SMUD sued for negligence, public nuisance, and unfair business practices over utility smart meters

Books:gavelA lawsuit against Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has been filed in Superior Court of California.  The plaintiff, John Echols, alleges three causes: negligence, public nuisance, and unfair business practices related to the forced installation of utility smart meters.

Mr. Echols refused to allow the smart meter on his residence and refused to join the opt out program due to SMUD’s discriminatory fees.  He declined having a smart meter because of the dangers of pulsed radiation that smart meters emit, and the health risks to his family.

SMUD charged Echols the opt-out fees despite his argument that he never opted out, and he never opted in.  SMUD eventually forced a smart meter onto his home, followed by cutting off his power completely, during a Sacramento heat wave last summer (2013). His power was eventually restored, but without a meter and his bills were estimated.

The situation continued with legal complaints made by Echols which went unresolved at SMUD.  In December Echols filed the law suit against SMUD.  The court filing can be found here: http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1114179096387-71/Echols+v+SMUD+Complaint.pdf

In 2012 SMUD board members mocked customers who did not want smart meters on their home, and laughed about how much they’d have to pay to opt-out. A SMUD director said, “The $166 upfront will convince them they can really afford a lot of tin foil hats” [laughter]…Another director says, “But they are already wearing them!” http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smud-smart-meter-shenanigans/

While the SMUD board was laughing all the way to the bank with federal stimulus funding for smart meters, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine called for a halt to wireless smart meters to protect public health. http://emfsafetynetwork.org/american-academy-of-environmental-medicine-calls-for-a-halt-to-wireless-smart-meters/

4 thoughts on “SMUD sued for negligence, public nuisance, and unfair business practices over utility smart meters”

  1. few months ago, our long history of electrical power existence was suddenly cutoff without notice / or for a very unreasonable reason…..
    the reason given…somebody called the mud requesting to terminate power at our residence .
    it was a torturing and agonizing experience when we contacted them that such termination was never requested.
    smud employee responded that by saying somebody called……and disregarded our statement that such request wa absolutely not made…
    it was so stressful that a run around treatment with no sensitivity was given to us…
    i was gasping for ir talking to them ..and being asthmatic ..and diabetic….that i need to use a nebulizer….and was basically down the floor of our home begging them…..to restore power..and reiterating we never asked for such termination. we have been a resident at this address for the last 30 years plus ..
    up to now ..no resolution or even an apology for the inconvenience was ever given….
    we were even asked to show uno at the office ..despite being so sick…
    i need to know where to file a formal complain. we have never forgotten what we went through and plan to pursue this….
    sadly, the person who m we communicated was even asking us what smud need to do so it won’t happen….
    i need to know the board member for the district where i lived.
    the experience we had has resulted into a trauma…
    i live in the pocket area. of sacramento…

  2. Your electrical problemd sound similar to other smart meter problems and you may be at risk for a fire. Contact Sacramento Smart Meter Awareness Eric Windheim 916-395-7336

  3. I had SMUD out to my home to check a low power line. The guy told me he couldn’t help because it was not “covered.” He then came back up to my door and said he was able to pull it up a little? After a 35 acre fire within feet from my property, I asked him to check that line again. When he came out this time I said show me exactly what is to code…how high? He said this 2 feet below code. I said why didn’t you tell me that last time? I had a water heater catch fire; washer machine only 5 years old go out; brand new tv from costco go out; well electrical starter go out which was less than a year old? He cut the wire and this time asked me to turn off my power. He didn’t when he came out and “pulled the wire.” I asked them over 2 weeks ago to install a monitoring device and they still have no date of when that can be done. In the mean time, I am holding my breath and thinking to myself…I need an attorney or someone to help me.

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