- Measures how much electricity, gas or water you use in such detail that the utility is able to see your usage broken down, in some cases, to the exact time of day.
- May use radio waves to transmit this information to the utility on an hourly or more frequent basis.
- May allow the utility to send radio signals to the meter to remotely turn off your service.
In the next two sections ask yourself if the benefits claimed
in the section directly below are worth the costs to you described in the last section?
- To make you more aware of how and when you are using electricity with the hope this will cause you to voluntarily conserve.
- To localize and repair outages more rapidly
- To save the cost of meter readers
- To turn off your power remotely if you are late paying your bill.
- To (possibly) reward you for shifting some of your consumption to off-peak hours – or (very likely) penalize you if you don’t change your consumption habits.
- To be able, by remote control, to turn off certain appliances in your home during periods of peak load – such as your washer, dryer, dish washer, electric range and furnace. Programs of this sort are supposed to be ‘voluntary’ in the future – where you will be given some relief from the jacked up rates if you agree to participate.
Note that the benefits claimed above are mostly benefits to the utility which may or may not pass savings on to you. Note also that nothing prevents us from conserving energy now. Common sense tells us to turn off appliances and lights when they are not needed. Do we need a computer display or wall monitor to show us that we left the tv on in a room where nobody is watching or which lights are currently not being used? Keep in mind also that the federal government, through the ‘stimulus’ passed in 2009, has made it very profitable for the utilities to blanket the nation with these meters.
- You do not want the utility company, marketing companies, hackers and possibly would-be burglars to know everything that goes on inside your home. You have a right to keep private when you are at home, when you are sleeping, when you prepare meals, how many showers you take in a day, when you watch television, when you are on your computer.
- You do not want to expose yourself, your children or susceptible older persons in your home to 24/7 constant electromagnetic radiation when the possible health effects of such exposure are still being hotly debated among experts in the health sciences. Yes, most of us use microwave ovens and cell phones, but these exposures are for brief periods and they are voluntary.
- You do not want your door kicked down in the middle of the night because some law enforcement agency saw higher than normal electric use and concluded (wrongly) that you were growing marijuana in your attic.
- You do not want to give up your right to decide what appliances you will run and when you will run them.
- You do not want to see your monthly electric bill skyrocket – as has so often been the case wherever these meters have been installed.
“You know, I’m not a smart meter expert, but my pobrlem (sic) is I don’t think these people are either.”
Samir, brilliant!
Health risks, taking away your control, taking away your privacy, and you want to go on “feelings”. You want to put the burden of proof on potential victims. Have a hand in the AMI pie, do we?
Trust your utility company, they only want the best for you!
Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, self-serving government programs which we are told are for our benefit, but we’re ‘just too dim to see it.’
Samir,
It is illogical to say the worldwide health symptoms from people exposed to smart meters, often beginning immediately after smart meters installed, even with no knowledge of installation date, without communication with each other or prior research – would constitute “mass hysteria.”
The forced installation of smart meters on people’s homes trashes people’s property rights, and their right to protect the health of their family AS THEY SEE FIT. This INVOLUNTARY assault could be compared to a tyrannical government pushing its collectivist utopian system on people even if it hurts them. The Nazi cruelty is not as far off as you might believe. People MUST have the right to protect themselves and the well-being of their families here in AMERICA. Are you American? This is a constitutional right. One cannot pursue happiness if a dangerous, damagin device is being FORCED onto one’s home.
To help you start your research, try these studies/sites.
http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?page_id=1223
Carpenter, D.O., Sage, C. Public Health Implications of Wireless Technologies. Pathophysiology (2009). doi:10.1016/jpathophys.2009.01.01 1
portions of the BioInitiative Report were included in the same issue of Pathophysiology.
Magda Havas: http://www.magdahavas.org/list-of-publications/ (too many to list here)
There are many other scientists with warnings, Professor Ollie Johansson is only one of these. See http://www.smartmeterdangers.org – Position Statements
Johansson O. Electrohypersensitivity: state-of-the-art of a functional impairment. Electromagn. Biol. Med. 2006;25:245–258
Smart meters are like large cellphones affixed to one’s home, involuntarily, and working continuously. View the multimedia presentations on http://www.smartmeterdangers.org.
To truly represent the public, one must listen to them and to the world’s scientists – not the industry mantra.
The Bioinitiative Report is peer reviewed in Pathophysiology, which includes Sage and Carpenter’s “Public Health Implications of Wireless Technologies” and Olle Johannson’s meta-analysis on electrical sensitivity.
Here’s more RF study abstracts: http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=609
and MANY more studies http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/science/studies.asp
Samir needs to do some research. The bottom line here, Samir, is the Constitutional right to protect one’s family’s health and reject INVOLUNTARY exposure to dubious technology that emits radiation which thousands of studies say is harmful and has effects FAR BELOW the FCC standards. THe American Academy of Environmental Medicine has called for an immediate moratorium on the use of smart meters due to their assessment of the scientific literature, and based on concern for public health. They say FCC rf exposure standards are OBSOLETE because they totally ignore numerous studies showing harm at levels much lower than allowed.
THE FACT that this is controversial should NOT negate people’s right to REJECT having these devices to proactively protect their families. And yes, to force utility customers to have devices never tested for safety, which have doctors saying are risky, to FORCE consumers is very much like Nazi Germany. Property rights are also involved, mr. samir.
Your story is one we hear quite frequently. We think DTE is behaving in an arrogant manner. It is my understanding, however, that DTE will replace a radio transmitting ‘smart meter’ with a non transmitting digital meter if you provide documentation of your medical condition. The point is (1) you shouldn’t have to give them confidential medical information, and (2) the ‘digital meter’ they are willing to give you may still be a different kind of smart meter – where they upload the data in a different way. All their new digital meters can accept plug-in ‘upgrade modules’.
I am not kidding that they are Nazis. I told them about my condition. They made it very clear that this is being forced on us. My smart/dumb meter is on my bedroom wall and I feel very violated in what use to be my private home. I no longer sleep well. We are being used as an experiment.
Here is their email
Thank you for your email regarding our AMI smart currents meter.
As you have been previously advised over the phone their is no opt out program. The AMI meter is currently being installed at all DTE Energy locations that are using DTE Energy services, we will not be removing the meter. Attached to this email is the AMI smart meter information you requested. Also listed below is link to our website with further information regarding the meter.
There was nothing attached to the email just two links to their web sites telling me how wonderful their meters are.
Here was my reply
This is not what I asked for. I asked for independent studies that prove this is 100% safe. What will you tell customers if in the future they all become ill from radio frequency radiation? Your a monopoly that is unAmerican. Shame on you! You treat your customers very very badly.Your a big bully that needs to be stopped.
We received an earlier message from Betsy which we are reprinting here, in part, with her permission:
“I have discovered that I have a smart meter. It is causing me a lot of distress. I suffer from menieres and stress is one of the worst things and increases my suffering with more symptoms. I called DTE energy and explained all this and asked that my meter be removed and changed back to an analog meter. Like the Nazi Gestapo they had no compassion and said no one can opt out. Yes the corporations have taken over. The Oakland Press has reported that city resolutions to have any say on this mean nothing. No rights have we the people any more. This is being forced on us. Welcome to Nazi Germany happening in America in 2012. Yes, very distressed and suffering thanks to DTE energy.”
You know, I’m not a smart meter expert, but my pobrlem is I don’t think these people are either. Using exagerated inflammatory rhetoric just undermines their cause. customers have noticed huge increases Really? How much? Maybe they have been undercharged for a long time due to manual meter reading? your utility has access to a treasure trove of information about you Hmm. How exactly? Sounds like maybe they can read the spikes in power use, I am guessing? So they are inferring your habits? And you justify the Nazi graphic based on that? do not result in energy savings, Well, they save gas, since meter readers don’t physically drive to your house every month. emerging evidence that wireless, non-ionizing radiation (from cell phones, wifi, and ‘smart’ meters) There are a few more cell phones than smart meters. Giving up cell phones, too? transitioned their meter readers from full time to temporary Well, the times they are a-changin’. There are a lot of old jobs that no longer exist. Thousands of people have complained of tinnitus, headaches, nausea, sleeplessness, heart arrhythmia, and other symptoms after a ‘smart’ meter was installed Documentation please? Also, can you say, mass hysteria’? A number of electrical fires have been caused by ‘smart’ meters. What number? Any proof at all? conversion to ‘smart’ meters is one of the largest technology rollouts in history, and yet virtually no public consultation with ratepayers or local governments Oh jeez.