[Benefits – Children – Data – David Ashton, EHS / Microwave Sickness – Doctor Martin Pall – ElectroSmog – FortisBC Gas Smart Meters – Health – IEMFA International EMF Alliance Scientist Appeal to the United Nations – Michael O’Rielly, FCC – GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters – Ofgem – Peter Earl – Privacy – Rebecca Smith, former Military Air Traffic Controller – RF – Schools – Security – Studies – Trevor Marshall, Autoimmunity Research Foundation – WHO – Wi-Fi – Wireless | BC – UK – USA]
1) A member has asked FortisBC if it has plans to install gas smeters and the response was that they have no plans at the present to submit an application to the BCUC for smeters. This is good news. This member is keeping on top of this issue and if he hears anything, I will share immediately.
(click on photos to enlarge)
2) About 6 million homeowners in the UK have refused smeters, primary due to concerns re privacy and cybersecurity. In the UK (so far), plans are for people to be “offered” the smeters, not forced to take them as we are. These people are benefiting from concerns raised by others about these issues and others. Too bad we didn’t have access to information like this before the Liberals forced the smeters on BC. This entire article is accessible to subscribers only but, thanks to a member in the UK, it is below in “Letters”.
3) An IT person who became sensitive questions the assertions by the FCC and other government agencies that say Wi-Fi and RF radiation is safe. Very interesting Comments [Jun.26, 2017, by Rebecca Smith] from a former military air traffic controller who became sensitive through occupational exposure.
If FCC’s O’Rielly is Right, 225 Scientists Are Wrong by David Ashton, U.K., Wi-Fi Health Advocate
“O’Rielly and others like him ignore the biological effects of the radiation in their zealous quest to ensure the domination of this technology. We can question what motivates these people, but one thing is absolutely clear.
For him to be right, the 225 scientists who signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal would have to be wrong and so would their scientific papers.”
Letters:
The government has promised that smart meters will cut energy bills (GETTY IMAGES)
Concerns over cybersecurity are undermining the nationwide introduction of smart meters, with more than one in five people saying they do not want one.
Almost six million homes would reject the devices despite government promises that they would cut energy bills, according to a survey of attitudes to Britain’s biggest infrastructure project in a generation. More than half of those who oppose smart meters said that their principal concern was data protection.
The government has promised that every home in Britain would be offered a smart meter by 2020. The devices are connected to the internet and track energy usage in real time, allowing customers to better understand their consumption patterns. They would eventually cut the time it takes to switch supplier from six weeks to less than a day and eliminate estimated bills, which can result in overpayments.
The stored data should allow suppliers and comparison websites instantly to find the cheapest tariff for each household, which is likely to result in a huge increase in switching and competition in the energy market. Installation costs, estimated at between £200 and £300 a household, will be incorporated into future bills.
Concerns have been raised, however, over whether hackers would be able to access the devices. Last year it emerged that GCHQ had been drafted in to the design process amid concerns that loopholes in the encryption technology could leave the entire energy grid at the mercy of terrorists or foreign powers.
Difficulties in designing the technology needed to support the network has resulted in delays and there are concerns that the six million homes already fitted with smart meters may not be able to use their devices if they switch supplier. The regulator Ofgem said that any household could refuse to have a smart meter fitted or could have one installed with the “smart functionality” switched off so that data was not automatically sent to suppliers.
If more than a fifth of homes rejected the devices it would be a huge embarrassment to the government and dilute the benefits to the environment. Studies show that homes with a smart meter consume 3 per cent less energy because customers change their habits once they see how much they are spending.
Experts said the government and industry had failed properly to explain the cybersecurity measures that were in place. Peter Earl of comparethemarket.com, the comparison website that conducted the study, said: “Issues with the cost of the roll out, as well as compatibility and data problems with the first generation of smart meters, has meant that they’ve been in the news for the wrong reasons.”
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“The truth is inconvertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it. But there it is”
~ Winston Churchill