PG&E now has on it’s website a description of a new type of smart meter that transmits up to 2 watts of radio frequency radiation. They call it a “meter connector.” Years ago activists warned there was a meter like this, some called it a “mother” or a “medusa” meter”, but PG&E didn’t admit to it. In June 2011 PG&E wrote “PG&E’s network design does not use a ‘mother’ meter concept; relay devices and access point collectors are pole-top devices.”
In November 2011, when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) judge asked for technical details about smart meters, there was no mention of a smart meter that transmitted up to 2 watts. PG&E only reported using 1 watt meters. The table below is the technical description of the smart meters PG&E reported to the CPUC judge.
When did PG&E start using 2 watt meters on people’s homes? How would someone know if they had one? Do they look different?
This is from PG&E’s website: “If a standard SmartMeter™ is unable to connect to PG&E’s dedicated radio frequency (RF), a Meter-Connector is installed to act as both a SmartMeter™ and a cellular electric network access point (so it can collect information from neighboring non-communicating meters)… The Meter-Connector either transmits 1.25 watts or 2 watts depending on the speed of the cellular network in your area, compared to a standard SmartMeter that transmits 1 watt.”
FYI: This might not be a 3 watt transmitter, but 3W may stand for 3 wire.
The Silver Springs GE Itron meters in rural Oklahoma have 3 Watt transmitters. It says 3W right on the face of it.