(your street address)
(your city,state, zip)
(date you will send letter)
Representative (name of Your representative)
(street address of your representative)
Lansing, MI (your rep’s zip code) Subject: McMillin “smart meter” bill
Dear Representative:
DTE has been installing “smart” electric meters over the objections of your constituents, insisting they cannot cause harm, despite overwhelming agreement among medical people and scientists that the opposite is true.
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has turned a deaf ear to many hundreds of complaints against DTE in this matter. On May 15th they issued a ruling that all customers must have a smart meter but some could have the radio turned off by paying an initial fee plus monthly fees indefinitely.
Even with the radio off, these new meters cause power quality problems by putting high frequencies and transient pulses, sometimes called “dirty electricity” on home wiring. Even with the radio off, the new meters also pose a severe incursion into the privacy of the home by gathering information about people’s daily routines, types of appliances and medical devices used. Judging by the experience in other states, it is only a matter of time before people’s private information will be sold to marketing companies, insurance companies and made freely available to police without a warrant, thereby gutting our Fourth Amendment rights.
The recent MPSC “opt-out” policy is no true opt-out at all. The real solution would be a new law that defines the rights of Michigan utility customers to refuse harmful new technology. Utility customers should have the right to retain the traditional electro-mechanical (analog) meter. Representative Tom McMillin has introduced a bill (HB 4315) that, if enacted, would do just that. This bill deserves bipartisan support.
Please consider using your influence to see that this bill gets a fair hearing in the House Energy and Technology Committee. And please consider giving the bill your vote when it comes to the floor.
Sincerely,
(your signature, if sent by snail mail)
(your name, printed)
