• Health effects of electromagnetic fields include depression, etc. It has been known for many years that RF and EMF affect the pineal gland which results in reduced melatonin. Sleep, deep recuperative sleep, is needed to  fight the problems caused by the onslaught of RF and EMF during the day, but without the right melatonin levels this isn’t possible.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891061815000599

 

• Another brand of smeter has been certified by UL, but it means nothing. Sensus and Landis &Gyr meters that burned, the very same models, were certified after they burned homes and failed multiple times. ITRON and Hydro are planning or have submitted plans for $$meters to be certified. If something is safe, it should NOT burn homes down.

http://solarindustrymag.com/solar-log-smart-meters-receive-ul-2735-certification

 

• $$mart water meter warnings sent out in New Zealand. As more people learn about the dangers and discover that the utilities are not being forthcoming with information, the resistance is growing.

http://www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz/latest-news/urgent-smart-water-meter-alert-for-nelson-and-waiuku/

 

• It seems that the major hack attack in Ukraine in December was sophisticated and perhaps an indication of what can happen here.

The hackers who struck the power centers in Ukraine—the first confirmed hack to take down a power grid—weren’t opportunists who just happened upon the networks and launched an attack to test their abilities; according to new details from an extensive investigation into the hack, they were skilled and stealthy strategists who carefully planned their assault over many months, first doing reconnaissance to study the networks and siphon operator credentials, then launching a synchronized assault in a well-choreographed dance….

 First they reconfigured the uninterruptable power supply¹, or UPS, responsible for providing backup power to two of the control centers. It wasn’t enough to plunge customers into the dark—when power went out for the wider region they wanted operators to be blind, too. It was an egregious and aggressive move, the sort that could be interpreted as a “giant fuck you” to the power companies, says Lee.

http://www.wired.com/2016/03/inside-cunning-unprecedented-hack-ukraines-power-grid/

 

• Nowhere has the “$$mart” grid resulted in lower rates. In Maryland they are holding an anti-$$meter rally to protest rate increases. BTW, Hydro is increasing rates again April 1 + 4%.

http://www.pressreader.com/usa/baltimore-sun/20160303/281621009423417

 

• The IoT is resulting in major concerns about security – due to hacking of cars and smeters.

What caused this sudden concern? Certainly some of the headlines form the last year helped.

In 2015, news of hackers remotely killing a Jeep on the highway, which in turn triggered a recall of 1.4 million vehicles to upgrade their software, and the possibility of tampering with one of the most popular models of smart meters,demonstrated by two Spanish researchers, woke the industry up to the potential disasters and liabilities of IoT.

http://www.informationweek.com/iot/iot-security-industry-finally-waking-up-to-the-dangers/a/d-id/1324529

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Letters:

From: X
Sent: March 3, 2016 4:06 PM
To: daren.sanders@bchydro.com; Smart Meters <SmartMeters@bchydro.com>
Subject: legacy meter exchange

 

Daren Sanders, Senior Manager Customer Service Operations
BC Hydro
333 Dunsmuir St, 4^th Floor
Vancouver, B.C.  V6B 5R3

RE: BC Hydro Account: #####

Dear Mr. Sanders,

I have received your letter dated February 23, 2016, stating that my analog meter needs to be removed from service because the Measurement Canada certification will soon expire. Your letter also states that by default a radio-off meter will be installed in exchange for the current analog meter.

Please be advised that I do not accept the radio-off meter or a smart meter in exchange for the analog meter. I will only accept another analog meter.

Please note the following:

1)  If my meter does need to be exchanged this year, I only opt for another analog meter. According to your letter, BC Hydro no longer has a stock of legacy (or analog) meters. Apparently that does not mean you are not able to obtain analog meters because I have been informed that over the past 2 months other BC customers (including one just within the last 2 weeks) have had an exchange made with another analog meter. If no analog meters are available locally, it appears BC Hydro can secure them from some other jurisdiction.

2) I have a medical condition and my doctor advises me to limit my exposure to electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) my analogue meter is located on my bedroom wall. The radio-off meter is also not acceptable because of documented problems of the lithium batteries exploding and causing fires. Both the so called smart meter and radio off meter are unacceptable choices and I will only accept an analogue meter.

3)  Before the meter can be exchanged, I require the power in my home to be turned off prior to any work being done, including the removal of the existing meter and the installation of the replacement meter. I intend to unplug all my appliances and electrical items and will plug everything back in after the circuit breaker has been turned on again. Also, it is important to me that the possible exchange be done by a qualified BC Hydro employee.

4) I will need to be notified of the date and approximate time of the meter exchange. So that I will be home. I will only accept analogue meter.

5) You can not charge me a “failed installation fee of $65.00” if I refuse a radio off meter and/or a smart meter. I will accept an analogue meter exchange only.

There is ample time for BC Hydro to obtain analogue meters from other jurisdictions. I find it fiscally irresponsible that BC Hydro did not keep sufficient analogue meters for meter exchanges. I pay $434.64 each year to keep my analogue meter. Almost half of my total BC Hydro bill is “Legacy Meter Charge”. If my meter needs to be exchanged I will only accept an analogue meter installation.

Sincerely,

X

———————

From: XX
Sent: March 3, 2016 4:05 PM
To: Smart Meters <SmartMeters@bchydro.com>
Cc: premier@gov.bc.ca; rob.fleming.mla <rob.fleming.mla@leg.bc.ca>; Adrian Dix <adrian.dix.mla@leg.bc.ca>; BC NDP <john.horgan@bcndp.org>; : Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Subject: BC Hydro Meter Choices Program

 

March 3, 2016

Mr. Darin Sanders
Senior Manager
Customer Service Operations
BC Hydro
cc: Sharon Noble, John Horgan, Adrian Dix, Rob Fleming, Christy Clark

Dear Mr. Sanders,

In answer to your letter dated February 16, 2016, I am deeply concerned of BC Hydro’s recent information about the requirements of meter exchanges.

I am very concerned about the smart meter campaign and the way that BC Hydro customers are being bullied into accepting any form of a smart meter.

I have always had an analog meter ever since I moved into my house in 1990.

You say that you have no analog meters left and want to replace with either a smart meter or a meter with a transmitter. I cannot accept either of these options, but will be accepting of another analog meter. I have been paying the “legacy” fee for several years now, and it must be obvious to all, that I do not want anything different. Why would I pay this extra money under duress unless that was the only acceptable meter for me.

I want to reiterate that I want to continue having an analog meter in my house. Should it really need to be exchanged, I demand and expect to be given another analog meter. I made the choice to keep using an analog meter in my house at the beginning of the smart meter campaign and I have been paying the additional fee ever since to do so therefore I am entitled to keep having an analog meter in my house.

I have a number of concerns/requests that I would like to discuss with you prior to any meter exchange.

1) For the reasons I outline below, I will only accept an analog meter on my house, not a digital one.

1. a) Through the Meter Choices Program I chose to keep, and have been payingfor, an analog meter. I feel it is BC Hydro’s responsibility to allow me theright to continue to have that option.

1. b) I am concerned about the safety of the digital meters, specifically theincreased risk of fire potentially due to moisture effects on the lithium metal battery.

1. c) Privacy – I am opposed to BC Hydro or any other entity having access tomy energy consumption information. I feel this violates my Canadian Charterof Rights.

2) I request an appointment with an installer to have the exchange done as I require the power in my home to be turned off at the breaker inside the house prior to the meter being exchanged. It is not okay to remove and reinsert another meter into a loaded socket.

3) I would like the meter exchange to be done by a fully qualified BC Hydro employee (with identification), and NOT a Corix employee please.

Smart meters with their lithium battery are a ticking time bomb. BC Hydro is promoting smart meters and transmitter-off (?) smart meters when it is a known fact they have caused many fires in BC, Saskatchewan, Ontario, the United States and elsewhere. Proper independent investigation into these fires needs to be carried out. Our lives and our homes matter!

Unfortunately, the Liberal Government, via BC Hydro, has continued to bully those of us who wish to be kept free from excessive radiation in our own homes. Every outlet, every wire, every appliance in a home with a smart meter transmits radiation to each and every area of that home, radiating every individual in the ‘privacy’ of their own dwelling. Our homes, which were once our haven, are now being invaded and proselytized by those whose goal is money. Conscience has disappeared. Greed and self-advancement have taken over — at our peril!

I respectfully request a phone call giving us a mutually convenient day and time if and when the analogue meter is to be exchanged for same.

Thank you,

XX

**********************

Newsletter prepared by Sharon Noble

The cost of wireless convenience: EHS, infertility, cancer.
(and depression?)