Sebastopol makes Smart Meter installations illegal- $500 fine

Try to install a Smart Meter in Sebastopol and you could get a $500 fine.

The Sebastopol City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance banning Smart Meter installation in Sebastopol yesterday.  They also adopted a resolution asking the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to allow communities to opt-out of Smart Meters at no additional cost.

Sebastopol became the 15th local jurisdiction to make Smart Meter installations illegal, along with Fairfax, Ojai, Santa Cruz, and Marin, Lake, Mendocino and Santa Cruz counties and others.

Previously Sebastopol had asked PG&E for a moratorium on installations until the CPUC proceeding was complete. PG&E wasn’t complying. Meanwhile their contractors, Wellington were sending installers into Sebastopol, with many apartment buildings and some areas already installed.

Yesterday it was reported that Wellington was installing Smart Meters in town and the police were called to the scene. Once the police arrived and talked to them, the installer left.

In stark contrast the city of Naperville Illinois has forced Smart Meter installation using the support of armed police. Two mothers were arrested.

THANK YOU to the Sebastopol City Council for their strong stand, and to the City Staff for their support.  Thank you also to the City of Fairfax, who has led the way in protecting their city from Smart Meter installations.

Sebastopol stand up against PG&E Smart Meters! Come to the City Council meeting on Tuesday 2/19

Sebastopol has asked for a moratorium on Smart Meters twice.  The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is currently evaluating a Smart Meter opt-out program that includes communities.  However, recently PG&E has been installing Smart Meters in Sebastopol.

Do you want to see the City Council take a stronger stand against PG&E and ban Smart Meters Sebastopol, like they’ve been banned by a dozen other California communities including Fairfax, Santa Cruz, and Ojai?

Come to the Sebastopol city council meeting on Tuesday February 19 at the Teen center. *Arrive around 8 pm.  The Sebastopol City Council needs to see new faces and hear from more people on this issue!

The council has been asked to take the following three actions which are recommended by Fairfax councilman Larry Bragman.  Fairfax has had more success in keeping PG&E Smart Meters out of Fairfax.

  1. Have the city attorney send a strong message to CPUC President Michael Peevey, ALJ Amy Yip-Kikugawa, and PG&E regarding stopping Smart Meter installation is Sebastopol.
  2. Adopt an emergency ordinance, banning Smart Meters.
  3. Adopt a community opt-out resolution.

Smart Meter wavesSmart Meters are costing us money, privacy and our health and safety!

Smart Meter complaints include: skyrocketing utility bills, privacy invasion, vulnerable to cyber attack, interference with security systems and other wireless devices, burned out appliances, explosions, fires, health problems including headaches, tinnitus, sleep and heart problems, anxiety, nausea, and other health symptoms following installation.

Smart Meters monitor the details of your electric usage and transmit that data from meter to meter in a mesh network, using wireless radiation, classified as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization (same as DDT and lead).  Smart Meters don’t save energy and they are not good for the environment!

 SEBASTOPOL PROTECT YOUR ANALOG METERS!

 You have a choice. If you still have analog meters, you can attach this Smart Meter Do Not Consent Sign to your meters.  You can also sign up with PG&E to opt-out, however at this time they’re charging extortion fees. The “costs” are under evaluation at the CPUC, and many are calling for a no fees.  If you have Smart Meters you can call PG&E 1-866-743-0263 to have them removed.

You can also let others know about Smart Meter problems, by circulating this flyer in Sebastopol:  FRONT: SmartMeters flyer  BACK:  Smart Meter Do Not Consent Sign

Smart Meter installers tend to leave when questioned. They drive white Ford Ranger trucks with a green “Wellington Energy” logo on the driver’s door.  It also could be a PG&E truck. Call if you see installers in Sebastopol:  824-0824

* The City council meeting starts at 6pm, so 8pm is an estimated time, based on it’s agenda item #8. It could be later, not likely earlier.

Harvard doctor warns against wireless hazards

The following is a letter sent to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) from Martha R. Herbert, PhD, MD regarding wireless installations in LA schools.

TO: Los Angeles Unified School District
FROM: Martha R Herbert, PhD, MD
RE: Wireless vs. Wired in Classrooms
DATE: February 8, 2013
 

I am a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and on staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital. I am Board Certified in Neurology with Special Competency in Child Neurology, and Subspecialty Certification in Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

I have an extensive history of research and clinical practice in neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorders. I have published papers in brain imaging research, in physiological abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders, and in environmental influences on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and on brain development and function.

I recently accepted an invitation to review literature pertinent to a potential link between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMF) and Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR). I set out to write a paper of modest length, but found much more literature than I had anticipated to review. I ended up producing a 60 page single spaced paper with over 550 citations.

In fact, there are thousands of papers that have accumulated over decades – and are now accumulating at an accelerating pace, as our ability to measure impacts become more sensitive – that document adverse health and neurological impacts of EMF/RFR. Children are more vulnerable than adults, and children with chronic illnesses and/or neurodevelopmental disabilities are even more vulnerable. Elderly or chronically ill adults are more vulnerable than healthy adults.

Current technologies were designed and promulgated without taking account of biological impacts other than thermal impacts. We now know that there are a large array of impacts that have nothing to do with the heating of tissue. The claim from wifi proponents that the only concern is thermal impacts is now definitively outdated scientifically.

EMF/RFR from wifi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having problems in the first place.

Powerful industrial entities have a vested interest in leading the public to believe that EMF/RFR, which we cannot see, taste or touch, is harmless, but this is not true. Please do the right and precautionary thing for our children.

I urge you to step back from your intention to go wifi in the LAUSD, and instead opt for wired technologies, particularly for those subpopulations that are most sensitive. It will be easier for you to make a healthier decision now than to undo a misguided decision later.

Thank you.

Martha Herbert, PhD, MD
Pediatric Neurology
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
USA
 

Click here for Dr. Herbert’s letter:Harvard MD on Wi-Fi Health Effects

SMUD holds Smart Meter workshop February 21, 6 pm

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) will host a workshop about the specific concerns and issues related to their Smart Meters, including: health, safety, privacy and billing accuracy.

This is in stark contrast to last year when SMUD directors were caught on tape implementing a smart meter opt-out program that was intentionally designed to intimidate and discourage customers from opting opt.  They made fun of people who didn’t want Smart Meters on their property.  One director said, “The $166 upfront will convince them they can really afford a lot of tin foil hats” …Another director said, “But they are already wearing them!”

Now SMUD is offering a dialog with staff, outside experts and the Board of Directors themselves.  The workshop will be on:

Thursday February 21, 2013 at 6pm.
Location is 6201 S street, Sacramento Ca.
The old SMUD HQ building, first floor.

Eric Windheim, an environmental health educator in Sacramento, encourages SMUD customers-owners to attend this workshop, to write/bring letters, and to speak to the board.  He says, “It’s critical for the Board of Directors to hear directly from customers opposed to Smart Meters.”  Eric and others have spent nine months speaking at SMUD meetings calling on the directors to be accountable. Here is an example of testimony at SMUD meeting of a Smart Meter victim. SMBleeding – YouTube

Eric is organizing speakers for this workshop. He can be reached at 916-395-7336

Click here for the SMUD Smart Meter Workshop Flyer

Briefs filed in CPUC Smart Meter opt-out proceeding

In January, EMF Safety Network filed an Opening Brief and a Reply Brief in the CPUC Smart Meter opt-out proceeding.  The opening brief provides a good summary of the issues from the customer’s perspective. We recommend the CPUC:

  • 1)    Allow residential and commercial customers for any reason to retain or restore analog meters at no cost;
  • 2)    Require utility company shareholders to bear financial responsibility for Smart Meter opt-out costs;
  • 3)    Order the utilities to refund opt-out fees already paid by individuals;
  • 4)    Open a CPUC proceeding, allow testimony, and hold evidentiary hearings to investigate Smart Meter health and fire safety complaints.

Here are a few key highlights:

  • Over 200 utility customers spoke to Administrative Law Judge Amy Yip-Kikugawa in five California cities. Twenty speakers refer to the opt-out fees as “extortion”. Other descriptions include: “a theft”, “a scam”, “un-American”, “criminal”, “tyranny”, “pay not to be harmed”, “abuse of power”, “a penalty”, “coercive”, “highway robbery”, and “an assault”.  Mr. Holz who spoke in Santa Barbara stated, “in self defense I would smash every single f***ing one of them.” These strong words aptly illustrate the outrage many customers are feeling.
  • Mr. Patrick Wrigley stated he was a former PG&E meter reader for nine and a half years in the Marin office when he was fired because he was not wiling to be quiet about the Smart Meter problems he saw. Mr. Wrigley said, “The fact that PG&E knows that they do catch on fire when they are remotely turned back on when a customer who is delinquent in their bill finally pays their bill. These meters catch fire. They know it, and they are covering it up.”
  •  Dozens of speakers told heartbreaking accounts of health problems since Smart Meter installation: headaches, tinnitus, sleep problems, heart problems, anxiety, nausea, and more.  Some stated they had been forced to move to avoid neighbors Smart Meters and banks of Smart Meters.  For example, Ms. Toril Jelter stated she is a board certified pediatrician and general practitioner with over thirty years experience. She said, “when my neighbors got smart meters I developed severe tinnitus, fatigue, and neuropathy at home and at work.” She stated she had to move her home to a low RF area, and close her practice.
  • In 2009 PG&E began receiving many complaints about Smart Meters. In January of 2010 PG&E hired a public relations firm, Edelman, to try to improve the Smart Meter image online and in print media.  PG&E spent millions of dollars for marketing Smart Meter programs, but refused to remove Smart Meters for customers with health complaints.  The money PG&E spent on advertising and snooping on activists could have been used to cover the costs to restore analog meters.
  • PG&E was provided $128.8 million in risk based allowance, included in the original Smart Meter program. DRA witness Lee-Whei Tan said, “The AMI [Smart Meter] program built in a lot of contingencies. It has almost $200 million contingency plus another $100 million dollars that PG&E can avoid reasonableness review.”
  • If the Commission is using the “cost causation” principle for determining allocation, they should apply utility company neglect as the cause of the problem, not the individual customer.  The utility company shareholders should pay for opt-out costs in order to ensure more accountability in the future.”

 

Chasing off Smart Meter installers in Sebastopol

Wellington, a company contracted by PG&E, is installing Smart Meters in Sebastopol despite the fact that Sebastopol has asked for a moratorium twice; that Sebastopol council supports a Smart Meter community wide opt out; and that the CPUC has a proceeding pending to investigate the possibility of community opt-out.

Senior community chases off Smart Meter installerThis morning residents at Burbank Heights and Orchards (senior housing community) and Sebastopol residents chased off an installer, who admitted he had only two weeks training and was not an electrical contractor, which is a requirement for FCC safety conditions. 83% of the residents there opposed the meters. As he was leaving he said  he was going to file a police report, and when I brought the camera out he got in his truck and left. http://youtu.be/nwSlB1y4p9k

Two more Wellington trucks installing gas smart meters were on Murphy Street. When I approached the two men they did not respond or answer any of questions.  They eventually packed up their stuff and left, putting the analog gas meter back together.

Smart Meter installers drive small white Wellington Ford Ranger trucks.  They are installing throughout Sebastopol now.  There were at least three trucks in town today.  It appears the installers have been instructed to vacate a scene if they are approached. They also seem to leave town if followed, rather than going to the next house to install.

Wellington installs PG&E Smart Meters
Wellington installs PG&E Smart Meters

If you see an installer you can ask these questions:  Are you a licensed electrical contractor? Did you know Sebastopol asked for a moratorium on Smart Meters twice? Did you know there’s a CPUC proceeding that’s investigating a community opt- out program? Did you know that the Sebastopol council supports community opt out?

Tomorrow night Tuesday Feb 5 at 6 pm is a council meeting at the Sebastopol teen center.  We can bring this issue up at public comments and see if they can take some action to ban the meters after all.