1)   From a member.

It may be my country farm boy upbringing, but I believe the best letter that any of us can send to people seeking to get or keep elected offices is this:

       IF YOU SUPPORT EXPANDING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, I CAN NOT SUPPORT YOU.   (print – fold – put in envelope – mail)

These candidates are in crunch time now and they will need to see exactly what our basic position is, without all of the legaleze and time consuming details of why we are saying this. They either already know who we are or they have been living under a rock for the past several years. If a hundred, or a thousand, or better yet a hundred thousand people sent that same simple sentence this week to everyone running for office, the mail bags would fill their floors and they would be obligated by law to address in some way our concerns and our position. Now is the exact time for a massive mailing/emailing/phone calling campaign to every candidate in every riding across the country – telling them we do not want one single additional approval of any wireless technology until the whole country has a chance to voice their opposition to the illegal actions of hydro-power monopolies.

My only comment is that I don’t think there is any legal obligation for them to address our concerns. If there were, we would have had better guidelines re. Safety Code 6. But we can ensure that the candidate who is elected knows our concerns, knows that there are many of us out here sharing them, and we are not going away.

2)   The push is beginning in the US for Wi-Fi-enabled “stupid”  thermostats. More data is gathered supposedly to help people make wise decisions when they already refuse to use controls on thermostats that would save money.

“The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made an impassioned push Thursday for homeowners to adopt Wi-Fi-enabled “smart thermostats” as a way to limit carbon pollution and improve public health….

They also compile a trove of data and present it back to customers in a monthly report with suggestions on how to save more.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/epa-pushes-smart-thermostats-way-185907283.html

3)   Proof that too much info is being gathered by this technology, which is being added to more and more appliances and other things around the home, like door locks.

“By accessing his Wink account, he (or anyone with his login information) could identify his social media accounts, the names of his devices (like “Charles’s iPad) and his network information. An app that monitors his grill’s propane tank recorded the tank’s latitude and longitude, thus revealing the exact location of his house. From his Nest thermostat, he could figure out when his house was occupied and when it was not.”

http://tinyurl.com/pjb3dq8

4)   Rogers wants to erect a new cell tower in Mission and the Mayor is wondering if another public meeting, as required by Industry Canada’s policies, is needed. I hope many will write Mayor Hawes about this statement in support of many people who are members who are sensitive and might have to move if this is allowed to be built.  His email is rhawes@mission.ca

“He questioned the purpose of holding another public consultation on the subject.  “Regardless of the results, what would be the chances of us saying ‘No, we don’t want cell towers because a lot of people came and said they’re dangerous to our health?,” he asked the rest of council.

He said some residents may believe that cell towers are dangerous and have documents found on the Internet to prove it, but he prefers to accept “the real science.””

http://www.missioncityrecord.com/news/331837691.html

5)   A 22 minute YouTube of a presentation by Olle Johannson, which I found of interest.

Q&A – Olle Johansson, Health effects of electromagnetic fields, by Openmindconference – Denmark 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6HLFz_Y8hI

6)   In Oklahoma, as in BC and elsewhere, the utility companies are lying, deceiving or misleading people about these smeters. And like in BC, in Oklahoma the installers wait until the owner is away from home to install an unwanted device. If these things are so wonderful, why the subterfuge?

https://justronda.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/smart-meters-take-them-or-else/

7)   It is so very encouraging to know that word is getting out about the dangers of microwave radiation associated with wireless devices like $$meters and cell phones. A resister in Ontario found an article in a complimentary magazine she found at her favorite vegan restaurant.  “Healing Our World”, vol. 35, issue 2, page 15 has an article about Dr. Lennart Hardell’s work on cell phones.

http://hippocratesinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/35-2.pdf

8)   Below is a series of letters from a member about BC Hydro mistreatment of her, lying, deception, and breaking of regulations. Her NDP MLA is not helping, expressing frustration but doing nothing to help. She has written BCUC and lodged an official complaint. I have encouraged her to take this further, to John Horgan, Adrian Dix, and, more important, to the media. This is wrong and cannot be condoned or allowed to stand.  We must all recall that under the Meter Choices Program, we did not have to send in a form to keep the analog. If we were silent, by default we were in the Meter Choices Program. Don’t let BC Hydro deceive and mislead about this.

Letters:

Several letters to and from a member, BC Hydro has acted in contravention of the Tariff, the contract they wrote with regulations that must be followed. If people pay the legacy fee, BC Hydro cannot install a $$meter if a legacy meter is available. Legacy meters are still available, people are still getting them.

From: X
Sent: October 8, 2015 1:04 PM
To: Sharon Noble
Subject: RE: BC Hydro meter Local MLA response

My local MLA called me and expressed his frustration because several people have called him lately about the same issue. He talks to BC Hydro and they tell him things that – according to what he said to me – are not true. He said he is frustrated about this issue because he can get nowhere – he is NDP – and the government and BC Hydro will not listen. Apparently BC Hydro is now claiming that people have not “ticked the box” even when the people themselves have photographic evidence that they did. Apparently they are saying my meter is not a smart meter, just a digital legacy meter, but it sure says “Itron Openway Centron” on it!

At least he responded to me, even if he can do nothing.

X

===

From: X
To: complaints@bcuc.com
Subject: RE: BC Hydro meter
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2015 19:49:06 -0700

Dear Mr. Wruck,

Here are the answers to your questions. I have been paying (through the landlord) for an analog meter and that is what I need to have. BC Hydro needs to come and replace this smart meter with another analog, as soon as possible, before my health deteriorates too much.

• Name and address
• Account number
• I am including a letter BC Hydro sent us in March this year and my response at that time, which was clearly totally ignored by BC Hydro.  There have been no letters from BC Hydro since then.
• And yes, you may share my information with BC Hydro since they have it all already.

I have given up trying to communicate with BC Hydro since they repeatedly tell me things that are either outright lies (e.g. “we have no more analog meters” when I know people have received them since they said that) or else totally ridiculous (e.g. “there is less radiation from a smart meter than from sitting in the sun” – or “we can’t accept a written hard-copy signed and snail-mailed authorization letter from your landlord, because he never telephoned us”). How on earth do you have a reasonable discussion when the other party says things like that? I believe this is corporate abuse.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this,
X

===

From: Complaints@bcuc.com
To: X
Subject: RE: BC Hydro meter
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2015 16:59:41 +0000

Dear X

Thank you for your email to the BC Utilities Commission regarding your concerns about BC Hydro recently installing a radio-off meter at your residence.

Commission staff can help investigate your concerns through our complaints process. In order to move ahead with your complaint, please send in the following:

• Your full name, service address and telephone number
• Your account number
• Your consent to share your information, including correspondence, with BC Hydro (privacy consent)
• A description of the contacts you made with the company and reasons, from your viewpoint, why your complaint remains unresolved

The British Columbia Utilities Commission and Utility Customer Complaints

The Commission receives complaints from utility customers and works to resolve complaints that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction under the Utilities Commission Act. Commission staff investigate customer complaints to ensure utilities are appropriately applying their approved tariffs. For more information on the Commission’s complaint process, please visit our website at: http://www.bcuc.com/Complaint.aspx.

Thank you again for contacting the Commission.

Regards,

Patrick Wruck

===

From: X
Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2015 5:31 PM
To: Wruck, Patrick BCUC:EX
Cc: Sharon Noble; Jessica.mcdonald@bcuc.com
Subject: BC Hydro meter

Dear Mr. Wruck,

I am writing to let you know how angry I am that BC Hydro has acted illegally and in breach of the “contract they set up” with us concerning our electric meter.

When the smart meters were first installed, my doctor wrote a letter saying that it was medically necessary that I avoid all wireless and radiowave transmissions, and I sent this to BC Hydro. My landlord (we share one BCHydro account and his name is on it) wrote to tell them I spoke for him in this matter because the meter is on my building, not his. I was charged an exorbitant fee to keep my analog meter and I have been paying it faithfully ever since.

In March this year I got a letter from BC Hydro saying that the analog meter was to be replaced with a radio-off smart meter, and I told BC Hydro again that that was unacceptable because of my electrical sensitivity (any digital meter causes a lot of dirty electricity in the house wiring, plus they all have an additional zigbee transmitter) and that I needed an analog meter. I also told them that I needed to be home when they came to change out my analog meter because we needed to turn things off. Hot wiring things is not advised or covered under the Canadian safe practices.

Today I discovered that they have given me a smart electric meter regardless. No-one who lives here knew anything about it – no appointment was made, no-one notified, and the thing was just put in while we were all out. It does say that it is RF opt out, but my accoustimeter is measuring some sort of transmission on a periodic basis. It may be the zigbee chip in my, or it may be the neighbour’s, smart meters – I really don’t know.

How can this company force me to live with something that directly damages my health? Why are they allowed to do this at will, with no recourse for me? This is an extreme abuse of power.

X

 

Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters

“In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.”     
~ Czeslaw Milosz