Smart Meter Fires and Explosions

114 thoughts on “Smart Meter Fires and Explosions”

1. That is interesting that there have been similar fire concerns reported across the country. Maybe it would be good for a company to get some fire blast explosion barrier systems. That is something I would want to have just in case there was a fire blast to happen at my work.

2. What is a device back up battery? A smart meter or a connector? Have you filed a report on this that can be made public? Thank you for your comment.

3. I work for a company I will not name but we install telecommunications and the maker of product is called Itron. We had a device backup battery sitting in the back of the truck absolutely connected to nothing and the bed of the truck erupted in a gulf of flames…. there’s no doubt in my mind what caused it.

4. What can We Do Electrically To Keep The Smart Meter From Going Into Fire Mode; or, Blowing Up?

5. WOW! All of these people and all of these problems with Smart Meters. My 2 cents—PPL in Northeastern Pa., has been threatening me for about a year now with power shutoff if I don’t submit. I have written letters back and forth to their ‘meter replacement spokesperson’, verbally and with signage posted by the meter denied consent , researched facts/figures and sent that to them, then told them I would only accept one IF they signed my conditional acceptance form, stating that they will accept 100% liability should anything happen to my house/occupants etc…of course they refused. My most recent letter will be mailed soon, as I got another shut off notice (had 3 in 10 days sent out), and two messages left in 2 days about this is my final warning, call our office to set up an appointment or we will shut off your power etc…. so since I am telling them that fine, I will accept one, AS LONG AS YOU ACCEPT LIABILITY IN WRITING, and they are the one’s doing the REFUSING (not me), they have no grounds , legally, to shut of my power. I am current on my bills, never missed a payment, and even have a credit balance! Now, I noticed that my bill hasn’t arrived yet, (it’s usually here by the 9th or 10th of the month), so I guess they are going to send it late or not at all and try to say that I missed a payment, so we are shutting you off. I will wait 2 more business days, call after hours and leave a ‘interesting’ message on their customer service line, and if I have to, drive down there in person and overpay another month so I have a current credit balance. If they shut me off (for what reason??) I will sue these people to kingdom come. I will use every available avenue to
   bring as much publicity as I can. KEEP FIGHTING EVERYONE!!!!!!! Don’t ever give up!!! In the mean while, start saving up your pennies to go totally off grid. As more people do this, the utility companies will start to loose millions of $$$. Bring as much attention to this as you can, via facebook, letters to the editors of local papers, handouts, speaking up, passing on all the information you receive, starting local chapters, putting up signs in your front yard, writing to congress people, just don’t give in, don’t give up. These things are killlers, killers of the environment, of people, of your health, your privacy, we all know it, millions more are waking up to that conclusion.
   Keep the faith.

6. I wondered if anyone has had trouble with earth current traveling into their home. We’ve had a professional measure our home & the results were dangerously high. Already installed Graham-Stetzer filters thru out, which helps the electrical lines but does nothing for the current traveling into the home via the earth. Any suggestions?

7. Someone else recently wrote that a similar thing happened where Kaiser detained him for days, he’s seeking a lawyer. Learn to avoid and reduce: http://emfsafetynetwork.org/fire-captain-finds-hazardous-power-surges-follow-smart-meter-installations/

8. please help me they are testing in hospitals and low income housing emf and radiation and static electricity they are putting everyone with these symptoms in the mental hospital and keep them confined when the are actually giving blood and potassium ecg brain scans they are testing new medication like cogenten I feel like im dying headaches rigging in the ears neck pain joint pain stiffness and they are interested in me cause I am like those people who say its gonna rain they can feel it in their joints I think I have the ssame thing but im much more sensitive to it I can tell where its coming from please help w5 st joes just come look u wil see its evil my heart beats so fast cause of the magnets and its not me I feel mentally sound they can induce voices and heart attack please anyone out there on behalf of my baby jessbanda@Hotmail.com

9. For nearly every poison there is an antidote. For every technology there is a counter technology. For smart meter harm there is a way to reverse the damage, lower bills (pulses and surges increase the so called “usage”), regain privacy (how can a utility monitor or frequency graph usage without pulses and surges to do so?) , protect health (no uses and surges, no assault on the bioelectrical system that makes humans vulnerable to ALL forms of wireless, but especially smart meters).
   The device works by arresting the pulses which cause all that harm inside the home.
   And to think that a sine wave tracking device in the circuit box was well as adding an rf choke on the electrical mast at the point of entry of utility generated microwaves on the transmission lines is the solution.
   There is a practical way to stop all this harm and destruction.
   There is an industrial smart meter suppressor that has been on the market for decades it is called a sine tamer, in the US and is sold by cratus group in Canada.
   Anyone I know who has tried it, including me, can measure as feel the difference and vast improvement, right away.
   It pays for itself and is warranted for decades. It saves people money because pulses and surges are dangerous but they are money makers. Smart meters are not grounded because this would stop the pulses and surges and the profit. The stabs on smart meters are a mismatch for the jaws of the owner’s meter base.
   This is the cause of hot socket. And that is why an RF choke also needs to be used, installed by a professional it is a cheap solution once it gets wrapped around the weather or electoral mast at the point of entry.
   The service panel device is designed to “tame” the sine wave before it circles around every circuit in the house, hence it is called a sine tamer.
   The tamer neutralises the pulses, while the RF choke prevents arcing behind the meter, as well as stopping electrolysis corrosion of home wiring inside the meter base. The tamer stops microwave sickness which is reaching epidemic proportions because this is caused by every utility everywhere.
   The tamer suppresses the destructive pulses of microwaves as well as eliminating dirty electricity.
   So a solution already exists. I will attest initially it seems a bit costly, but once one’s bills stoop escalating and one’s health is recovered there savings become obvious, which is why it pays for itself.
   Yes it has to be installed by an electrician which takes all of 20 minutes.
   We swear by it.
   This device is absolutely different from any ordinary lightning suppressor on the market, it captures all those minute emf pulses and has variable clamping inside it to arrest what is making people sick.
   The tamer is able to flat line these arson inducing pulses and surges by not merely regulating the voltage as well but by using specific attenuation technology that matches and cancels out the pulses of a smart meter, by using a clever form of suppression./
   It is installed at the service panel in two 15 amp circuits, and can share circuit is need be since it carries no electricity of its own.
   Make sure the electrician shortens the wires from 18″ to 6″ to 8″ so that it will work properly.
   It really does stop the home from being turned into a microwave oven slow cooking home occupants inside.
   It would be wise to also use the same thing that most amateur radio operators use to prevent their homes becoming antennas for RF from their radio tower, which is to have a knowledgeable person install a simple wrap-around RF choke that is applied to the electrical mast or “weather” mast located on the outside wall of every on-grid home.
   Together these two simple solutions might have saved all these homes and lives.

10. ​​​​​Note last sentence.

    ———-
    https://www.cheknews.ca/bowser-woman-starts-gofundme-page-after-fire-destroys-her-home-469202/

    Bowser woman starts GoFundMe page after fire destroys her home
    July 11, 2018
    WATCH: The Bowser home of Dominique Mathison and her two daughters went up in flames July 5. Mathison did not have house insurance.

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13. Sounds like a Ground Fault Interrupt (GFI) circuit for every circuit in the house and a surge protecter on every device (TV, Computer, anything plugged in ) is in order. They are readily available in any hardware store or electronic shop…

14. Fires are occurring and smart meters are failing. But we seldom hear anything about these incidents and I believe it is largely because no one is tracking them. I have published a summary of 3 years of investigation in the fires/failures in British Columbia, as well as the systemic failures in tracking and reporting them which, I believe is occurring in many jurisdictions. The report is available at http://www.stopsmartmetersbc.com . The report itself is 38 pages long supported by 600+ pages of evidence and documentation. Please feel free to share. I hope others will do similar investigations in their areas and share the results.

15. The UL protocol used to certify a few smart meters does not include inspection of some of the most crucial components, one being the remote disconnect switch. This switch has been involved in many fires. Apparently the NEETRAC, an industry testing firm, tested the remote switch used by ITRON, but will not release the results. I was told only industry members get the results and BC Hydro, for one, refuses to release the results, saying it is against the NEETRAC rules. Cute… if it fails we can never be told.

16. From a reliable source, “UL certified is not the same as UL registered. UL registered means the UL stamp is on the product. UL certified means tested under certain conditions, not all potential conditions but there is no UL stamp on the product for a UL certified product.”

17. Can anyone send or post on here proof that the smart meters are still not UL certified?

18. I don’t think these alleged shrewd meters have Underwriter’s Laboratories Certification. I think this might be an escape clause for the insurance agencies to use to decline a case

19. On September 17, 2015 I just finished mowing our front yard, it was about 0900. I had just entered the side gate to the right of our garage which is the same side the meter can is on. (smart meter installed back in June 2015) I entered the gate with the mower running as I began to mow passed the meter I heard a lot of popping sounds and thought I had picked up something with mower so I let the handle go to kill the engine. The popping continued and as I turned around to look back at what the popping was the meter was arcing really bad as if it was spitting out sparks up to 4-5 feet away from the meter. I had just walked passed it within 4 feet of it. What if the arcing had begun to arc while I was passing it? It would have hit me on the left side of my face and shoulder. I immediately dialed 911 and had the fire dept. come out. While I was waiting the meter started arcing more rapidly and getting hotter. I then noticed the main service line from our house to the telephone pole started to steam traveling from our house back up to the pole. The arcing then started at the telephone pole…it was loud!! I thought the transformer is going blow, but eventually the service line detached from the pole and fell to the ground, in the area of the front yard I had just finished mowing. Once the service line fell so did the meter from out of the meter can. I guess when the air hit that area where the two are engaged the flames grew and went straight up hitting the overhang of the garage damaging the meter can, riser, and the weather head. Thankfully the fire did not enter the garage as we still have a ton of unopened boxes. We just moved in the house at the end of April. Thank God no structural damage was caused to the house just a lot of soot to the outside wall of the garage, overhang and the three other electrical disconnects to the house. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had not been home at the time. All of my neighbors are at work at that hour of the morning. It caused power outage to four other homes. I thought for a minute there I was going to watch our house go up in smoke. Thank the big man upstairs for having me at the right place at the right time. :{)

20. What I find criminal is that PG&E used to pay people for their excess energy. Now they just take it thanks to to the Smart Ripoff Meter. By the way, my solar only covers half of my electricity bill so in essence, I am paying for a mediocre system that is not doing its job. I strongly encourage those who want to get off the grid entirely, to do their own panels and have a backup storage battery. You will probably save well over $10,000 to $15,000 by doing so and you will not have the problems with arcs of electricity sent into your home because it is an open line. You will also eliminate the local government, solar companies, and PG&E!

21. Hiding the evidence- that’s criminal.

22. P.S.
    I forgot to add, the Smart Meter was fried by the arc of electricity. PG&E rushed out to replace that within 24 hours but refused to even look at the other damage.

23. A couple of years ago, my husband and I purchased solar panels through a Sonoma County, CA program. At this time, a Smart Meter was installed to send the excess energy back to PG&E. We never knew they were going to do this. It was done without our consent. The other night, a man fell asleep while driving and took down a power pole which sent an arc of electricity down to our power pole and into our house. I was watching TV and it exploded my TV, DVD/VCR player, cable box, stereo, telephone, and brand new microwave. Also, it took out five electrical outlets and breakers. PG&E claims they have no financial responsibility for the repairs to my home. The California Highway Patrol cannot give me the insurance information of the driver who walked away from the accident because I was not in a collision with him. Why do people even wonder why good people go postal?!!!

24. I am sorry to hear this happened to him. He should have been given protective gear. In CA PG&E wrote about how smart meters could start a fire upon removal.

25. My father is a PSE (power systems electrician), and is a city employee in the utilities department. He was installing one of these meters (part of the citys upgrading system) and had the unit blow up on him. He suffered second degree burns on his hands and first degree burns on his face. Not sure about the cause (happened 09/10/15), but he has a track record of no injury incidents in 30+ years of service in the field.

26. A couple of months ago, up until now, Ameren Illinois has installed LANDIS+GYR FOCUS AXRe-SD model SmartMeters on ALL of the homes. So far, no issues that I know of, but after reading all of this, we called the Electric Company to come replace our SmartMeter with an analog meter. Apparently, we have to pay an opt-out fee, but that’s a small price we are willing to pay to stop this from happening.

27. Jason S. who posted on August 23, 2015 about your neighbor’s fire, I’m in Battle Creek and smart meters are being installed here now. Can you tell me more about the house that caught on fire? The address or anything else? Thanks!

28. Jason, please get in touch with us ASAP at the Smart Meter Education Network (.com). We are a Michigan group in the thick of fighting smart meters. We desperately need reports like this. They have to be verifiable. Thanks so much. Our email is smartmetereducationnetwork @ gmail. com. You can also call us at 972-2677, area code 734.

    Linda Kurtz
    Director

29. portage, MI our neighbor’s house caught fire as a result of a smart reader. Just happened on 8/22/15

30. Smart meters are a very dangerous thing. They could cause explosions and fire. My advice is to be extremely careful with them. Best regards!

31. Smart meters are digital and can be on electric, gas and or water meters. Electric analog meters have a spinning disk, smart meters have numbers that flash. Search google images for “smart meters, gas, water. How you get rid of it depends on where you live. Contact your utility. Also, Here’s some ideas about how to get rid of them: http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/action-now/

32. How do we know if we have a smart meter and how do we get rid of it?

33. I wanted to discuss switch mode power supplies (SMPS). I am sure there are accurate accounts above about “Smart Meters” having safety problems here but jumping to conclusions about it being caused by the use of an SMPS power supply is probably not where to look. Let me explain.

    SMPS are super common now. Every laptop and desktop computer uses a rather large one, from around 45 Watts for laptops to 1500 Watts for a gaming system or business class server. Modern cars probably have a dozen of them (inverters which convert DC to DC are also a class of SMPS). Every cell phone and tablet adapter and practically every little black cube shaped “wall wart” power adapter is a SMPS.

    If SMPS were universally dangerous you would know a lot more about it. Hell you couldn’t get on a plane with a laptop, and dorms would burst into flames on a nightly basis. I’m not saying SMPS aren’t grungy and causing noise on power lines. They do. As an audiophile and computer-phile I worry about this but NOT for safety reasons, more for what they, like the average light dimmer, do to pollute things like the video and sound when watching a movie. That the Smart Meters use one, probably consuming around 10 watts or less, is not, by itself, a reason for concern. Of course, any idiot can make a bad power supply, and Smart Meters may be blessed by just such an idiot. 🙂 I’m just saying that having an SMPS, which does cause noise, transients and other “grundge” on the AC supply, is not by itself a safety issue.

    On the positive side, please note that SMPSs are good for the environment. They are much more energy efficient than the alternatives (sometimes called linear supplies to differentiate them from switched, or digital supplies) therefore we produce much less greenhouse gasses and can have more cool devices with them than we could without them. Now if only they were less noisy! 🙂

34. Thank U! You helped me a lot. Was looking for this stuff but so well as you no one can explain this stuff.

35. good piece of work

36. Just got this story from Sharon Noble, the director of the Coalition to Stop Smart Meters. Hadn’t heard of it, and didn’t see it on your list, so thought you’d like the link: http://www.walb.com/story/28127297/one-killed-in-warren-co-house-fire. I’m trying to call the Warren County Fire Department, but I must have the wrong number, as no one is answering on a Monday at 10:35 a. m.!

    Hope all is well with you. Thanks for all you do! 🙂

    Terri
    http://www.stopsmartmetersGeorgia.Org
    Stop Smart Meters Georgia Facebook

37. I have a new invention that will save lives, firefighters, first responders, homes and buildings from electrical fires from Smart Meters.
    It is a FUSIBLE WEATHERHEAD; a weatherhead is where the electrical utility companies’ power comes to your house/building. This FUSIBLE WEATHERHEAD has a metering device that can detect the voltage, the amperage, and any spikes in the power grid. It has LED lights in it that tell the condition of the fuses; for the first responders, firefighters, homeowners, to know if the fuses have blown and is safe for them to distinguish the fire without getting electrocuted; so you don’t have to watch helplessly, your entire house burn to the ground. The fuses in the FUSIBLE WEATHERHEAD would open the circuit and shut the electric power off going down the wall into your house/building, this would eliminate the arc flash. There is a DB9 connector in the circuit board of the FUSIBLE WEATHERHEAD that is connected to your home computer for monitoring the electric utilities’ power coming into your house/building. With this computer program you can balance your panel box; it will read if there has been any power surges; which can start fires. This will give the consumer the exact usage of electric power used in your home/building. Now WE become the “big brother” WATCHERS over the electric utility companies.

38. In regard to the fire(s) in Reno:
    The statement: “Consumed meters can be caused by a “voltage overload” in the home–is an incorrect statement.
    Voltage comes from the power company, not from the home.
    (120/240 volts)

    Power overloads (amperages) are controlled by circuit breakers within the home. For example: If you plug in a kettle and operate your toaster on the same receptacle, the 15 amp breaker will trip. Your built in “safety factor”.

    Records show that our home power worked just fine with the analog meters. With the smart meters failing or catching fire we have a problem! Power companies blame the customers wiring or the power panel or anything but their “deployed smart meter”

    If these power companies replace a transformer on a power pole, and it fails, do they blame the wiring?
    As Spock would say:”Most illogical Captain”!

39. Posted on Stop Smart Meters!
    I am in Lumberton, Ms. and did not even realize I had smart meters until we had a fire. I had a meter on my kennel and another on my home. We had been in kennel an hour before, was outside and only had gone inside for under 30 min. before nephew ran in saying kennel on fire. We immediately ran to kennel to rescue dogs. The entire kennel was totally engulfed in flames. It was an L shaped 1600 sq ft metal walled structure and was a total loss. 3 dogs & 1 puppy died and 4 seriously injured. I was also burned. Dogs had 25 ft runs from building and still were injured/died. Not normal fire. Normal fire would have started in one area and worked through building. Entire building was engulfed! Meter pole 12 ft from building had smart meter and metal box for meter was blownout/melted away on left side. Pole was burned and encased wiring from panel into kennel was melted. Fire marshall will not commit yet says never seen anything like it and kept coming back to meter as source!! S!
    ays electric comp. has too much money to fight and getting them to accept blame would be impossible!!! I am scared to leave home since it also has this meter. Another potential problem I have is a neighbor let Verizon install a cell tower on their property, next to my fence!!! It also has a generator which I have been told can potentially cause a power back surge if the switch delays when the generator kicks on. My house has a new transformer, yet the kennel had an old transformer. Not to mention tree limbs that we had requested them to remove, yet they did not because the limbs would have fallen on neighbors property. DOES anyone have suggestions on a course of action I can take??????

40. 8/28/2014 BC Hydro smart meter on fire/ severe damage to home, see video http://www.cheknews.ca/fire-sooke-lake-road/

    There’s a back story to this.This video was analyzed by a woman fire chief who determined that it was a smart meter fire, no question. But they refused to listen to her and did the same old same old. These lies are so transparent and consistent, they all use the same playbook, the same phrases, the same murderous cover up, and they all assert only one thing. The sole thing in the world that is NEVER the cause of any fire is a smart meter, NEVER.
    The OSB board is there to cover up the “giveaway” pattern on the white stucco which, along with a carefully paused video, now yanked, gave away the fact that this was absolutely a smart meter fire, not the pretext supplied afterwards of a cigarette in a planter that did not exist, as verified by google street view BC smart meter fires are being systematically covered up, no small part of which includes collusion by a fire chief way outside his area of expertise,who was paid to write a paper that is part of a huge cover up.
    And since wireless owns the media, although the sheer number of fires has dramatically risen since deployment, smart meter fire reports in newspapers never happen. The reports never use the word electrical, or the term smart meter, just the words “cause unknown”, and one never hears the cause at all.

41. What city,state is she from?

42. My grandmothers home was built in the 1920’s. About 2 years ago our small town received smart meters, a year after becoming a widow, for the second time. She has lived in this town for over 40 years, running a small business and supporting many along the way. 2 weeks ago Friday her power went out and after calling the electrician she has used for the last 30 years was told her power problem was that her wiring was old and simply caused a fire at the meter. Not understanding the electricians estimate of over 2thousand, I called the electrician myself to understand what was going on.

    I was told that although it was the meter that melted, the reason the power went out could have been, “the wind”. And the financial burden of re-doing all the electrical fell solely on her. As I pressed for more answers as to why the meter box needed to be moved and completely replaced I began to feel a sense of Bullying by the electricians assistant. She had convinced the power company to leave on a leg of electricity so my grandmother did not go without, however it was implied that her electric was Without permit or inspections.

    The power company employee quickly took the melted meter to his truck. It was a very strange situation. In the 14 years I’ve been here for my grandmother I have not heard or seen her treated with such disrespect. She was told if she did not give the electricians a two thousand dollars her home would be condemned.

    Not only is it sad these older homes have not been declared exempt from smart meters, but their elderly residents are being forced to upgrade electrical systems that worked fine until the power companies decided they wanted to not only read power wirelessly, but keep tabs on all of their customers. One of the things that bothered me was my grandma was told she may want to consider a pacemaker in the future, and her power box sat at the door, you had to walk by it to go inside, we didn’t receive any information about the dangers of smart meters and pacemakers. My grandmas biggest concern is the financial burden put on people her age. While she was able to afford the bill, she knows that many of her peers would not have the 2,000 to immediately hand over. With these electricians being so buddy – buddy with the power company and no one standing up for the homeowners vs the power companies who knew there were malfunctions between smart meters and older electrical systems yet installed them anyway and passed on any burden, either fire or financial to homeowners who had no choice. This is a ngionwide mess, and we need to get together and hold these power companies responsible, if not for ourselves and our individual problems, then for the others who will have a problem in the future.

    if my grandma wrote her check under duress, others have been treated the same way also. How can we help? E-mail me with any ideas, groups, or petitions. This is my grandmothers position and I want to help her be heard. Mzupkow@yahoo.com. Thanks for listening.

43. Today, our recently installed Sensus smart meter caught on fire. We were lucky…as I was leaving the house, I saw black smoke coming from the side of the house. When I got out of the car and ran to see where the smoke was coming from, there were flames coming out of the meter. Our neighbor just happened to be home on a lunch break, and he came outside to see what was going on, ran back to his house and grabbed an electrical fire extinguisher and put the fire out before it spread. It did burn some of our house siding and fence, but I hate to think about what could have happened if I hadn’t seen it and our neighbor hadn’t reacted so quickly. When the fire department arrived on the scene and checked the attic, etc., they then called the electric department, who immediately came out and replaced the meter with ANOTHER smart meter (what?!). Now my concern is what if this occurs again while we’re sleeping?!!! I guess I won’t be sleeping very well anymore! And, for the record, I’ve had old electric meters for the past 55 years, and I’ve NEVER had this problem before…and I haven’t known anyone in all these years either that’s had this type of problem…until the new smart meters came on the scene. Something needs to be done about this fire hazard!!! I guess it will take more lives being lost before somebody decides to recall these meters.

44. It’s YOUR METER SOCKET

    The meter base is the property of the property owner.
    Like its mate, an analogue meter, the analogue meter base or socket is safety approved for a reason. Neither the socket or the meter is meant to operate without the other half,
    No one, temp or not, has the right to tamper with an owner’s own safety approved meter socket or touch it or the wires leading into it.
    Nor do they have the right to install any meter under live load.
    Nor do they have the right to install an electrically incompatible NM&CN (Network Management & Communications Node) transmitter device on an analogue meter socket.
    Nor should any customer pay to have their own electrical system operate the smart grid for utility profit.
    Labourers etc. are literally not allowed to touch the owner’s UL safety approved meter base. To do so VOIDS its safety rating and compromises its insurability.
    It is the property owner’s analogue meter socket. It is not designed for this fake “upgrade ” to a sparky device. This is a highly combustible computer transmitter with a low flash point and a dangerous RD internal switch which shuts off an inherently volatile whole house electrical system remotely, electronically . Your meter socket is not meant to have for a microwave enabling and generating computerized device with four prongs jammed on to it. It is especially not designed to withstand a sparky meter with a Remote Disconnect/Reconnect RD switch which has already been identified by investigation re Saskpower to be a “systemic design flaw common to all smart meters”, rendering these RD remote switch devices easily able to overheat this low flashpoint grid node to the point of combustion.
    Your local government is succumbing to a utility redirect tactic – the SAR deflection.
    They will be held legally liable for so doing.
    Human exposure is not the local government’s primary area of responsibility, even though it is both serious and relevant to the larger issue.
    The government area of primary responsibility and liability concerns their lack of due diligence regarding these (weaponized as applied) frequencies, which violate building specs, compromise structural integrity, corrode metal, arc and overheat wiring, cause ignitable static fields in the vicinity, and spark inflammable sources. If this sounds like a description of potential arson, that should come as no surprise. These devices are dangerous and are in violation of all the OTHER codes for safety which govern safe electrical code compliance and safe vibration limits for structures and reliable building tolerances.
    These sparky devices effectively void occupancy permits, and liability insurance and engineer’s errors and omissions insurance.
    Any municipal or regional government is liable if they ignore hard facts and allow any utility to use the misleading SAR human exposure guidelines as a distraction from the real provable legal issue – failure to pass or meet code. Certainly the SAR dummy represents junk science, which begs the question of why this shell and pea standard is the only safrety standard for the whole globe. The SAR dummy “test is not even carried out in situ and is in itself a sham and a scam.
    In this communications network application the utility use of SAR serves as a redirect in order for utilities to successfully distract local governing bodies and do an end run around flagrant violations of structural laws concerning building specifications and limits.
    Electronic geeks dream up devices, while clueless about electrical code, building code and engineering code. Essentially the smart grid is a geek’s office network, applied to a global transmission system. It is a classic case of the sorcerer’s apprentice messing with what is outside the parameters of their narrow level of electronic expertise with indifference and disregard for the laws of electricity. In short, the grid is no different than a sub prime energy derivatives market, a hit-and-run short term market bubble, and a long term recipe for global systemic failure of disastrous proportions.
    According to work safety standards in many locations, phone line workers are not even permitted to work around live smart grid collector hubs located on utility poles. Yet people live with them outside their bedroom windows.
    Elected officials and administrative staff for every local or regional decision making body are answerable for their own failure to dig down and demand that the smart grid meet legal codes. This makes those you elect to look out for your best interests legally culpable for any choice they make to ignore utility violations of electrical code, engineering code and building code.

45. 8/28/2014 BC Hydro smart meter on fire/ severe damage to home, see video http://www.cheknews.ca/fire-sooke-lake-road/

    There is a real story to this one.
    Go to a full screen to watch the news video.
    Watch the firefighters and the action regarding the smart meter in the video. Look very closely.
    Use the pause button. Take screen shots. Break the video down into still shots. Then note the smoke smudge sunburst pattern on the white stucco wall, all around only the top smart meter. The disc below it is from the former 100 amp service. Examine the smoke damage.
    Even a lay person can tell that this provides a clear indication that this was indeed a smart meter fire
    Then ask yourself why they removed the tell tale “black and white” fire pattern, and covered up the smudge evidence on the white siding by quickly covering over the wall with OSB board, after concocting a story about a cigarette in a planter.
    Too late.
    The video tells the truth.

46. @Michael
    “Smart meters are also necessary once end users begin to generate their own electricity through the use of solar or wind or other means…”

    No, they are not. You are sadly misinformed.

47. Smart meters are benefiting the utilities bottom line. Customers are getting ripped off and will continue to be ripped off as these cheap plastic meters break down, wear out, and their useful life is used up two to three times as fast as the electromechanical/analog meters. Smart meters will be found to be one of the biggest losers- the biggest consumer rip-off- the biggest government financial waste and the most toxic global deployment since asbestos.

48. “Smart” meters or automated metering is here to stay. To increase efficiencies in our use of electric power these meters are a fundamental component at the residential/commercial user level. Granted there are some technology tweaks or hardware issues which need to be resolved as one tries to fit a one-size fits-all meter to larger variety of end users out there.

    Smart meters are also necessary once end users begin to generate their own electricity through the use of solar or wind or other means, and store energy with the use of electric/electric hybrid vehicles. What these fires do suggest is that more rigorous standards and testing are required.

49. It was an extremely traumatic event. I read in the comments about the hydro companies paying off the insurance companies and that was exactly what I expected would happen. Insurance pays me Hydro pays insurance we get screwed. In my situation there are actually three insurance companies and the same investigator was hired for all three, my contents, my landlord house and the owner of the other side, it was a Semi… Unfortunately the other tenant did not gave contents insurance. 🙁 She didn’t have fire, only smoke damage, but was displaced for months.

    I’m thinking about pursuing this further with a lawyer for damages, just don’t know if I would have a chance. I also want ppl to know these are not safe and there should be a government involvement to ensure public safety, since clearly the hydro companies have not!

50. My concern is that my “smart meter” is next to my propane tank and I fear that if the meter catches fire the propane tank will explode and the flames will back up into the house. I am going to fill my “opt out” form this weekend and get LPEA to remove the thing before something tragic happens.

51. We live in Fallon Nv and also not one of our breakers tripped which was weird.

52. Lost our home Dec 28,2013 6 mos or less after smart meter installed no breakers tripped lost everything. Arching in laundry room wall. Dunno if it was the cause a few diff fire people said it was a weird fire, but our investigator ruled it accident. Makes you wonder we werent home but lost family pets, and what if we were? I really hope its not a smart meter prob and if it is I hope they are held accountable.

53. I’ve written to the Maryland governor office, attorney general office, public service commission, and U.S. Public Service Commission, that the Maryland public service commission is allowing extortion to take place for the unsafe installation of Smart meters. Come July 1st, those who choose to opt out will be extorted $75, and $17 a month for not having a Smart meter. Public Safety, WiFi, Property safety concerns were all mentioned in my communication. The Attorney general office tells me that the public service commission office’s own attorney general office is the only one who could address my concern. The public service commission office believes they can’t do anything to completely oppose those fees. They can. It is a hazard. It is time we stopped paying for private corporate greed, and extortion for services not rendered.

54. @Meter Guy: Gibberish. Apparently English is not your fist language.

    If you are not having any problems with your electric until after the smart meter is installed then the smart meter installation, or the meter itself, caused the problem.

    The point of all this is, IMHO, people are being forced to pay for a service change that is unwanted. This change is also causing house fires!

    As someone pointed out: The cost of solar is becoming more affordable. Disconnect from the grid and make your own electricity.

    Whatever happened to neighborhood sized fuel cells???

55. Wow did not know there was so much talk about something that is so specialized and everybody has an opinion MMMmmmmm, first of all houses are wired when ? and then you change out a meter and it blows… and its a new meter Ha Ha thats like saying I just bought a carb for my car and the engine blew its the carbs fault…..

    Metering is an odd ball in the wrong hands it will blow but normally what happens is the voltage from the utility is counted times the current of the customer and the data is sent to the utility to be billed…in Kilowatt hrs…

    So whats the problem, is that you live in a circuit yes you do your whole house is wired for what ? so you can watch a TV and a Lightbulb… to do this you need to be connected to the grid your meter socket was installed in the house that was built lets say 50 yrs ago heat cold snow rain ect… then the meter was changed brand new one in fact then blow bam ect… how may refrigerators over this time ran thru this socket what and you never replaced it Oh what no one told you !!!!! well your hearing it now….

    Now the Makers of all Meters is the difference here do they all do the same thing YES
    are they all rated yes but like cars some have problems but that said once a utility finds out there is a problem they are all over it why because of you …..safety is always first so the meters were made to tell the tempeture of the meter itself High current will show it self in the temp and will send the info to the company to rely to the customer …
    bet you did not know that….this part is just starting to take off some companies are just learning now how to use this function…any questions

56. Until or unless you are willing to cut the drop and make your own electricity, or do without, this will continue. A rooftop of solar panels and a garage full of batteries is looking better all the time.

57. Addendum…below the link about the opt out is what I wrote the public service commission in Maryland. Hopefully this gets through to them.

58. It appears Maryland is allowing utility companies to extort money from those who opt out of having smart meters. Here’s the document

    http://webapp.psc.state.md.us/Intranet/sitesearch/Whats_new/Maryland%20PSC%20Establishes%20Smart%20Meter%20Opt-Out%20Fees.pdf

    And want to alert you this is nothing more than a scam from the electric companies.
    It is extortion. It forces people to pay for a service they do not benefit from, nor desire, nor need.

    It is a violation of 4th amendment rights. It intrudes on my privacy, when I use my appliances, and provides evidence when I’m home, and when I’m not. This is something that a thief would love to have knowledge of, as a matter of course, many appliances already have smart chips that will communicate to these meters, thus allowing thieves to know when I use my TV, my microwave, etc… And I have no control over which appliances may have that smart chip. Thus I don’t know what deterrent I can use.

    It is a violation of section 508 accessibility laws for the internet. Yes, it prevents people from having their own WiFi at home, and forces people to use much more costly ethernet wiring.

    It is a fire hazard. http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/smart-meter-fires-and-explosions/

    When the electric utility, Delmarva without my knowledge or consent trespassed onto my 200 foot long driveway when I was on vacation to install a smart meter, and then put a tag on my door they had done so.
    I found when I got home that every day until I got them to put back the old meter I was having power outages. The claimed reliability on your page, is patently false. This happened in the middle of October when no heat, nor air condition was in use, and my electric use was minimal.

    You should rethink allowing the utilities to charge people any amount for services not rendered. That is just plain extortion. $75 for an up front fee is still too much. I’ve not yet been charged, nor will be until July 1st, as the attachment below [sent the public service commission a copy of my 60 day notice] indicates, but I protest any allowance of any charge for those who have opted out. Only people who desire the smart meter should be charged fees for it. If they utility company can’t charge them enough money to recoup costs, they should not be allowed to offer the service in that area. Already the utilities charge more than they should. Already they offer thermostats for people without smart meters that can power down the usage at random times. Even that is bad enough, because it could be that they might power down my cooling system just when it is seriously hot, or power down my heating system, when it is seriously cold. We have no access to gas lines where I live. Nor oil lines. So a heat pump that is electrically based is my only choice. Unless the state wishes to subsidize solar or geothermal at 75% or more, it is cost prohibitive in these neighborhoods to allow the Smart Meter.

    Please rethink your allowance, and stop them from starting charges before July 1st.

59. Be sure to send the bill to your utility!

60. My tenant, at a condo that I own in Oklahoma City, had a Smart Meter installed and it
    burned up the Air Conditioner. The Heat and Air specialist who relaced it said it was
    caused by the Smart Meter that caused it and said “it happens all the time”. It cost me $2,650 to replace it.

61. A Smart Meter was installed on my house maybe five years ago. I noticed that the meter was not well aligned with the cutout in the box but never bothered to have them look at it. Well, during last winter we had a strange occurance. Several GFI breakers in the kitchen tripped and some of my circuit breakers tripped. I reset them all and everything seemed okay. I never found a reason. About a week later we smelled burning plastic one evening but couldn’t find where it was coming from.
    Fast forward to March 31. I received an electric bill with no power used. The start and end reading matched! I called the power company. On the following Monday they came out. They pulled the meter, which was charred on the back, and disconnected the drop to my home. They said a loose connection in the meter base caused the problem. I replaced the meter box and the next day they plugged in a new meter. We went through a night without electric and a refrigerator full of spoiled food. I examined the old meter box and truely one of the contacts that the meter plugs into was loose. This took 40 years to occur.
    My conclusion, based on experience and common sense, is that when the contractor slammed the new meter into the socket he did not align it properly which either loosened the contact or put extreme stress on it. During the heavy electric useage last winter the high currents caused increased voltage drop across the compromised connection thus generating heat. The heat conducted into the meter causing plastic to melt in addition something in the meter failed. About a foot of the aluminum conductor attached to that terminal was severly charred as well.
    Someone needs to follow the contractors that install these meters and spot check the quality of their work. Not being company employees they have no motivation to do quality work.

62. Are you willing to share that video of explosions?

63. My smart meter burned 14 months after installing by power company.melted all wiring insulation and and connection have evidence of faulty component inside meter. also video of other home in area displaying explosions.

64. I own several properties , I just bought a house with a smart meter and the lights flicker and pulse and the electric company won’t swap the meter I’m worried my house will burn down

65. 30 yr old home North Dallas TX area – after Oncor smart meter install started experienced flickering lights (about 45 days) on circuits on one main bus – then total random outages – come to find out it’s a heating up arcing and subsequent weakening connect of the wire clamp to the socket’s main lug to the meter – socket otherwise was in ‘as new’ shape.

66. I read this article and people’s comments and finally realized about the smart meters. Before installed the smart meter, I had my light flash wireless receivers when a phone rings or doorbell or fire alarm or baby cry sign. All worked fine. Everything was fine. Until ten years later, the smart meter was installed, I don’t know how long it took then one day, my dog jumped me and ran back and forth to the basement and she tried to me pay attention. I followed my dog to the laundry room and saw the outlet was on the fire. I ran to the fuse box and shut off. I grabbed an extinguisher to put out the fire. The outlet is for washer and dryer. The outlet is located next to the wall to outside of house wall of the smart meter. I was so happy the house is safe. I replaced a new outlet. Next day, a bathroom light went out. I replaced a light and found the burned cap. I replaced a new cap.

    After the laundry outlet fire, my light flash wireless receivers don’t work any more. I borrowed my friend’s equipment to use. But it doesn’t work. I hired two electricians to test and replaced all outlets. They couldn’t find any problem to cause. My other friend brought his equipment to test. All doesn’t work. I put my things away in the storage. I use extra cord connected to the doorbell, phone and fire alarm…only one room. I was in the other room and my several friends and my mother came over and knocked or doorbell…hard to get me. Only way they text me and tell me they were here.

    I wonder it could be smart meter…is the smart meter caused wires inside the wall to my light flash receivers stopped working?

    I have sad news. The power company has their easement and installed four cables (cantaloupe size) six feet deep, the pad and the utility box on my property. Easement means they have their rights to take part of people’s property without ask for permission, buy part land or pay some amount or no free electricity bills. I hate easement. I want easement be removed or deleted. Stuck. The utility box made me crazy…it called eyesore. I have distracted driving when I drive and see the utility boxes anywhere since they installed the box. I work on to get back to normal life. I guess it takes time. Sad. All utility companies have their easement…put anything on the people’s property like this smart meters, also gas smart meters, and water smart meters, too. They don’t care about the people. All care about electricity, gas, water, sewer, telephones, and TV/internet cables, etc. The government has easement, too and they take people’s property. No matter what they want. The people can’t.

67. I do not have a smart meter.

    I have offered a Courtesy Notice (CN) (an offer to contract) to my local utility monopoly and we are now in contract because they called me on the phone to offer installation of a smart meter with their legal, but not lawful, new definition of the term “opt-out”, a practice of slight-of-hand practiced by most utility monopolies these days. Under that plan, opt-out means you still get a smart meter, but supposedly it does not transmit, and extra fees and monthly charges are applied that no one else has to pay. I do not consent and would be therefore harmed, thus the CN. Meaning that they can put a smart meter in, but they would have to pay me. And BTW, I am prepared to move out if they install one or do a shut-off.

    Last week they installed smart meters on all condos in my complex, but skipped mine. I suspect I have not heard the last of this.

    I am energy sensitive and so are you, whether you know it or not. Your local utility monopoly knows of such toxicity, but they say they don’t to keep peace with the cattle.

    I suffered for 15 years with severe health problems before I found the reason was the non-ionizing radiation coming from the energy grid and certain electrical devices. I have filtered my complete condo for the toxic non-ionizing frequencies coming from the wires inside the walls for $300, have a meter, $100, and have added more filters of of new manufacturer, and have a small device that neutralizes frequencies such as WiFi. My computer is connected by wire, not WiFi. The day I put in the filters, all my health problems went away. Yes, on that very day. Never came back.

    My local utility monopoly let out that they will not turn the smart meters on until all homes are thus metered. That makes me suspect that they get turned on a little when newly installed just to read the whole house usage, and in months or years is when they turn them on ‘for real’, metering each and every one of your appliances of any kind and boy will your usage go up (in flames).

    Remember, it costs much less to read the old meter than the cost of metering with smart meter and they lie about that by reducing the real estimated cost in one community, $10 billion, reduced down to $2 billion for public consumption, to keep peace with the community cattle. I suggest that you are not cattle and should say so.
    Quit respecting these people, but be friendly and nice to them, even though they are criminals. Lying to the public like that. Educate their paid agents as to the real story.

    I made a rousing speech to my local Stop Smart Meters group. One symptom of 15 years of ill-health that I mentioned in the speech, but certainly not the worst symptom, was the 15 years of ‘menopause from hell’. After my speech a woman certainly too young for menopause, and she said so, said to me that immediately after installation of her smart meter she went into menopause. And that is with the low dose, not the ‘for real’ dose.

    They know about this and have known for decades, probably since the late 1800s at least, which is when the electric grid was first installed, and when cancer, heart disease, and diabetes rate began to rise. It got much worse after the snake-like fluorescent light bulbs were invented as a result of oil embargo in the 1970s. And all such toxic non-ionizing frequencies travel over the the utility lines. And surprise, surprise, is quite easy and cheap to fix.

    But the smart meters are WiFi, and will use a lot of energy to spy on us, ruin our health, steal our money, and possibly other nefarious deeds.

    I did not suspect the nefarious deeds part of this until I saw the following video. Make of it what you will, if you suspect possible faul play with this journalist’s vehicle by remote control:

    Was Michael Hastings Murdered?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFx4EqJ9glE

    Love, Susan

68. See this thread comments for the Texas attorney who’s won a smart meter fire case already. If there was a news report on this fire, can you post it here? Good luck.

69. On Sunday 8/25/13 at 5 am, asleep in bed, I awoke to explosions in my backyard. Seeing this I immediately went outside to investigate finding a fire was started coming from the smart meter on the back of the garage.

    With explosions continuing, and fire getting bigger, eventually engulfing the garage, I quickly realized I was in over my head.

    Electrical damage is severe. 200A service total trash. Line fuse on the pole never took out the service, so it kept burning. Guess smart meters aren’t quite that smart.

    The power company (Centerpoint Energy) was johnny on the spot. While the firefighters were putting out the fire, CNP replaced the line fuse and took the smart meter with no contact with anyone.

70. Ontario Fire Marshall:
    “Since May 2011, there have been seven reported incidents of smouldering fires and/or explosions involving either the electrical smart meter or the meter base to which it is mounted. Anecdotal information indicates that these incidents resulted from a meter base problem, an installation problem or a failed meter.”

71. Where are your from? Who is your utility? Do you have a Smart Meter on your home?

72. I need help I have seen high elecrical field get pulled off power line at my house have been looking for the source for 6 monthes untill I read about smart meters all of my appliances have burnt up 4 times my ears ring high pitch when in house the water sofener doing electrolisis on sodium cloride water ph of 11 alklinity and hardness off the chart copper casing of phone line melt when ungrounde I saw a lithuium phone battery crack open 50 volts on all ground wires my hve lit led bulbs off them I. Get shocked so bad in my house it drops me to my knees I have had the power company and 2 electricians look at it now there just pointing fingers at each other with nothing geting fixed.

73. As I read these frustrating posts sadly all of them miss the true target. It is NOT evil oil companies but the dolts that think “Green Energy” is the way of the future. There were NO problems until Mr. Green OBO, or Bush with his corn for fuel idea and all the Whacked Environmentalists, vehicles are being destroyed but idiots like Daryl Hannah, TBoon, et all continue. Too bad the face lift idiot did not fall out of the tree in South LA.
    Live next to a windmill farm and see how noisy it is and enjoy the EMF it produces. Solar panel farms in the desert were broken panels are just allowed to fall to the sand and we don’t have to speak of car companies like Fisker do we? Not to mention, the elite do not have them, only YOU do! I would say wake up, but you are living the nightmare. The only thing “green” about this energy is the money leaving YOUR account! I am for a clean planet out of common sense, however as they insert another ring in your nose with a leash how free are you. I have NEVER heard of an analog meter doing this, even SCE employees opted out, but clown organizations (CPUC) that are appointed are not beholding to the voter and let electo comps install SM so when they finally said. well you do not have to have them.. too late.. installed. Do some research on San Francisco residents wanting Green, now that Nanny Meters been put in people are mad, putting foil to stop the RF (tin hat syndrome) but too late.. In efforts to break a society that was decided over a century ago, they think ugly propeller driven generators and solar panels where <90% are not made here is smart. Chew that bitter pill up in small chunks gang and swallow, those that voted for this ilk will NOW reap those rewards. Remember "As they fiddled while it burned.. well, now they text while Capt Edward Smith aims for the iceberg. Unfortunately, your stupid decision is taking us with you and there are not enough life boats.

    USA the country that once dominated by power, intelligence and pride.. now they are just words.

74. My 80 year old mom was dying, dizzy all the time, falling, tired, no color, headaches, sleepless, confused, chest pains and more ….. test after test but nothing….she even died but was revived during one test, all provided no answer. They put her on oxygen 24/7. Thankfully for people that are sharing information on these Death meters. I started searching and found others having the same issues and blaming the so-called smart meter, which is by the way, the greatest oxymoron of all times.
    We ordered the removal of the death meter and mom’s health started to improve with in two days. Now two months later, she is up and about, active and doesn’t use the oxygen tank any more, she is nagging at me again, has great color, spunk, energy, no more headaches, dizziness, or seizers, she is no longer falling to the ground or confused and is sleeping well again.
    We are not happy paying an extra $12 a month to opt out but if that is the price of life, it’s a hell of a good deal.
    PS my mom’s pacemaker manufacture warns against smart meters and radiation/RF EMF…. however the utility company didn’t not warn us about the possible effects of these death meters which they installed without our knowledge and the PUC doesn’t seem to care. But that is not news.
    Again thank you all for your input and everyone that is fighting this terrible device, as without this resource and the effort of those before me, my mom would have died by now; that is why I call IT the Death meter.

75. My smart(DUMB)meter was installed on or around october12,2012-Nov 12,2012. The middle of November My $3,600.00 TV exhibited a snowy picture while me and my grandchildren were watching cartoons. I got up to check the TV, and suddenly the power in that part of the house went off. My grand-daughter and I went outside to check the breaker box and as I attempted to open the box, sparks started shooting from thee top of the box. After reading all of these complaints, I am now terrified to go to sleep at night. Because I know there is a short somewhere in the smart box. I never had any problems until this so-called smart-box was installed. Now I am out an expensive TV. I had to go and buy another cheaper model. GO FIGURE!! GOVERNMENT IS TAKING OVER. SO PEOPLE GET READY!!

76. i was afraid of smart meters so when i heard they were being installed in Houston, I wrote txu and centerpoint energy refusing them on health grounds–also called them several times. Then one day i was awakened one afternoon with a noise outside my bedroom window-i ran outside and found a man installing a smart meter-he had not rung doorbell even and was trespassing and refused to stop and refused to identify himself and when i demanded he put my old meter back and picked up the box with my old meter in it, he grabbed the box, threatened me and knocked me to the ground. When i told him he better leave now or i would call the police he laughed at me and said go ahead-that he would make sure i was the one that would be thrown in jail. Since he was so certain that he could assault a 64 year old woman with impunity, and knowing the reputation of Houston police, I believed him. He casually continued his tasks and then went back to his truck while I went inside to call txu-who just passed the buck to centerpoint who just passed it back to txu-just before driviing off, the monster that assaulted me did give me his bosses phone number. I called it immediately and that man was a true psychopath. After being mister nice and saying his employee should not have assaulted me (duh!), he told me he used to work for Centerpoint and that he had been awarded the contract to install all the smart meters in Houston and that I had no choice but to comply and that I was to believe everything he said BECAUSE HE WAS A CATHOLIC–I was so insulted by his arrogance and bizarre statements that I started complaining some more to Centerpoint and TXU–TXU immediately started sending me bills that were 3-4 times what they were before the installation, then when I complained about that, they threatened to cut off my electricity with no notice at all…and kept this up until I switched electric companies. THEN Centerpoint sent TWO thugs to my house to threaten and intimate me–when I complained the meter was making popping noises and when I came near any electric plug i felt heat and static electricity and the plug would short out, they said nothing was wrong with my meter and then said if I complained, they would say I was threatening THEM and have me thrown in jail. I told them to get out, and shame on them. THEN Centerpoint had someone else break into my yard without knocking and installed ANOTHER smart meter on my gas line. When I told that guy to leave-that he was trespassing and had no permission from me to install that second meter, he left. Then someone called me from Centerpoint with more lies about how there are no problems with smart meters and then questioned my sanity again for objecting. They said the man had not installed the new smart gas meter…then sent ANOTHER man out who broke into my yard and installed a smart meter-easily observable by the different red tabs but Centerpoint insists i imagined the whole thing. The utility companies in this world are the ones that are quite mad-and murderous. Psychopaths-all of them. Since this attempted robbing and murder spree, half my hair has fallen out-I can’t sleep at night, and i fear my house will burn down from what these meters are doing to my electrical system… and yet NOT ONE PERSON will stop them.

77. After a smart meter was installed at my home my dishwasher and 46 “Sony hd tv both went out . After being in house for 10 to 15 min started suffering from head aches but head aches go away after leaving home .I filed a claim with Honewell after 2 weeks still havent heard anything after theyr inspector came to check them both . But they waited till meter was changed before they came out to check the equipment . this is in Daytona Bch Florida

78. WOW WHERE DO I START.
    I live in Edgewater Florida. i have 2 Rottweilers and a dutch Shepherd in my yard. i have 12 beware of dog signs. HONEYWELL STILL WENT IN MY YARD AND LET MY DOGS GO. whan i came home i had to search for my dogs. i found 2, but not the shepherd that will bite someone. HONEYWELL TOLD ME… SORY FOR YOUR LOST. WE CAN NOT HELP YOU. Fpl sent me a check for my lost dog, that check does not get me back my Guard Dog. HoneyWell did not care. i get my check in 3 weeks. IT GETS WORST. my air conditioner wires all melted and the condenser blew up out side. my refrigerator power just went out on a different line. my room power is out and wire are melting. some of my fuses are now poping. i do not know what to do. what next a house fire…….. i had no PROBLEMS UNTIL THE SMART METER………..

79. About four weeks after ONCOR installed a SmartMeter at my home in Plano, Texas, one of the lugs in the meter base broke, causing half of my house to lose power. The lug was obviously corroded, and the new meter should not have been installed in the old base.

    I was lucky, in that nothing was burned. The electrician that replaced the meter base for me pointed out that my circuit breaker box, a Federal Pacific Electric, showed signs of having been overheated. So I followed his recommendation, and had it replaced.

80. Perhaps what you say is true…considering the unsuspecting homeowner is the victim of these fires, why aren’t the utility companies ENSURING installation safety – instead of denying that there’s a huge problem, or paying off insurance companies and not addressing the problem? What utility company do you work for? In California there’s a major cover up happening.

81. It is not the smart meter. It is the wiring and the meter-base that causes the fire.
    I have been removing and installing electric meters for 30 years for a major utility and it is very common, up to 80 percent, to observe fatigue in older and rarely even new meter base wiring. When this fatigue is disturbed micro fractures occur in wire insulation and meter lugs and lug mounting brackets. Micro fractures do not sit and do nothing, electricity is a volatile product and seeks a path of least resistance to ground, these fractures expand according to severity and may last hours or years until ground is established then you have your flash. This is what causes the smoke and or fire not the meter, but the disruption of brittle or faulty equipment/wiring. This is fact. Been there done that.

82. I had a really difficult day, the other day.
    I woke up. The sun was shining. Life was good. I was heading out to take my dog for a walk, and I bumped into a nice PG&E man. We both spooked each other.
    He told me that they were getting a “hot meter” alert from my “smart meter”. Heard about those? They are new meters that are internet connected, and speak both to your appliances, and to the head office. Sounds spooky, huh?
    Anyhow, he took the meter off, and the clips that I own with the house, were melting and were a fire hazard. Key word: The part “I own”. 🙁
    So, in all good faith, he couldn’t walk away from my home, knowing that it was a fire danger, until “I” got it fixed! He put a jumper on it, so that I had at least 110 power, (but no 220) and left. He took my meter with him, so that I had to get it fixed.
    Good day: OVER.
    I called my preferred electrician, and then realized I have First American Home insurance. So, I called them. They said, “Yes, it was a covered expense”, and they were sending out their electrician to fix it. The electrician they sent out had a bad reputation on Angie’s list.
    Well, they couldn’t come till Tuesday.
    It is a fire hazard, and they can’t come till Tuesday??? It was Friday! It is 100 degrees out, and I have no electricity!? So, my insurance called until they found someone that could do it, today.
    RWE came out, (they had a better reputation on Angie’s list, too!) and ordered the parts, and fixed it, (this, about 5 PM) and called PGE to shut down my main power on the street, and wait till it was fixed, to turn it back on. I had 5 large PGE trucks in front of my house! Yikes!
    In the meantime, I found out that PGE had previously installed THREE (count em!) smart meters into my home, since Feb 2010 and all had failed. In March 2010, the house was not occupied. I bought the home in July of 2011.
    All three “smart meters” had given out “hot socket” alarms and one had actually melted, and they had come out to change each one, without notifying anyone. Somehow, though, this fourth one is my fault?! I’m a little weird-ed out by this. I also found out that these smart meters are starting fires in homes, by doing the very same thing, this one did. I don’t know if it’s due to installing smart meters into older equipment, or what? But, I found some interesting links about them.
    People aren’t liking them at all. It’s kind of a 1984 “big brother” thing.
    Anyhow, when all was said and done, after the insurance company said they’d pay for it, well, the electrician called to make the claim and they ended up denying it! So, I paid $720.00 on my VISA for something I’m not thinking is my doing! Do you even know how long this will take for me to pay off? Wah. 🙁 I’m a single disabled woman, and I live from paycheck to paycheck.
    I mean, why, when the meter was giving out hot signals, did PG&E not tell me and instead, replace it three times…. but then not the fourth time? I have on record from Portland General that they replaced it once due to it being melted, once giving out a not socket alarm, and once again a hot socket alarm.
    Why were my meter clips OK until they installed one of these new meters? Why did the insurance company say they’d pay for it, and then not? Do they do that, sometimes? Did they look up this problem like I did, and find the problems with these meters?
    I’m new at this whole home ownership thing, but I think I’m going to be doing some research.
    Thing is, I don’t feel safe, even now, after having this thing get hot, melt, and then melt the clips. Is it going to happen again? While I’m out of town, or in town? What’s worse?
    I don’t know, but I’m sure interested in doing something about all of this.
    Jen

83. I strongly recommend that all those home owners and/or tenants who now have “smart meters” instead of the analog type to go to the meter area and give it a visual and physical check for any apparent discoloration or burning. Use the back of your hand to check the meter base for heat. (You don’t want to suffer burns on your palms or fingers.)
    Some of these installations of so called “smart meters”have resulted in fires almost immediately, or in a matter of months. There should be no heat! If there is, it could indicate a poor connection between the “lugs” of the base and the ”stabs”of the meter.
    A fire potential!

84. BC Hydro says it’s not yet clear what caused a fire at a Coquitlam home where a smart meter had been installed one month earlier.

    http://bc.ctvnews.ca/2-home-fires-probed-where-new-smart-meters-were-set-up-1.905587

    2 home fires probed where new smart meters were set up

    Published Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 4:04PM PDT
    BC Hydro says it’s not yet clear what caused a fire at a Coquitlam home where a smart meter had been installed one month earlier.
    The cause of the blaze that broke out early Sunday morning at the house on Darwin Avenue is under investigation.
    BC Hydro says smart meters are safe and that inspections are carried out before the devices are set up.
    “In the vast majority of cases we actually find problems when we actually pull the old meter off. It’s extremely rare that there is any kind of incident after a meter is installed,” BC Hydro spokesperson Cindy Verschoor said.
    The Crown corporation also says it has repaired about 1,000 meter bases around the province.
    In June, a fire also began at a home in Mission where a smart meter had recently been installed. BC Hydro says the BC Safety Authority is investigating that blaze.

85. 8/5/2012

    Smart meter fire on Darwin Ave., Coquitlam, BC.
    As with the Mission fire BC Hydro is blaming the smart meter base again.
    Problem is that this is a brand new subdivision so how can they postulate that a brand new meter base is cracked, or is an old crumbling meter base?

    BC Hydro doubts smart meter to blame for Coquitlam fire
    COQUITLAM/CKNW (AM980)
    CKNW News Staff | Email news tips to nwnews@cknw.com
    8/5/2012

    Could a newly installed BC Hydro smart meter be partially to blame for an early morning fire in Coquitlam?

    Hydro crews don’t believe so, but they are investigating after a small fire broke out on the outside of a home on Darwin Avenue.

    Spokesman Greg Alexis says it appears the cause was likely a faulty meter base.

    “The meter base is the piece of the customer’s equipment that we plug the smart meter into. The smart meter is the end of our grid and the meter base is the piece of customer equipment.”

    Alexis says damaged sockets are blamed for a series of recent electrical fires, but stresses the smart meter itself isn’t the problem.

86. Our new smart meter exploded yesterday causing half our circuits to stop working. The men from the electric company asked if I had any work done recently and I told them the electric company had upgraded the meter. He rolled his eyes at me and said, “yeah, some people CALL it an upgrade” and preceded to tell me of other smart meters catching fire. He said we were extremely lucky our house did not go up in flames. Now, I’m going to be a hesitant activist in order to get the word out that these smart meters are DANGEROUS! I don’t feel I have to put my family’s lives in danger in order to make my electric company’s job easier. There is NO opt-out program where I live and DTE told one woman who wanted to opt out that they would just shut her electricity off. Time to put the gloves on…

87. About 3 weeks ago my Mom who is 76 was at home, when power went out sporadically throughout the house, no breakers were blown. The lights in the living room tv had power. the small bedroom was without power, the bathroom, parts of my brothers room, her overhead light in her room and the appliances in the kitchen. That caused her fridge to stop working. The electic company came out took a look and said that the smart meter had a wire that had came loose or wasnt properly attached which caused this. He supposedly fixed the problem. twelve days later there was a popping noise and smoke shortly after fire. The electric company same man mind you came out for that as well. he is tryin to blame her wiring and box someone must have stuffed cotton down in it he said. The fire marshal told her it started at the smart meter. There have been 4 fires in a week in a small town of about 6000 that were far worse than hers. Which seems kinda high if you ask me. luckily she lives less than 2 miles from the fire station or her house would have been gone as well. Thankfully it was around 7:30 pm instead of the middle of the night. She lost everything that was in the room which was a lot to due smoke and water damage. Was without power for 6 days and lost all perishable food. Please due something about these smart meters before it is to late!

88. I lived in Laguna Woods, CA until the house burned down on April 3, 2012. Absolutely caused by arcing from the new smart meter. This community of 12,000+ was built in the 60’s and has wiring and breakers that are a half a century old!
    Powerful high-tec meters on ancient wiring. The management company, PCM, is not warning the residents of the dangers. How many people are going to have to be injured or die before they finally take their heads out of the sand?

89. Just recieved a new smartmeter. Not great lights have started to flicker the next day.
    We really are being stooged. The people must revolt against all this injustice.

90. A man from Red Bluff called today to talk about how he believes the smart meter, installed 6 weeks prior caused his house to burn down in May 2011. His insurance company, Nationwide, has paid for the damages, then Nationwide started a lawsuit against PG&E, but withdrew it in 3 months. Every breaker in the electric panel was tripped, and the meter may have exploded. (sounds like arcing) His house was built in 1985. He said PG&E has denied the smart meter caused the fire.

91. THIS INFORMATION IS UNVERIFIED AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT BRAND OF SMART METER NV ENERGY IN NEVADA IS ACTUALLY USING…BUT IF THIS INFORMATION I READ ON THE “NET” HAS ANY TRUTH TO IT WHAT-SO-EVER, IT WARRANTS FURTHER LOOKING INTO.

    According to the Smart Meters I have seen they appear to be a Sensus brand smart meter. I do not know if these are the original smart meters or the current ones being installed by NV Energy…but I have learned that the Sensus brand smart meter does lacks UL Certification.

    • From what I read online many of the smart meters being installed around the country also lack UL Certification.

    According to Underwriter Laboratories the standard meter manufactured by Sensus are certified by Underwriter Laboratories but the Smart Meters are NOT! This has me concerned.

    • I have read online that some people are learning after the fact that some of the home owner/renters policies and home warranty policies are NOT covering damage claims to in-home electrical systems, HVAC, appliances, electrical fires, etc. if an uncertified smart meter was already installed at the time of the damage.

    This is way above my pay grade but it is an interesting information and makes one ponder if a homeowner’s policy or home warranty policy disallows a claim due to an uncertified smart meter, does that make the various electric companies culpable for any/all damages if they are in fact using uncertified smart meters??

    If this is the case…how were uncertified meters ever approved by the Nevada PUC in the first place.

92. We had a short in our smoke alarm and lost power to our master bedroom smoke alarm. My wife and I have also have had headaches at the same time, I rarely get headaches. This all started happening after our smart meter reader was installed.

93. Did you you report this to the fire dept and fire inspector?

94. rincon georgia-feb 26th 2012 10pm, brother in laws house burns up, everyone got out alive. they heard loud popping sounds and smelled smoke. fire is out by 11 pm. strangely, in the commotion, no one saw georgia power come in, remove the meter and meter cover, and de-energise the incoming underground electrical line, and then leave, unanounced and unnoticed with the smart meter and cover plate. the next day, when called, they did admitt to being dispached and removing the equipment in question. no one there saw them, no one knew the power line was off comming into the line side of the meter base, and the meter base cover should have been left on the meter base. the fire started right in front of the meter, on the ground.

95. I don’t think these so called smart meters have Underwriter’s Laboratories Certification. I think this may be a loop hole for the insurance companies to use to refuse a claim..

96. It happened to me.. and i don’t have a right to sue because state farm is the ins. company and they decided not to persue it… they decided not to persue because there is no study proving these fires, just numerous reports.. and it would cost them more money now then they would get back.. what about the people who could die in each additional fire.

97. Grossman Burn Center 2615 Chester Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301-2014 (661) 869-6135 sjch.us

98. New smart meter explosion.

    http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2011/12/19/electrical-explosion-at-naples-bay-resort-injures-1_201112199285.html

99. This is dangerous. If your utility will not do anything, there are places to purchase an analog meter as I suspect you did not have this problem before?
    http://www.hialeahmeter.com/siphwame.html

100. I am currently having trouble with the socket where electricity is supplied to the meter heating up and causing power surges. FPL and their subcontractor Wilco is denying it has anything to do with them installing a new smartmeter and the underground supply wire subsequently frying. I’m having trouble getting an electrician to work on it and Wilco will do nothing. Is there anything I can do?

101. Thanks for posting. Can you obtain a copy of the fire dept report?

102. Smart Meter fire reported in Diamondhead Mississippi, November 4th, 2011. The Diamndhead fire department and Coast Electric reported to the scene. No injuries or house damage reported.

103. they are unsafe …….it is with suspicion that i view this implementation of these metrs….even a plan to stagger the emissions from these things to 1 in every 30 houses and on to every 2nd house every 30 days etc…but this is not to be as the rediculous ness of these things going off every minute for what ? …they only need to go on every 30 days for 10 seconds to transmit the months usage …what a bunch of bull shit that you get to logon to your meters usage site to see how you use electricity ,,,gee willacers ,really ,,,this is stupid and specious on the face of the damaging evidence of severe health problems associated with the meters….stalin could not have set up a better way to anhilate 10’s of millions of people with radiation..on top of wifis,,cell towers ,cfl bulbs that emit 30,000 hertz noise waves, etc….yeah i cant wait to log onto my site so i can participate in my own demise ,,,,come up with a safer way to collect energy data or go straight to hell pg$e

104. coming soon, debtors prisons, after the government makes sure everybody owes something.

105. that happened to me at work one of my neighbors house caught on fire a day and a half after they installed it . got evacuated in the motor home park i work at as a in home nurses assistant.

106. Look at it this way. Your taxes paid for the meter that harmed you all. Special legislation does not exempt utility corps from illegal use of a frequency weapon to inflict trespass and harm.
     Time to stand up for yourselves.
     I hear that ebay and electricity shops are good places to buy an analog meter for about $60. And besides, given that smart meters are illegal, just go get the analog meter installed by any electrician who is willing and who already KNOWS these are illegal devices warned against by the WHO. Then immediately lock that analog meter up tight so thoroughly that no metal saw can get at or shear through the carriage bolts that go inside you home, that no bolt cutters can cut chains, padlocks. Just make it securitized so that no pry bar can remove the good old fashioned mechanical device that is good for 30 years instead of 8.

107. My son just lost everything He owned when his mobile home caught on fire. He had been living there for two months without electricity due to being laid off from his job and his unemployment running out. I signed for his power to be reconnected. I couldn’t bear
     to see him living like that any longer. Within less than an hour everything was gone, and his pit bull was suffering from severe burns and smoke inhalation. We still don’t know if Jedamiah (the dog ) is going to make it. Audie ( my son) was laid off his job that mourning, almost went to prison over $.50 still owed on his legal fees. The power company assumes no responsibility for the fire ( Blue Ridge Electric). I don’t
     know if the meter was a smart meter, but it was installed last year. My point being
     that while the cause of the fire was undetermined because of structual damage,
     it did not catch fire also had an explosion until the power was reconnected. You tell me. The power company now wants a $60.00 reconnect fee. FAT CHANCE!.
     A ll this happened on August 10,2011. AUDIE TURNED 42 ON AUGUST10,2011.
     Audie’s Mom

108. My old meter was defect and Portland General Electric replaced it with a “smart meter”. It exploded two weeks later as I walked out my front door. It covered the porch with heavy black smoke and threw me down to the cement. I called PGE seven times and told them that the meter exploded. Each time I called the employees used the same phrase, “smart meters do not explode”. They decided to come out and look at the black meter and burned wall on my house five months later because I complained about the extremely high bill. However, before they came to inspect meter they hit the “kill switch” and left me without electricity for eleven hours in 20 degree weather. I put up a barrier on the porch with a sign that said, “Warning. Do not pass this chair. Meter has Exploded”. PGE is now blaming me for the explosion! Why? I don’t know. There was a PGE inspector’s business card on my front door last week that had a note on the back stating, “You will pay for all tampered meters. You will die.” I called this man and asked why he would threaten my life. He said, I didn’t mean to write “die”. Yes, I have been threatened by Portland General Electric.

109. We had a Smartmeter installed in our home. On April 8th, at 5:3 AM, our lights started flickering, luckily my husband is an early riser. He hurried over to the inside electric box and saw it explode. The Smartmeter exploded as well. The rest of the family was able to get out safely, but our house is a total loss. An FPL representative arrived at our house before the fire department did!

     I have heard several stories of people saying that their house caught fire after the Smartmeter was installed.

     Check out what my home looks like now.
     Go to this link:
     http://www.miamidade.gov/building/regulation.asp

     PUT IN FOLIO NO.30-5912-002-0830, PRESS SUBMIT, THEN ON THE NEXT PAGE PRESS GO, SCROLL DOWN. Pretty sad, huh?

110. They put a smart meter on bedroom wall of a cabin I have been renting for 18 years. It is partway into the wall, a board and batting wall. The first night I was awakened with a wave of energy going through my body. I could imagine my body, the internal rib cavity as it passed through and upwards through my head. I was scared. I have moved into the living room to sleep, it happened again. I have shrouded the smart meter with tinfoil to interfere with the microwaves. I have talked to three idiots reading from scripts at PG&E. The last one said, “It only lasts 45 seconds.” I want to tell him to put his balls into a microwave for 45 seconds and see how it feels. Any other help?

111. At Raymond Velez: Just read your post about your house fire. I’m sorry to read your problems about your Smart Meter that ComEd installed. I hope you seek a lawyer to assist you in getting your damages paid for. We are in Naperville and fighting our city’s plan to install the Smart Meters. Talk to all your friends and neighbors. Try to keep ComEd from spreading these smart meters throughout Chicagoland. There is so much risk, even more than fire. Best of luck.

112. Yes, you can sue-see the comment on this page where an attorney has sued and won a case.

113. i had problems with the smart meter too……..i live in Chicago after they installed the meter i had problems with my lights going off and on in the house called Comed they send someone to look at it….they tightened up some screws said problem solved. Couple days later same probem called Comed again they said get an electrian to look at it ….Make a long story short it finally caught on fire the meter and my electric box lucky i was home to turn it off………they told me since it was in my house it was my problem i had to fix it….but it was there fault for installing the smart meter they should know better than to install them thing in houses that cant handle the outage….I wana know if i can sue them

114. Smart meters fires are now occuring in Houston as well through Centerpoint. I had to pay $875 after a smart meter caused a fire at the meter box. A third party installer North Houston Pole Line did the installation work. According to Centerpoint, a hang tag is supposed to placed in situations where older electrical wiring is present. Apparently, older wiring can cause fires during the installation process. I was told by Centerpoint that the meter box needed to be up to date and they denied my claim. I also know of someone whose appliances burned out following a surge caused by a smart meter install. I wound up using an attorney who was able to recover my costs. He is now specializing in these cases since they are popping up all over the country causing property damage and physical harm. Contact Brad Leigh at the Leigh Law Firm (281) 419-3476.

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