Category Archives: Legislation

Press Release – BCUC & Smart Meter Fires – September 21, 2017

PRESS RELEASE – for immediate release                                                               September 21, 2017

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, THERE’S FIRE
BCUC fails to protect smart meter customers

The BC Utilities Commission Act says the prime reason the BC Utilities Commission exists is to ensure BC citizens receive safe and secure service. Section 25 of the Act reads:

If the commission, after a hearing held on its own motion or on complaint, finds that the service of a public utility is unreasonable, unsafe, inadequate or unreasonably discriminatory, the commission must
(a) determine what is reasonable, safe, adequate and fair service, and
(b) order the utility to provide it.
http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96473_01

Sharon Noble, Director of Coalition To Stop Smart Meters, last week released a report based on three years of research into smart meter fires and failures. Noble charges that BCUC has failed to do its job. Even after BCUC received a formal complaint with evidence that public safety is being jeopardized, the Commission did nothing. BCUC neglected to order BC Hydro and FortisBC to provide “reasonable, safe, adequate and fair service”. The report asserts:

1)    No agency is tracking fires;

2)    Regulations and laws are being broken with impunity, e.g. meters are being removed from the fire scene, electrical inspections are not being done;

3)    Reporting is haphazard at best;

4)    The meter is combustible, poorly designed, with critical components uncertified by any agency to be safe;

5)    BC Hydro did not perform its due diligence by having an independent electrical engineer inspect the meter for safety prior to signing the contract. Rather it accepted ITRON’s assurances;

6)    Smart meters have burned, melted and caused homes to burn. BC Hydro and BCUC both deny this is happening.

Consumer Affairs recalls defective devices, such as cars and electrical appliances (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/consumer-product-safety.html). Consumer Affairs has no jurisdiction to recall defective smart meters because the meters are owned by the utility company, not by any of the consumers who are required to use them. Noble observes, “Who is watching out for us, ensuring that these devices mandated by law and installed on our homes without our permission are safe? No one.”

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Contact information for media only:
Sharon Noble
dsnoble@shaw.ca

Next page: Image Files, Background Files

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All the pdf files are large, therefore accessing the links will not be a quick download. Your patience is appreciated.

1.   The Report (2 pdfs)

The Report         http://tinyurl.com/SMFireReport

Appendix W     http://tinyurl.com/AppendixWSpreadsheet

2.   Research documentation (2 pdfs*)
Includes reports received from the Fire Commissioner, the Attorney General’s Office (JAG), the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (TRA), BC Safety Authority, BC Hydro, and victims.
The reports in these Volumes are in the same sequence as the summaries provided on the spreadsheet in Appendix W.

Volume I        http://tinyurl.com/SuperReportDataVol-I

Volume II       http://tinyurl.com/SuperReportDataVol-II

* The amount of documentation is extensive, therefore it is presented in two volumes:
Volume I holds reports for fires that occurred in municipality names beginning with A to M;
Volume II holds reports for municipality names beginning with N to W.

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REPORT CONTENT
Credit: Coalition to Stop Smart Meters


COVER OF THE REPORT
Credit: Coalition to Stop Smart Meters

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Fire Report – https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/bcuc-smart-meter-fires-the-failure-to-protect/ – for the complete report, spreadsheet, documentation, and addenda

BC Hydro Answers & Sharon Noble’s Response Back:

 

BC Hydro Comments & Sharon Noble’s Response Back – https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/bc-hydro-response-to-bcuc-request-for-comment-on-ms-nobles-correspondence-re-smart-meter-fires-report-october-20-2017/

Additional important information & links re smart meter fires:

 

Will BC NDP Ignore 700 Page Smart Meter Fire Report? Sharon Noble – September 12, 2017 – The Goddard Report with Jim Goddard

(audio 36:37) Will BC NDP Ignore 700 Page Smart Meter Fire Report? Sharon NobleSeptember 12, 2017 – The Goddard Report with Jim Goddard by talkdigitalnetwork – YouTube – September 12, 2017:
(New 5-G Frequencies So Disruptive – Used as Military Weapons
Guest’s website: https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/)
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The Goddard Report Video Archives of Interviews with Sharon Noble, Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters re Smart Meters and Health Issues from Wireless Technologies:

BCUC & Smart Meter Fires: The Failure to Protect

The BC Utilities Commission’s prime reason for being, as stated in the BC Utilities Commission Act, is to ensure that the citizens of BC receive service that is safe and secure. Section 25 says:

If the commission, after a hearing held on its own motion or on complaint, finds that the service of a public utility is unreasonable, unsafe, inadequate or unreasonably discriminatory, the commission must

(a) determine what is reasonable, safe, adequate and fair service, and

(b) order the utility to provide it.

 

In July 2015 I lodged an official complaint with BCUC, charging that ITRON smart meters are not safe, have never been certified to be safe, and I provided 8 examples of fires and failures in BC that had put lives and property at risk. I asked for a formal investigation of this device and, if it was found to be unsafe, that a formal recall be made, with ITRON refunding all monies paid and charges incurred.

6 months later BCUC responded in a draft form, asking for me to respond, which I did. Included with my response were statements by Electrical Engineers who had inspected the smart meters and found them to have serious design flaws which cause them to be fire hazards. In addition I provided more evidence of fires in BC and elsewhere.

BCUC’s response was that my evidence was not “persuasive”, stating that they had been told, and were convinced, that the meters were safe based upon a report that had been commissioned and paid for by BC Hydro, a report that Len Garis wrote using one source only – the annual Fire Commissioner’s report. Nothing else. BCUC did not seek expert input from Electrical Engineers. Neither did they ask me for more information. Rather, they put the onus on me to prove them and Len Garis wrong.

This report does this, in spades. I now charge that BCUC has failed to do its job by ordering BC Hydro and FortisBC to provide “reasonable, safe, adequate and fair service” after having received a complaint with evidence that the public’s safety is being jeopardized.

I hope you will read the report and consider the following:

1)   No agency is tracking fires;

2)   Regulations and laws are being broken with impunity, e.g. meters are being removed from the fire scene, electrical inspections are not being done;

3)   Reporting is haphazard at best;

4)   The meter is combustible, poorly designed, and not certified by any agency to be safe;

5)   BC Hydro did not perform its due diligence by having an independent Electrical Engineer inspect the meter prior to signing the contract. Rather, it accepted ITRON’s assurances;

6)   Smart meters have burned, melted and caused homes to burn. BC Hydro and BCUC both deny this is happening.

None of these factors were taken into consideration by either Len Garis in his “report” or by BCUC in their rejection of my complaint.

Consumer Affairs recalls defective devices, e.g. cars, electrical appliances. But because a utility owns the smart meters, they are not considered consumer goods and Consumer Affairs has no jurisdiction. Who is watching out for us, ensuring that these devices that are being put on our homes without our permission, mandated by law, are safe?  No one. This is in our hands and this report provides the means by which we can and must demand a recall.

The files are all large, so please be patient when downloading them – it will take time.

1) http://tinyurl.com/SMFireReport

2) http://tinyurl.com/AppendixWSpreadsheet

3) http://tinyurl.com/SuperReportDataVol-ISupporting Documentation (cont’d)  (N-W)

4) http://tinyurl.com/SuperReportDataVol-IISupporting Documentation (A-M)

5) Addenda

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Letter-to-Premier-John-Horgan-Smart-Meters-A-Fire-Hazard-by-Sharon-Noble-September-01-2017.pdf

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Letter-to-David-M.-Morton-CEO-BCUC-Smart-Meters-A-Fire-Hazard-by-Sharon-Noble-September-01-2017.pdf

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Letter-to-Energy-Minister-M.-Mungall-BCUC-and-Smart-Meter-Fires-The-Failure-to-Protect-by-Sharon-Noble-September-02-2017.pdf

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Letter-to-Transportation-Minister-C.-Trevena-BCUC-and-Smart-Meter-Fires-The-Failure-to-Protect-by-Sharon-Noble-September-02-2017.pdf

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Letter-to-MLA-Sonia-Furstenau-BCUC-and-Smart-Meter-Fires-The-Failure-to-Protect-by-Sharon-Noble-September-02-2017.pdf

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BC Hydro Answers & Sharon Noble’s Response Back:

 

BC Hydro Comments & Sharon Noble’s Response Back – https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/bc-hydro-response-to-bcuc-request-for-comment-on-ms-nobles-correspondence-re-smart-meter-fires-report-october-20-2017/

Press Release – https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/press-release-bcuc-smart-meter-fires-september-21-2017/

 Additional important information & links re smart meter fires:

A Word of Caution

(click on photos to enlarge)

Many people are sending me articles about and by Josh del Sol re. his newest DVD efforts re. smeters, excited about this method working to end the smeter programs. I am only responding because this is just the way it happened in BC years ago when this process was first begun.

After researching the pseudo legal processes and documents, I concluded that they were worthless. I told people that they didn’t make sense to me and explained why. Later, after people spent a lot of money buying documents, paying notaries, sending multiple copies by registered mail, I got angry, frustrated emails from many who did everything and still got smetered. Some blamed me for not warning them.

So now I wish to tell you I am not participating in supporting his renewed efforts which are receiving a lot of publicity. I would encourage you to do your own research. Listen to what Josh is saying and then read this which is similar, in places, word for word.

Sharon Noble, Director
Coalition to Stop Smart Meters

 

http://www.energyregulationquarterly.ca/articles/utility-dealings-with-freemen-on-the-land-and-others-raising-organized-pseudo-legal-commercial-arguments#sthash.HiUR27b4.VJVXCWrL.dpbs

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https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/the-emperors-clothes-and-smart-meter-resistance-by-david-sheldon/

Cell Phone 5G Frequencies Also Used In Military Weapons! Sharon Noble – August 29, 2017 – The Goddard Report with Jim Goddard

(audio 32:46) Cell Phone 5G Frequencies Also Used In Military Weapons! Sharon NobleAugust 29, 2017 – The Goddard Report with Jim Goddard by talkdigitalnetwork – YouTube – August 29, 2017:
(Will Ottawa Ever Modernize Wifi Radiation Limits?
Guest’s website: https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/)
&

 

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The Goddard Report Video Archives of Interviews with Sharon Noble, Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters re Smart Meters and Health Issues from Wireless Technologies:

https://www.youtube.com/user/talkdigitalnetwork/search?query=sharon+noble

Complaints in Victoria re US Navy Aircraft Noise

Boeing – EA-18G Growler Airborne Electronic Attack Aircraft [720p]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSK-JcK1MTc

An article in a recent Saanich News article about the noise from the US aircraft stationed on a nearby US island. No mention of the wargames and the increase in the aircraft and the number of flights that will result, not to mention the increase in EMR. After all the letters and calls to various levels of government, why is this not known?

Please write to Councillor Haynes ( fred.haynes@saanich.ca ) and Mayor Jensen ( obcouncil@oakbay.ca ) and comment to this article, etc. about what you know. I provided an update in a recent post: https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/olympic-peninsula-us-navy-war-games-authorized-to-go-ahead-july-31-2017/ .  The Navy said that there will be hundreds of flights each week, often at low altitudes, for the next several years.  Now that people are hearing the Growlers is the time to tell them that they have more to endure unless the Federal government gets involved to stop this intrusion.

https://www.saanichnews.com/news/growlers-continue-to-growl-at-oak-bay-victoria-residents-2/

Frustrated residents can also voice their noise concerns with Growlers via the NAS Whidbey Island automated comment line (1-360-257-6665).

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More Information:

 

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/olympic-peninsula-us-navy-war-games-please-comment-by-march-23-2018/

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/2017-12-27-an-update-on-the-us-navys-war-games-and-the-fight-to-stop-them-by-save-the-olympic-peninsula/

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/2017-11-28-the-us-navy-has-started-its-emr-war-games/

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/z/2017-08-17-complaints-in-victoria-re-us-aircraft-noise/

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/olympic-peninsula-us-navy-war-games-authorized-to-go-ahead-july-31-2017/

 https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/olympic-peninsula-us-navy-war-games-update-stops-next-public-meeting-may-15-2017/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The Emperor’s Clothes and Smart Meter Resistance by David Sheldon

(click on photo to enlarge)

Concerns raised by a Michigan smeter resister regarding approaches to resistance to utilities. Great caution is needed before following recommendations for legal actions from someone who is not trained in the law or who might have an agenda that is not evident.

In December of 2014 Mr. del Sol came to speak following a showing of his film at the Royal Oak Art Theater. He and an associate, Cal Washington, used this time for an illustrated presentation in some detail, of a process for (supposedly) stopping utilities from installing smart meters. Documents to be used were presented on the big screen and discussed in some detail. In these documents, liberally punctuated by biblical references, there was much about holding individual utility executives and politicians personally liable financially by using merchant law, and sending them a series of letters which would ‘notify them of their liability’… 

There is a problem with all this: the process does not work.”

https://michiganstopsmartmeters.com/2017/08/07/the-emperors-clothes-and-smart-meter-resistance/ 

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Comments at:

 

 

Olympic Peninsula US Navy War Games – Authorized to Go Ahead – July 31, 2017

Some very sad news. The US Navy has been given permission to hold EMR wargames over the Olympic Peninsula (and, no doubt over areas of BC) for the next 5 years. The notice that was sent out is below. Despite many of us having written to various levels of government, I have never seen anything from local, provincial or federal government representatives about this.

US Navy Electronic Attack EA-18G Growler

(click on photos to enlarge)

Navy Permit Decision Notices:
(Project Documents – Decision – Final Decision – Appendix A Maps; Appendix C Permit; Appendix F Wildlife Effects Table; Appendix B Response to Comments; Appendix D Alternatives Considered and Eliminated; July 31, 2017 Signed; Appendix E Reviewing Officer Instructions

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Dear Interested Party:

We want to let you know that a decision was made to authorize issuance of a Special Use Permit that would allow the U.S. Navy to conduct ground-to-air training using mobile electronic transmitters from eleven designated roadside locations on the Pacific Ranger District of the Olympic National Forest for a period of up to five years.

The decision adopts the Navy’s 2014 Pacific Northwest Electronic Warfare Range Environmental Assessment in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations at 40 CFR 1506.3, to eliminate duplication by federal agencies. The decision is to select Alternative 1 as described in the 2014 Pacific Northwest Electronic Warfare Range Environmental Assessment with modifications. The decision also incorporates by reference analysis associated with the Navy’s 2015 Northwest Training and Testing Final EIS/OEIS and its 2016 Record of Decision as well as other materials. The decision is documented in the 2017 Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Pacific Northwest Electronic Warfare Range, which can be found https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=42759&exp=overview. Additional project materials may also be found at this location.

In making the decision, we considered public comments received during the designated scoping, comment, and objection periods, as well as input received outside of these designated periods. The main concerns profiled were potential impacts to public health and wildlife. Additional to standard permit Terms and Conditions, the decision includes Forest Service Project Design Features and Navy Standard Operating Procedures to address public health/safety and resource concerns. Compliance with the decision will be ensured through the Special Use Permit administration process.

Thank you for your interest in the Olympic National Forest.

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More Information:

 https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/olympic-peninsula-us-navy-war-games-update-stops-next-public-meeting-may-15-2017/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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