1) A member has recommended that her library buy what she describes as an “excellent read” – Arthur Firstenberg’s “The Invisible Rainbow”. Here is Arthur’s email address if you wish to purchase a copy: info@cellphonetaskforce.org
2) In the UK, a smeter is being blamed for a fire. It could have been a poor installation job, but it could have been something else… With combustible, poorly designed smeters you never know. People in BC have reported that prior to a fire, they noticed weird things happening, like lights flickering, just as this person experienced. If the smeter feels warm or gets water inside the face, or if unusual things like this occur, call BC Hydro ASAP and demand a new smeter be installed.
Baker blames ‘faulty’ smart meter for huge blaze
“Diane Murphy, 44, of Great Harwood-based Millie and Ruby’s, insists an engineer for E.ON failed to install the meter correctly – causing it to ‘overheat and burst into flames’…
“I had noticed that when I turned the oven on, the lights would start flickering or the food mixers would stop working for a few seconds…
Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans wrote to E.ON’s chief executive seeking answers after the firm allegedly failed to respond to Diane for five months.
Her insurance company, landlord and solicitor have all written to E.ON stating the smart meter was to blame but the company has denied responsibility.”
https://theworldnews.net/gb-news/baker-blames-faulty-smart-meter-for-huge-blaze
3) Please see below in Letters an email from a member with good advice if/when BC Hydro takes your analog.
4) In New Hampshire, the Utilities Commission is recommending that concerns of the public plus cost/benefits be taken into consideration re. smeters, as are many other State Commissions.
New Hampshire grid mod proposal recommends ‘tempered’ approach to AMI
“Staff’s recommendations on New Hampshire’s grid modernization proceeding will help develop a framework for how the state will move forward. The cautious approach to smart meters reflects a growing trend among state regulators.”
Letters:
If any of your readers still have an analogue meter, take a picture, a clear one, of the meter dials and pointers before the meter read or at the exchange.
BC Hydro exchanged our meter in Dec. and misread the last analogue meter reading. They over read it by 1000 kWh.
On the phone with the BC Hydro call taker, she consulted her supervisor and was told the supervisor looked at the pic of the meter the installer took and agreed with their reading. I asked if she actually knew how to read an analogue meter. See, if the second pointer on a dial appears to be on a number, say 1, you look at the dial to the right, and if that dial has not passed 0, say it’s at 9, then the dial with the pointer on the 1 is recorded as the next lowest number, 0, because the dial to the right has not completed its rotation. Since the error was on the second number, it was the thousands dial and the reading was off by 1000 kWh.
Since it was winter, we were already over our Step 1 rate threshold and all 1000 kWh were billed at the Step 2 rate of over 13 cents per kWh. It was $139.23 that BC Hydro overcharged and would not credit us with the charge of the meter read because they didn’t do their job properly but still felt they were entitled to it. I had to spend a couple hours fixing their mess. The BC Hydro “Customer Care Advocate” said, “They had to come out to read the meter.” I replied, “No. They came out to ‘exchange’ the meter. He just took a digital pic while he was doing the ‘meter exchange’ and wrote down the WRONG number.” I could have talked to a wall and gotten further.
I even emailed other electric utilities and, at the time I’m writing this, one had gotten back that a long time meter reader with them confirmed my reading was the correct one.
You have to look after you interests, because BC Hydro will take all they can. And if you want it back, be prepared to have the necessary proof.
I did.
Sharon Noble, Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.” ~ B.F. Skinner