Peevey OKs Analogs!


On Thursday September 22, at the California Public Utilities Commission business meeting, President Michael Peevey told Chandu Vyas, who’s been suffering from headaches, that he could talk to PG&E and they would provide that he “could go back to the analog meter”. President Peevey directed Mr. Vyas to contact Mr. Sidney Bob Dietz, whose number is: 415-973-5921.

If you want to remove your Smart Meter and have an analog restored, contact Mr. Dietz, or contact Thomas Bottorff,  415-973-3889.

President Peevey could not just allow Mr. Vyas his analog, without allowing others, right?

CPUC Smart Meter opt-out workshop follow up

PGEE Sue attended the meeting too

On September 14, the CPUC held a Smart Meter opt-out workshop to discuss the different technologies and opt out options.

The workshop was tightly run, with two armed guards posted at the entrance and many comments sent in, or questions posed were dismissed as being “beyond the scope” of the workshop.

The judge threatened to shut down the workshop when David Wilner challenged a utility vendor statement that the meters were only one watt. Later in the day the vendor announced that it is one watt with an antennae gain which effectively can double the radiated power.

  • SCE said they will now allow opt out and set up a delay list.
  • Silver Springs representative admitted that power line carrier (PLC) adds microwaves (RF) (aka dirty electricity) to the home’s wiring.
  • The truth about how Smart Meters transmit data finally has been publicly exposed and admitted by the utilities. Smart Meters “chatter” all day, all night long. PG&E said transmissions occur 6X a day, but the Silver Springs representative admitted the network needs to talk to itself to function well.
  • I pointed out according to an ITRON study the pulses could be as many as 2 per second, the rep did not consider that “constant” (as defined by the FCC). They time average the RF peak pulses, minimize the duty cycle (rather than 100%) and claim they only transmit for a minute or so a day. What do you think…is 2 pulses per second constant?
  • Jim Meadows who represented PG&E stated that if anyone was on the delay list and got a smart meter (SM) that PG&E would “make it right”.
  • Utilities stated that an analog cost $20 and a SM cost $100.
  • SM have a shelf life of 20 years according to ITRON and Silver Springs.
  • There was not a lot of support for fiber optics, telephone or wired meters.

The Judge said she will meet next with the “staff” (President Peevey and the energy division who are promoting SM) and we would be able to comment and reply comment to their decision. That likely means no evidentiary hearings, no cross examination, just a proposed decision followed by comments.

Survey results: wireless meters impact health and safety

The EMF Safety Network launched a survey in July to investigate the health and safety complaints of wireless utility meters and to determine if further study is warranted.  The survey results have been evaluated by Ed Halteman, phd statistics, of Survey Design and Analysis of Boulder Colorado.  The survey was circulated online through this website, email lists and other social media outlets.

443 people took the survey and 78% were from California, 68% were PG&E customers. 49% said they or a member of their household were EMF sensitive.

41% of respondents had one or more wireless meters installed on their home. 35% had increase billing charges, 26% experienced some type of interference and 8% experienced burnt out appliances or damaged electronics.

Top health issues since the wireless meters were installed on or near the home (318  people) included sleep problems (49%), stress (43%), headaches (40%), ringing in the ears (38%) and heart problems (26%).

Of 111 people who complained to their utility provider 96% were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with ho they handled their complaint and the same is true for complaints to the utilities commission, 96% dissatisfaction.

94% of respondents want to retain or restore the analog meters and 92% do not believe they should pay more to do so.

Statistical testing shows the top health symptoms are positively associated with EMF Sensitivity and wireless meters on the home.

See Final Narrative Here:Wireless Utility Meter Safety Impacts Survey Results-Final

Woman restores analog meter to protect husband

Susan Beckman, a children’s TV show producer who lives near Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, has removed a Smart Meter from her home and replaced it with an analog meter to protect her husband.  In response to this act Susan stated a PG&E representative has threatened  to “bring the police and turn off her power.”

Misled by PG&E into thinking she could refuse the new meter when the installers arrived, a Smart Meter was installed without her knowledge.  She started to hear a buzz  and a loud hum in the house and noticed feeling extremely fatigued with aching joints, a rash and feeling flu-like.  After some investigation she discovered the new meter on her house.  She was also very concerned about her husband.  She writes, “My 89 year old husband has had cancer removed and the smart meter installed a few feet from where he spends about 80% of his time in his den.”

Susan then called PG&E and spoke to several representatives with whom she said made “demeaning comments” and they refused to remove the meter.  Finally, she talked with one who was actually sympathetic who told her she could buy an analog meter and replace it, which she did, with her own hands, with guidance from an electrician.  She said she, “wore gloves, turned the main power off, clipped the lock, took the collar off and used a lot pressure to pull it off.” The electrician checked it out and verified it was done correctly.

She then sent registered letters, reviewed by her attorney to PG&E.  In an email to the California Public utilities Commission Susan writes that PG&E Smart Meter agent “Dennis Weidman, before losing his patience and hanging up on me, said tomorrow he will bring the police and turn off our electricity.”

To be continued…

9/23/2011 PG&E has not turned off her power and a local newspaper wrote up her story:

Local woman confronts PG&E over ‘smart meter’

How radiation emissions of cell phone, microwave compare to ‘Smart’Meter


Amy O’Hair measures the radiation emitted by a cell phone, a microwave oven and two ‘Smart’ Meters in use. The results? The radiation pulses from the meters were stronger than both the microwave and the cell phone.

Here’s what PG&E claimed:
In response to the EMF Safety Network request for safety hearings, PG&E stated,

” Exposure to radio frequency energy from SmartMeter™ technology isconsiderably less than the exposure from other radio devices in widespread use.”

PG&E then listed many sources including cell phones, cordless phones, microwave ovens as examples of other radio devices in widespread use. Following this list they claim,

“These devices often involve more frequent radio transmission, emit radio frequency energy for longer periods of time and operate in closer proximity to humans, than PG&E SmartMeter™ devices.”

You can turn off the cell phone, and choose whether or not to use a microwave oven, but the meter is on all the time. Even if you turn off the power to your home, the meter will still be on. Thanks again Amy for this illustration.

Crossing the line with wireless

Kimberly Grigg, a Victoria Canada resident, practices prudent avoidance of EMF and wireless devices.  The home phone is corded, the computer is wired for internet access, and they do not use a microwave oven.

In a recent BC local news article Kimberly expresses what many of us feel when told we must have a microwave transmitter installed on our home: It crosses the line.

“I think it’s an outrage … it’s an violation of my freedom. …We are already forced to live in an environment that is totally toxic and it’s bad enough without having it attached to your house. We’ve made choices here and I don’t want (BC Hydro) to take that away from us.”

Fridge blows after smart meter installed

Canadian News reports an 81 year old’s refrigerator failed minutes after a Smart Meter was installed.

According to the article, his fridge was working fine, until the electric surge burned it out when the meters were swapped.

The installation company denied  the blame.  They offered no apology, and no financial compensation.  Reports of similar problems can be read here.