks before Christmas- is about as Scrooge-like as you can get.”

The County of Santa Cruz, all 4 municipalities in the county, and 42 other local governments throughout the state have demanded a halt to deployment because of health damage, privacy violations, and safety concerns. At the time Santa Cruz County was “deployed” with ‘smart’ meters, a County Ordinance prohibiting their installation was in force and PG&E chose to ignore it. According to Hart, “it appears that PG&E’s chickens are coming home to roost as hundreds are returning unwanted utility equipment that was installed illegally in the first place.”