- I hope you will take a couple of minutes to read this and to send some thoughtful comments about your concerns with Smart meters to help our colleagues in the UK:
I wanted to quickly share this with you, from my friend across the pond, Mike Mitcham of StopSmartMeters! (UK).
It’s been a bad start to the year for the spin doctors at Smart Energy GB, with smart meters getting some well-deserved negative press (scroll down for the backstory).
Now, the UK Science and Technology Committee has launched a smart meter ‘evidence check’, and is asking for input from experts and public, until Friday.
So let’s respectfully but firmly tell the UK government why they need to halt the smart meter programme once and for all. The deadline for comment is January 29 (this Friday).
Please take this 2-minute action, from any country: Here’s the link
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/science-and-technology-evidence-check-forum/smart-meters-evidence-check/
- Another excellent article by Kit Weaver of a US stop smart meter group. He explains the industry’s reason for the smart meter push, the attempts to mislead the public about the reasons and problems, preventing any informed debate. Utilities are frustrated at resistance and “opt outs” like us.
“The imposition of price tariffs to achieve behavioral changes is characterized by Ballo as “an interference in people’s everyday habits in their private homes” and “could also be considered a reduction of the privacy or freedom in homes. In addition:
“Different households will have various financial situations, and financial incentives and price tariffs as a means to achieve desired behavior change will hit some households harder than others. Financially vulnerable households might not have the choice of ‘offering flexibility’, but rather feel forced to adapt.”
“The conceptualization of homes as ‘Smart Homes’ and the possibility of external steering makes the border line between public energy infrastructure and private homes more blurry, which call for considering the implications of such a change for the privacy of the home.”
The Ballo article [1] also discusses the “remote disconnect” feature included with most smart meters and that some experts interviewed as part of the research conducted for the article stated that:
“Some informants express concerns, however, such as the possibility of hackers getting control of this functionality and hence being able to turn off the electricity in households or whole neighborhoods. A related concern is unauthorized access to personal smart meter data through hacking. Another potential challenge outlined is the risk of turning off health-related equipment in homes which might need electricity to function. Another perspective is the idea that access to a minimum of electricity should be a right for everyone, regardless of whether the electricity bills are being paid, especially since some households rely on electricity for heating…..
“Hess notes that many utilities “view growing interest in opt-out provisions with concern” and tend to devise “strategies to reduce the number of customers who elect to opt out of smart-meter installation.” Utilities tend to dismiss consumer concerns, but these tactics may underestimate the degree to which opposition may grow, especially if any number of consumer concerns become more validated by future events beyond the control of the utilities. Furthermore, actions aimed at limiting opt-outs conflicts with generally accepted beliefs regarding “household-level privacy and rights to control over residential property.”
- Here is an amazing website that has so many studies and reports. This is the section re. RF’s effects on plants and animals.
http://oscillatorium.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/emfenvironment111615.pdf
- Person in New Zealand reports eye problems after being very near 2 smart meters. Has anyone in our group had similar problems? If so, please mail: director@stopsmartmetersbc.com with “eye problems” on the subject line.
http://www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz/latest-news/a-case-of-eye-damage-from-smart-meters/
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Letters:
http://www.kelownacapnews.com/opinion/letters/366602891.html Privatized power leads to spike in bill.
[Nevada City, California, USA ] Paula Orloff: Smart meters aren’t smart by Paula Orloff – The Union – January 25, 2016:
http://www.theunion.com/opinion/19538601-113/paula-orloff-smart-meters-arent-smart?utm_source=swift_rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss-referrals&utm_section=Opinion
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Subject: Time to take responsibility for safeguarding the health and safety of British Columbians
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2016
From: xxxxxx
To: commission.secretary@bcuc.com
CC: Reimer, Greg <greg.reimer@bchydro.com>, premier <premier@gov.bc.ca>
Dear BC Utilities Commission Members,
What a travesty your organization has become, thanks mainly to the actions of the BC Liberal government. At one time you were not emasculated from investigating real concerns affecting the safety and health, economic impact, and other aspects of proposed BC Hydro projects. Since Premier Campbell’s reign and the enactment of the Clean Energy Act 2010 your powers have been so restricted that we now have a Crown Corporation supposedly owned by the taxpayers of BC (i.e. BC Hydro) that runs roughshod over citizen’s democratic rights to decide what is in their best interests, in other words BC Hydro and the BC Liberal government are now behaving as a Fascist dictatorship able to impose “Smart” Grids and Site C projects on us whether wanted or not and without any real public input into the process. What is even more disturbing is that the burden of massively increased debt will be passed on to the taxpayers (i.e. electricity consumers) in the form of rate increases seemingly approved by your organization in the days to come.
The “Smart” meter program was touted as going to save electricity customers’ money. The exact opposite has happened. Since I refuse to “opt out” of a program I never “opted in” to, mainly because of scientifically supported evidence of DNA damage and other negative non-thermal biological effects caused by wireless technology, why should I be penalized to the amount of $32.40 per month?? You had the power to eliminate such a ridiculous charge yet did nothing other than approve what the “extortionists” (aka BC Hydro) desired. That is not the action of a Commission originally and specifically formed to protect the consumer and oversee such activities.
Whatever cost/benefit analysis there is on similar “Smart” Grid programs in other jurisdictions seems to indicate any such program as being a tremendous waste of taxpayer funds. Imposing a hackable grid infrastructure is the opposite of protecting us from such attacks being possible. I have personally been involved with computer systems since 1979 and have told my clients there really is no such thing as a secure wireless network. Organizations and other computer users can only implement security measures against known attack vectors — unfortunately many are only discovered years after systems have been compromised. Thus it is only a matter of time until the so-called “Smart” Grid also becomes compromised and IT Security becomes increasingly expensive. No such problem was possible using analogue electricity (“Legacy”) meters. To add an additional 2 million wireless access points is insanity.
It is imperative that your Commission be legislated back to having the authority to investigate ALL proposed or existing projects undertaken by BC Hydro in order that the taxpayer’s valid concerns are truly represented rather than being ignored as seems to be the present situation. Bypassing your originally legislated oversight has made your Commission nothing but a sham and puppet following orders imposed by those wishing to conceal the true nature of their intentions to use all means available to impose an undemocratic system on to the backs of the unaware public.
Continuing to remain publicly ignorant of the negative health effects, fire hazards and stupidity of imposing a wireless grid infrastructure will not remove liability from those responsible once the expected future deluge of costly litigation emerges. Even worse, guess who ends up paying for the BC Hydro lawyers trying to prevent the current Class Action lawsuit from succeeding?
I trust you will take steps to unshackle your Commission from legislated restrictions at the earliest opportunity.
Sincerely,
X
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Newsletter prepared by Sharon Noble
Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.” ~ Wilferd A. Peterson