Smart Meters - What you should know (Bakersfield, Santa Cruz: 2013, appliances)

[firsttimehousehunter]

Hi Everyone -
The other day I received a letter from SoCal Edison regarding their plans to replace my analog meter with a new Smart Meter. They explained all the benefits and why generally this was a good thing. I was a bit skeptical, so I did some research. The reality is that there are a lot of concerns about these things, ranging from health and safety, privacy and overcharging customers due to their new variable rate (i.e. your rate during a hot summer day could be double what it currently is when you want to run your AC). I called them up and got placed on the Opt Out list.

Below is a letter I have been distributing within my neighborhood to get the word out and let everyone make an informed decision. I suggest you do your homework as well and spread the word to avoid another "Bakersfield Problem" (google it).

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Hello Neighbor -
I live just down the street from you. Recently, I received a letter in the mail from SoCal Edison stating that they would be replacing my existing analog meter with their new SmartMeter. They touted all of the benefits that it provides (checking your current usage online and getting tips on how to lower your costs and all that), but what they failed to mention is that there is a very open debate about the safety of these things. Instead, they are just telling you they are doing this unless you explicitly tell them, no I don’t want it.

They are basically sending radioactive waves every 15 minutes to their local office. There have been reports of people getting sick from these waves and it is still too new to determine the long-term impact to the health of people, animals and plantlife. For my family, I am saying thanks, but no thanks. I’m perfectly fine with the way the system works right now. If there is even a small risk to the health of me or my family, it doesn’t matter what benefits they try to sell me on.

I encourage you to educate yourself on the risks of these SmartMeters and determine for yourself if it is right for you. I have provided a community alert from Santa Cruz county and a sign you can post near your meter saying you don’t want the SmartMeter, if that is your choice. If you do want to opt out, you should also contact SoCal Edison to get on their list; otherwise, one of the independent contractors hired by SCE may just install it anyways when your address comes up on their list. I have heard that it is very difficult to get the old analog meter put back after it has been upgraded to the SmartMeter.

You can learn more about this by going to the following websites…
 Smart Meter Dangers
 Transmitting Smart Meters
 Smart Meter Radiation Risks - EarthCalm

Public Health Physician Warns of Smart Meter Dangers, Stresses Need for Analog Option - YouTube

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. My only hope is that you can now make an informed decision. SoCal Edison is not providing you this courtesy, but somebody should.

Thank you and be well.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by firsttimehousehunter

They are basically sending radioactive waves

Needless sensationalism.

[robabeatle]

radioactive waves LOL!

I think they meant radiation!
yeah that is right that very scary stuff known as radiation. BEWARE, hide form that yellow ball in the sky, it is emitting radiation! Oh now wait, you are also emitting radiation, oh now wait, everything (at non zero Kelvin) is emitting radiation. The sky is falling!

lolz

[firsttimehousehunter]

The entire point of this post was to educate people on an alternative viewpoint that exists about these Smart Meters and encourage them to do their homework. Perhaps there is nothing to worry about, but this is after all a new technology that hasn't been fully tested, at least to the point where long term health impacts cannot be certain.

I have small children, and my personal choice for my family is that I don't want to take the chance, even if there is the tiniest possibility any of the fears are warranted. Some of those reading this may make the same choice for themselves and their family while others like yourself may be experts on this technology and write this off as a bunch of people wearing tin-foil hats worrying about everything. To each his/her own.

Health concerns aside, I have not heard any consumer benefits to having this at all. Sure it may save SCE some money having the meter readers collect readings, but are they going to pass those savings onto me? Not likely. To the contrary, I've read that our bills will go up thanks to variable pricing, where the rates could double or triple during a hot summer day when I have the audacity to run my air conditioner. There is an article about that here and a video about that
here.

Anyways, thanks for reading the post. Do with this information what you will.

[robabeatle]

No offense sir, but I hope you are not using a cell phone.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by robabeatle

No offense sir, but I hope you are not using a cell phone.

Or a monitor, lightbulb, hairdryer, or anything else

[firsttimehousehunter]

You're right, we are getting some levels of radiation every day, and generally there is a certain amount that is considered tolerable by FCC standards. So, why am I making a big deal over this?

The are a few issues with your analogy...
1) I choose to own a cell phone or a computer monitor or any kind of electrical appliance; one of my main points is that we are not presented a choice as to having a SmartMeter or not, which emit additional radiation. The Gas and Water untilities are planning to install these as well; so now we're looking at each house in a neigbhorhood running 3 of these things, right near where my children play and where we sleep each night.
2) Of the electrical appliances I own, I am not running them all the time. For example, I'm on my cell phone less than 1 hour per day. The SmartMeter would be on 24-7, and directly on the other side of the wall from where I sleep.
3) The study that claims these devices emit radiation comparable to that of a cell phone are both unprovable and already challenged by independent research studies. There is simply no way to measure the cumulative long-term impact of the type of radiation being produced from one (or multiple) of these devices.

This is the best video I have seen so far explaining how these things work as well as the health and privacy concerns behind it. I know I am not going to convince you, and thats fine. If I get at least one person do do their homework and make an informed decision on what is right for them and their familily, that is is all I want.


The Dark Side of 'Smart' Meters - YouTube

[robabeatle]

Well, I do understand that nature can be a complicated beast and simple explanations sometimes fail.
That said, these meters operate at 900 MHz. M stands for Mega meaning million or 10^6. Now, visible light is in the hundreds of THz, T stands for Tera or 10^12. So, the frequency of visible light is a million times that of these meters. The energy of light per photon is proportional to the frequency of light (thank you year 1905 and one famous somebody) so that visible light has a lot more energy per photon (million fold more) than the meters.
Now it is true that longer wavelength light is not scattered as easily and so the counter argument is that this light will penetrate further, maybe into the body.

The video is interesting. See these references for arguments that refute the studies he refers to :

Rubin, James; J Das Munshi J, Simon Wessely (March–April 2005). "Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: a systematic review of provocation studies". Psychosomatic Medicine 67 (2): 224–32. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000155664.13300.64. PMID 15784787.

^ a b Röösli M (June 2008). "Radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure and non-specific symptoms of ill health: a systematic review". Environ. Res. 107 (2): 277–87

http://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/repor...dRpt032001.pdf

Lastly,

I am all for personal choice and more scientific studies by independent sources. I am also skeptical of the FCC and FDA. How about putting a thick sheet of metal behind that meter for now?

[ferretkona]

I was not given the choice to opt out.
Never ran the AC all year. We do all laundry at night, keep lights off when not needed.
Bill is still doubled from previous.

[firsttimehousehunter]

I think the option to be placed on the opt out/delay list is new, following all of the backlash. We haven't had ours installed yet. When I called SCE, they did put me on the list, but told me that the topic is still under review as to whether they will make it mandatory or not. I think it was the state board that was doing the review (sorry, don't remember).

Unfortunately, I've heard it is next to impossible to have the meter replaced back to the analog version after the SmartMeter is installed. I'm curious, have you complained about your bill doubling? What did they say? The idea of overbilling is not new; Google "The Bakersfield Problem". It was a big PR nightmare for PG&E.