Article: Smart Meter Opt-Out: 8 Ways You Will Save Thousands of Dollars by Not Having One

[ubaru]

Smart Meter Opt-Out: 8 Ways You Will Save Thousands of Dollars by Not Having One

Liz Yuen
WaccoBB.net

Breaking News: PG&E’s opt-out fees contested

The California Public Utilities Commission announced its opt-out for PG&E’s Smart Meters on Feb 1^st 2012. If you have an analog meter or a Smart Meter, the deadline to opt-out is May 1^st, 2012. Otherwise, PG&E will assume you consent to having a Smart Meter installed.

I interviewed one of the supervisors at the PG&E opt-out line who informed me that this is the current deadline for both people with analog meters and Smart Meters; subject to change because they want their customers to have choice. (So if you don’t like it, do ask for what you want beyond May 1st).

CALL PG&E: OPT OUT NOW! 1-866-743-0263 available 24/7

I believe that if fully informed, 100% of PG&E customers would opt-out of having a Smart Meter.

As I write, the pushback against Smart Meters is going viral nationally and internationally.

Smart Meter activists in Marin, Bolinas, Sebastopol, Santa Cruz and beyond worked hard to win the opportunity to opt-out of having a Smart Meter. This is a huge breakthrough. Although PG&E’s extortionist fees of $75 upfront and $10 a month (CARE customers $10 upfront and $5 a month) were until a few days ago the current scenario, the latest news is that the fees were legally challenged and “suspended.”

Each household will save thousands of dollars by not having a Smart Meter

Folks who have them face:

1) Decreased property values. The real estate value of the towns which have Smart Meters will fall in comparison to towns which do not have Smart Meters. The demand for Smart Meter-free housing will be high. How valuable will your home be to you if you cannot live in it because of adverse health effects?

2) Health threats, numerous symptoms including headaches, tinnitus, insomnia, personality changes/mental illness, nausea, and premature aging because living in the radiation field disrupts normal DNA activity, dumps calcium into the cells where it doesn't belong, and compromises the blood/brain barrier. We were simply not designed to live in that much radiation. This entails increased medical bills and tremendous pain and suffering. Many who were not previously electro-magnetically sensitive to cell phones and other EMF fields have become so after living with a Smart Meter. Once that happens they find they can hardly find a place on earth they can comfortably live.

Here is a fine collection of articles and videos by medical doctors, professional engineers, scientists and professors documenting that Smart Meters are unsafe.

Dr. Bill Deagle M.D. discusses what happens to the human cell in the radiation field of a Smart Meter, and includes reports about the two elderly, but healthy, ladies who died shortly after meters were installed in his neighborhood. Death by Smart Meter Parts 1 and 2

3) Increased bills for the same energy usage because of higher rates during peak usage times. Smart Meters are not green as PG&E would like to claim. People save energy, not Smart Meters.

4) Your current appliances may stop functioning from interference with Smart Meters. Smart Meter kills WiFi. In order to get the purported benefits of smart meters, consumers will purchase their own communications devices, computers, high speed internet, special thermostats, appliance chips and other automated equipment. The cost of retrofitting or replacing existing appliances alone will be astronomical.

5) Fire hazards, arcing. Smart Meters violate FCC regulations and are not UL listed.

6) Loss of privacy and control in their lives, rationing of power (already happening in Switzerland and the United States). Smart Meters are only “smart” for the corporations who will make billions of dollars off of the data they collect about you to sell more effectively to you. Even the director of the CIA, David Patraeus, admits that they will be used to spy on people without their knowledge.

7) Being vulnerable to theft because a burglar can tell whether someone is at home or not from the street by hacking a Smart Meter electronically. They are a national security threat. Hacking expert David Chalk says there is a "100% certainty of catastrophic failure of the energy grid within 3 years"

8) Loss of productivity of their gardens because the bees, bats, butterflies and other pollinators leave or die. Koi fish die. Our pets, chickens and other livestock do not do well. My own Mother and Step-Father recently lost their beautiful dog to a mysterious illness after their Smart Meter was installed. Their two elderly cats died shortly afterwards as well. What is the value of these?

Smart Meters radiate in approximately a 92 foot radius shown in the green circle in the photo, and no matter how far a meter is from your home, they run dirty electricity through your home’s wiring. If our neighborhoods become filled with Smart Meters, many people would face immediate health threats. Children, pregnant women, anyone with a health condition and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Many are reporting worsening of symptoms, accelerated aging, sudden heart attacks, and in some cases death.

In May 2011 the WHO (World Health Organization) released data saying that non-ionizing microwave radiation is a possible Class 2B carcinogen in the same category as DDT, lead, chloroform, and engine exhaust.

It is not just the sensitive who are being affected. I have a strong healthy friend who is not sensitive to EMF’s, or anything in general, who reports really bad and unusual headaches that require her to take pain medication when she is taking care of her elderly client who has a Smart Meter.

This is not unusual. Tens of thousands of people across California have complained about the same health conditions (headaches, heart palpitations, insomnia, tinnitus and fatigue) to the CPUC, PG&E and other utilities over the past 18 months since their meters were installed - yet no relief is in sight for affected individuals. Survey Results

The current CPUC opt-out proposal will not help individuals because their neighbors will still have the wireless devices and people are still becoming sick with the digital-only meters:


Conclusion: All informed citizens should keep their analog meters or get rid of their Smart Meters.

Every residence is eligible to opt out.
If you have an analog meter tell PG&E you want to keep it.
If you have a Smart Meter tell them to remove it.

Breaking News: now the opt-out fees have been “suspended.”

PG&E is downplaying this, and so far opt-out operators are denying it as a rumor, as they are trying to reinstate them. Regardless of the status of the opt-out fees, customers of PG&E are being urged to inform the utility of their choice to reject the Smart Meters by May 1^st and to either protest any fees or write “paid under protest” on their check.

To opt-out contact PG$E by May 1^st, 2012 at 1-866-743-0263 available 24/7 This deadline is subject to change so if you have a Smart Meter and it’s after May 1^st, call PG&E any time and tell them to remove it.

So let’s debunk some PG&E propaganda about their Smart Meters being safe. They say Smart Meters emit the same amount of radiation as a cell phone. This is quite misleading; the cumulative full body exposure is as much as 100x MORE than a cell phone.

They say they only transmit for 45 seconds per day. The Smart Meters actually transmit up to 190,000 pulses of microwave radiation every day-- equivalent to having thousands of small cell phone towers scattered through our neighborhoods blasting us constantly.

I also encourage you to spread the word to your email lists, by word of mouth everywhere you go, and to your neighbors because many people are not aware of this information, or what our communities have to lose by having Smart Meters. Make a point of telling at least one person a day between now and May 1^st. I suggest copying this and proposing to your neighbors that you create a pollinator safe zone as many people like to garden. Or maybe you are more motivated by not wanting your neighbor’s house to catch fire?

Be aware that many people have both electric meters and a gas meters. If you have both, make sure you deal with both.

Please remember to opt-out now! 1-866-743-0263 available 24/7 until May 1st

If you have a residence and are reading this after May 1^st or you are a commercial business and PG&E says you cannot opt out, all is not lost. If you are a commercial business send them this letter and build blocks for your analog meters.

You can still replace your Smart Meter with an analog one for $69.95 from www.FreedomTaker.com See their video with comprehensive instructions and legal letter to send your utility.

Then build a heavy duty version of the blocks such as those pictured here but made with larger bolts that would do damage to your building if forcibly ripped off.

Analog electric meter block

Analog gas meter block

If PG&E ever messes with you, or turns off your power, issue a complaint here https://smartmeterhelp.com/ and write [email protected] and they will make a big stink about it in the media. This was very effective last time it happened in December 2011.

If you have questions or problems, please let me know. I will do my best to help you.

For more information see these Smart Meter websites:

https://eon3emfblog.net/
https://stopsmartmeters.org/
https://emfsafetynetwork.org/
https://refusesmartmeters.com
https://smartmeterhelp.com/

Liz Yuen is an English major, writer, and general rebel with a cause, whose first reason for coming to Waccobb was to do Smart Meter activism. Her goal is to take over the world and then leave everyone alone. She envisions a post Smart Meter world with free energy and happiness for all, and has recently begun the Green Tea Party. Permission is given to copy or reproduce any part of this article.

[manuzzle]

I spoke with an Opt-out PG&E rep this morning between 8:30-8:45. He tells me the suspended opt-out fees story is a hoax and that the CPUC set the opt-out fees. Manuzzle

[ubaru]

I spoke with an Opt-out PG&E rep this morning between 8:30-8:45. He tells me the suspended opt-out fees story is a hoax and that the CPUC set the opt-out fees. Manuzzle

Yes, I've gotten the same report twice when I've called PG&E opt-out operators to research if they've been told this information or not. The news is coming in day by day and the latest I've heard comes from some commenters on the original story which you can see here.

I'll be updating and adding info as it comes in.

Meanwhile my take on it is be prepared to deal with the opt-out fees in whichever way feels comfortable to you. Do opt-out. And know that the fees are being contested.

Liz

[soulange]

i had agreed to opt in when i heard about the fees. after i read this post, i called the number to opt out and was told there had been no agreement to suspend fees. i opted out anyway.

[Rejuvenator]

Thanks for doing this work, Liz!
Is the Green Tea Party active? I might like to join some discussions to figure out how to talk over the world.

[ubaru]

The most active discussion right now on Waccobb, including about the legality of the fees is here:

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showt...577#post151577

Thanks, Liz

[ubaru]

Just when I'm thinking I'm confusing too many people in this article by stating the opt-out fees are "suspended*," in comes the news that PG&E’s legal ability to charge $75 up front and $10/ month for keeping your old analog meter, or having your smart meter replaced with an analog, is under a cloud of uncertainty today after Marin County attorneys filed a motion at the CA Public Utilities Commission (pdf) to halt any further deployment of smart meters and demanded a moratorium on the collection of opt out fees, citing the mishandling of Edward Hasbrouck’s protest.

More info here.

Now I'm just hoping to hear of the equivalent of this in Sonoma county. It may be all Sonoma has to do is use the same document Marin did. Why don't you ask your Supervisor to do this?

Other significant information is that "transmitted microwave and radiofrequency radiation also have the potential for causing serious long-term health consequences, even for those who do not notice overt symptoms." [Cancer anyone?]

More info here.

* I finally did edit the article to say the opt-out fees are contested.

[ubaru]

To research the latest in regards to who can opt-out when, I called PG&E's opt-out line this evening and spoke with a supervisor who confirmed that anyone who has an analog meter can opt-out of getting a Smart Meter installed anytime (even though the May 1st deadline is past), and anyone who has a Smart Meter can have it changed out for an analog meter anytime. The number to call is 1-866-743-0263 available 24/7.

Liz

[mamaj]

I have contacted P.G.&E. and was put on their opt-out list.......but they want to charge people to remove the meter, and charge a additional amount for having the original meters. This is so bogus. I explained to them ,we did NOT order their "smart meter" which raised our bill amount. Their company forced it on us,so why should we pay more again to not use it? P.G.& E. now is telling me it was a decision made by the C.P.U.C(.Note; the middle letters, P. U.!) According to P.G.& E. if there are any complaints concerning the extra fees people need to call the C.P.U.C. as soon as possible at : 1-800- 649-7570. Lets move ahead with this and contact them, and demand them to drop ALL their extra fees and not charge for opting -out !