PG&E and Sebastopol threatening to deploy smart meters SOON!

 

 Smart meters are costing us money, privacy and our health and safety!

When? End of September 2022

Sebastopol banned smart meters in 2013 for “matters of public health, safety and consumer protection…” They included a $500 fine for installation! The city has repeatedly defended against PG&E’s attempts to further deploy smart meters here. In 2019 the city cited the smart meter ban in defense of Fircrest Senior Mobile Homes. PG&E complied and installed all analog meters.

Many people in Sebastopol are receiving letters from PG&E stating they will put a smart meter on your home unless you pay PG&E to opt out. 

Residents in several low income, senior and multi-unit high density housing complexes are organizing against the smart meters. Years ago, both Fircrest and Burbank Homes and Gardens had submitted signed petitions with several hundred signatures from the majority of residents at both communities saying they don’t want the meters.

Why is PG&E threatening NOW? Maybe it’s because Sebastopol plans to install smart water meters in September!  Last year the Sebastopol city council ignored their own laws and General Plan goals and purchased smart water meters. EMF Safety Network proposed a solution. The council has not compromised, even though the company that sold the water meters DENIED the claim that the meters saved water, energy and green house gas emissions. 

We need Sebastopol to save the legacy analog meters and to defend, uphold and renew the smart meter ban to protect public health and safety. 

PG&E smart meters and smart water meters emit pulsed EMF (electromagnetic fields) radiation. Peer-reviewed studies show health impacts of smart meters include sleep problems, headaches, nausea, anxiety, heart palpitations, tinnitus, concentration and memory problems, dizziness, immune and nervous system problems, and more. The World Health Organization classifies EMF radiation as a possible carcinogen, same as DDT and lead.  Vulnerable groups include people with compromised immune systems, environmental sensitivities, medical implants, children, seniors and nature!

Symptoms After Exposure to Smart Meters Ron Powell PhD

Letter from Dr. David Carpenter on smart water meters.

“It is time to recognize ambient EMF as a novel form of pollution and develop rules at regulatory agencies that designate air as ‘habitat’ so EMF can be regulated like other pollutants.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34047144/

Other expert quotes: https://emfscientist.org/index.php/science-policy/expert-emf-scientist-quotations

The following is a compilation of reports from the US , Australia and Canada about fires, explosions, electrical problems or burned out appliances due to Smart Meter installations.  For a summary of the problems, read this: http://emfsafetynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Summary-of-Evidence-on-Smart-Meter-Fires.pdf

Presentation at California Conference of Arson Investigators in 2020. https://www.ourweb.tech/CCAI-presentation.pdf

Direct testimony of Norman Lambe http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/Common/ViewDoc.aspx?DocRefId=%7B7B8506E8-4FCB-41C1-952E-5DCF899951A5%7D

According to PG&E, 40% of Sebastopol currently has smart meters. PGE says they will advise residents that they can opt out by paying additional fees. We believe the fees are “coercion by exaction” a form of extortion. $75 initial fee and $10 a month for 3 years. Low income $10 initial fee and $5 a month for 3 years. Opting out doesn’t protect people, especially multi-unit communities.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Contact the City of Sebastopol and ask them to save the analog meters and to defend, uphold and renew the smart meter ban to protect public health and safety. 

Call 707-823-1153 Email: citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.org

Post this do not consent sign on your gas and electric meters.

Circulate this current flyer. PG&E Smart Utility Meters flyer 

What about the claims that smart meters are completely safe? 

“How To Geek” perpetuates a common myth and false narrative in this article, No, Smart Meters Aren’t Dangerous to Your Health”.  He writes, ” Smart meters, like any other device that emits radio frequency radiation, do not pose any risk to your health.” He claims, ” RF radiation is harmless.” He provides no research, and lacks credibility. Even CPUC President Michael Peevey recognized people suffered from smart meter exposure. He wrote:

“There really are people who feel pain related to EMF” CPUC President Peevey

Dr. Ronald Powell: “Smart Meters are a community concern”

Smart Meters

 

 

Sebastopol: Rethink smart water meters

Years of support for reducing EMF’s in Sebastopol evaporated in October 2021, when the city council unanimously approved smart water meters.

Update: We hired attorney Ariel Strauss and he presented the city attorney with a compromise to only install the digital readers without antennas. The council rejected the compromise claiming the meters were a public good because of the drought. The council later approved a FREE opt out for anyone who doesn’t want the smart water meter. The meters are planned to be deployed in January 2023. 

Beware of Climate Washed Smart Water Meters!

Why did Sebastopol, who banned smart meters in 2013, do this?  Syserco, a registered contractor for PG&E, sold the 2.2 million dollar project to Sebastopol as a water and energy savings initiative. Council members promoted the meters as a climate action solution. When asked to provide clarifying information on the purported savings, Syserco wrote:

“…there has never been a claim that the new meters “save energy, save water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

The real reason for the new meters according to Syserco is money.  However, Syserco did claim the meters would save water and were energy efficient, and the staff report called the meters a “green initiative”. This is climate-washing, the use of deceptive marketing spin. 

By approving the smart water meters the city failed to comply with: 

  • Sebastopol’s 2013 Ordinance 1057  that banned smart meters for “matters of public health, safety and consumer protection…”. This ban was referenced in a letter to PG&E signed by Mayor Neysa Hinton in 2019.
  • Sebastopol’s 2016 General Plan Community Health and Wellness Goals call for minimizing EMF’s and community wide opt out of public utility smart meters.
  • 2019 Telecommunications Ordinance 1123 which requires a conditional use permit for utility antennas, including:  notice and  public meeting to vet the cost and technical specifications prior to a planning commission review.
  • California Environmental Quality Act as referenced in the General plan and Telecommunication Ordinance 1123.
  • Sebastopol’s Zero Waste Sonoma Purchasing Policy which calls for purchasing products that minimize environmental impacts, toxins, pollution and hazards to worker and community safety, as well as to purchase durable and long lasting products. (The meter batteries are non-replaceable. The entire unit will need to be replaced if/when the battery fails.)
  • CA Government Code 4217.12 (a) “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a public agency may enter into an energy service contract and any necessarily related facility ground lease on terms that its governing body determines are in the best interests of the public agency if the determination is made at a regularly scheduled public hearing, public notice of which is given at least two weeks in advance, and if the governing body finds:…”  (Two weeks notice was not provided to the public.)

 Community health effects of increasing EMF radiation

Smart water meters will harm the EMF aware and injured community. They will harm our quality of life, disturb our sense of safety and peace and create a nuisance throughout our city.  You can’t opt out of a “smart city”.

Adding 3002 smart water meters will increase EMF radiation in our community. Peer reviewed published studies find EMF radiation threatens nature and causes a wide range of health impacts: “Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans.” https://www.emfscientist.org/

Dr. David Carpenter, a Harvard trained physician and director of the Institute for Health and the Environment wrote a letter opposing smart water meters and said:

“Governments should be reducing RFR exposures, not increasing them.”

He warns that the greatest risk from exposure to radiation (RFR) is cancer, and there’s growing evidence for brain and reproductive impacts. He writes, “Some people develop a condition called electro-hypersensitivity (EHS). These individuals respond to being in the presence of RFR with a variety of symptoms, including headache, fatigue, memory loss, ringing in the ears…” among many symptoms. He further warns, “exposure to smart meters is a trigger for development of EHS.” 

“It is time to recognize ambient EMF as a novel form of pollution and develop rules at regulato- ry agencies that designate air as ‘habitat’ so EMF can be regulated like other pollutants.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34047144/

More background information!

The public process on the smart water meters decision was limited, deficient and confusing. Technical details about how the water meters worked were sparse and the issue was hidden under energy efficiency. Staff purchased the software before the meters were approved, and they ordered the meters before the financing was approved. They approved a 5 million dollar project in one late night meeting!

In February of 2021 the Sebastopol Public Works director said they were testing 56 new digital water meters. He said they would be manually read and that they did not have a radio transmitter. A few months later the city started a survey asking if the community wanted “cellular” water meters.  What if they had asked, “do you want a smart water meter?” or, “do you want a city wide radar installation for water meters?” There were 329 responses to their water meter survey. 54.7% of respondents approved, 31% opposed, and 14.3% were undecided. Nearly half were opposed or undecided! The survey is an unreliable source of community input, because people were not given any details about the cost or how the meters work. Anyone could have taken the survey including the company who will profit from the sale.

  • Smart water meters are two way radios that collect granular data about customers water use.
  • Smart water meters use sound waves, batteries and transmit EMF radiation.
  • Santa Fe is using Badger meters and they say their system will use 4G and 5G frequencies.
  • Scientists are warning against 5G:  http://www.5gappeal.eu
  • Sebastopol is borrowing over 5 million dollars to pay for improvements to city infrastructure. Included in that cost is over 2 million dollars for smart water meters. In order to pay back the money it was proposed that the city raise water rates by 4% a year for 15 years. See Sebastopol city council video to see their financial plan starting at 2:42:00
  • For the past fourteen years the Sebastopol City Councils have been given many independent peer reviewed studies on the risks and harm from EMF radiation smart technologies to people and nature.
  • Sebastopol has taken action by writing letters to officials, banning smart meters, defending senior residents at the mobile home park from PG&E smart meters, and getting lower kelvin LED streetlights.
Sebastopol’s 2016 General Plan Community Health and Wellness Goals calls for minimizing EMF’s, including:
  • Minimize unsafe EMF radiation levels near sensitive areas such as schools, hospitals, playgrounds, high density residential, and libraries when planning for electrical transmission facilities repair and new construction.
  • Promote community education and awareness on EMF health information and stay abreast of current research and regulations.
  • Explore programs and legal remedies available to the City in order to reduce unsafe EMF exposure to the greatest extent allowed by State and federal law.
  • Advocate that all new major electrical transmission projects and telecommunications facilities evaluate EMF as part of the project’s environmental review pursuant to CEQA.
  • Request from PG&E and wireless telecommunications facilities providers, public disclosure of existing and proposed electrical transmission and wireless telecommunications facilities projects in the vicinity of Sebastopol and their anticipated EMF levels in the Sebastopol Planning Area.
  • Maintain data regarding the location, size, strength, and EMF levels of major cell and radio towers, public power facilities, including transmission and distribution lines, and other substantial public or community EMF sources in the Sebastopol Planning Area, to the extent that data and information is available.
  • Support efforts to approach and encourage the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to allow the City to opt out of public utility wireless data transmission systems (such as smart meters).

On Dec 21, 2021 the Sebastopol city council approved the financing for smart water meters, which were already ordered! The vote was 3-2. Sarah Gurney and Una Glass opposed.  Diana Rich, Mayor Patrick Slayter and Vice Mayor Neysa Hinton approved. At this meeting the Superintendent of the Water Department dismissed evidence presented by a council member that the smart water meters transmitted a signal every 4 seconds as a “typo” and he evaded the Mayor’s question about the meter’s use of 5G technology. Meeting video here (starts at 4:55:02)

Timeline

The following is a timeline of information found in 933+ pages of emails on the smart water process:

  • Oct. 2018:  Syserco stated the water meters could be drive-by or AMI and that AMI meters transmitted every 4 seconds at 1 watt of power and additional repeaters and collectors would need to be installed.
  • Oct. 2020: water meters could be drive-by or touch stick.
  • Jan. 2021: the options for RF transmissions were none, touch, drive-by or remote.
  • Feb 22, 2021 EMF Safety Network director emailed the city with questions about the 56 water meters being tested.  The Public Works Director wrote to Syserco and Badger meter asking for a “standard reply” to our inquiry. At that time we were told the meters were digital, but there were no RF emissions from the water meters.
  • Feb 24, 2021 city staff suggested a survey and wrote that customers support radio read meters and sent some “useful information” about EMF concerns that included a page on EMF protections products and smart meter papers from CCST, EPRI, UTC, FDA, (ie government assurances that smart meters are safe.)
  • Feb 25, 2021 the city manager advised the Public Works Director to say the city has no plans for wireless water meters.
  • Feb 25, 2021 the Public Works Director supports a survey to gather a representative tally of residents desires, and not just the opinion “of a few anti-EMF voices that frequent city council meetings”.
  • Feb 25, 2021 the Public Works Director writes the water meters transmit “a minimal ping of information every 15 minutes”.
  • May 2021 the Public Works Director wants to poll the council on using radio read [wireless] meters.
  • June 14, 2021 the Public Works Director repeats the water meters transmit “a minimal ping of information every 15 minutes”.
  • July 6, 2021 at a late night city council meeting the idea of a one question survey is discussed but approved by the council and they are told the water meters transmit a “small ping 4 times a day. “
  • Oct.19, 2021 the Sebastopol City Council approved a $5 million dollar “energy efficiency” project, which included 3002 smart water meter antennas in the sidewalks. 5-0 vote.
  • Dec.9, 2021 Sebastopol signed a contract with Syserco
  • Dec. 16, 2021 City staff places a purchase order with Syserco for the water meters
  • Dec. 21, 2021 Council approved the financing in a 3-2 vote.
  • Dec. 23, 2021 EMFSN filed a PRA with Sebastopol on how the technology worked and  sent this APPEAL to the city. We were told we cannot appeal, instead our only legal recourse is to sue.
  • Jan. 2021 Hired Mitch Maifeld, RF engineer to review and explain the RF emissions from water meters.
  • Feb. 7, 2022 Syserco denied the water, energy and greenhouse gas savings claims for smart water meters
  • Feb.15, 2022 Council discussed a pay to opt out of water meters and this issue will return to council for final approval. EMFSN comments sent to the city council asking for an OPT-IN:  smart meter opt-in.
  • Feb. 17, 2022 EMFSN filed second PRA with Sebastopol
  • May 6, 2022 EMFSN hires attorney Ariel Strauss of Greenfire Lawfirm in Berkeley CA.
  • July 2022 EMFSN proposed a compromise of installing only the digital readers without the antennas. We were told the Council was split and that their reason for rejecting our compromise is that at a time of continuing drought the greater public good is best served by allowing use of the monitoring functions of the new meters.
  • September 2022: The city Council approves a FREE opt out of the smart water meters.

How the Orion Badger Smart Water Meters work

An RF engineer, Mitch Maifeld, reviewed the RF information from Badger Meters and the FCC. This is what we understand to be true about how the meters work..

Sebastopol ordered 3002 Badger Orion E series water meter “endpoints”. An endpoint houses one antenna.The 56 test meters Sebastopol trialed last year did not include endpoints. 3002 Badger water meters collectively transmit approximately 12,000 times a day unless they are in activation or troubleshooting mode when each meter can transmit every 15 seconds. They transmit in the 902-928mHz range. This is the same frequency range the Navy used for radar. The meters transmit pulsed radiation and use a frequency hopping system. The meters can emit spurious emissions in the 30 mhz-40 ghz range. These are created by harmonics and reflections within the action of the meter. The meters work with infrared signals. The maximum power output per meter is 1/4 watt which would add 750 watts throughout the city. The antennas are isotropic, meaning they radiate out in all directions. Water absorbs radiation. One meter can transmit about 1/2 mile, depending on factors like how tall the cell tower is, interference in the area, buildings and trees etc. They work with the internet of things cellular network and are smart city ready. No new repeaters are used.  The RF engineers report for the Badger smart water meters can be found here.  Here’s a comparison chart for water, electric and gas smart meters.

 

 

City of Sebastopol defends senior residents against PG&E smart meters

Half of the gardens in front of mobile park homes have been removed for new electrical work.

A majority of residents from Fircrest Mobile Home Park in Sebastopol signed a petition asking the City of Sebastopol to help them avoid the installation of “smart meters” and to retain analog meters in their senior community. PG&E has been working in the mobile home park since July replacing utility lines in order to switch all homes from sub-metered analogs to smart meters.

In support of the residents’ petition, the City of Sebastopol sent a letter to the mobile home park management with a copy to PG&E, with a reminder that in 2013 the City of Sebastopol adopted a temporary moratorium on smart meter installations and related equipment.

The letter stated that the park’s initiation of the electrical work has resulted in residents facing the need to meet an unanticipated fee in order to “opt out” of smart meter installations that they did not request. They ask, “The Sebastopol City Council asks your cooperation in either paying the opt fee for the residents of the park, and/or your request of PG&E that they retain the analog meters.” 

The letter pointed out that Fircrest Park’s residents can be considered “Captive” in the mobile home park by reason of their dual status as both home owners and tenants which the City maintains is both unfair and possibly a violation of the protections of the California Mobile Home Residency Law.

81 residents of Fircrest Mobile Home Park have signed the petition (from 68 out of 87 total households) to oppose smart meters. Many believe smart meters would negatively affect the aesthetics and significantly decrease the value of their home. As park residents learned more about how smart meters emit pulsed microwave radiation 24/7 very near to their bedrooms and living quarters, they have expressed a growing concern about the negative health and safety impacts of these devices.  The fact that Fircrest Mobile Home Park is a high density senior residence adds to the concern about the cumulative effect of so many microwave emitting devices in such a small area.

Peer-reviewed scientific research shows that exposure to wireless smart meters is associated with increased health problems. Dr. Martin Pall reports, “18 more recent epidemiological studies, provide substantial evidence that microwave EMFs from cell/mobile phone base stations, excessive cell/mobile phone usage and from wireless smart meters can each produce similar patterns of neuropsychiatric effects, with several of these studies showing clear dose-response relationships…Among the more commonly reported changes are sleep disturbance/insomnia, headache, depression/depressive symptoms, fatigue/tiredness, dysesthesia, concentration/attention dysfunction, memory changes, dizziness, irritability, loss of appetite/body weight, restlessness/anxiety, nausea, skin burning/tingling/dermographism and EEG changes.” See also this smart meter study. 

Media and numerous customer complaints reported electrical costs skyrocketed after smart meter installation.  Smart meter malfunction has also been implicated in smart meter fires and burned out appliances.

Sebastopol’s General Plan includes protective electromagnetic field (EMF) policies; for example Community Health and Wellness Policy 4-2: “minimize unsafe EMF radiation levels near sensitive areas such as schools, hospitals, playgrounds, high density residential, and libraries when planning for electrical transmission facilities repair and new construction.” (page 10-6 in the General Plan.)

11/27/2019 UPDATE:  Gas analog meters have been installed and electric analog meters are currently being installed. Thank you PG&E!

Nerve disrupting frequencies radiating from “smart” meters

Warren Woodward:  Everyone knows that wireless “smart” meters communicate via microwaves. What was unknown until now is that additional frequencies are transmitted in the 2 to 50 kilohertz range. Numerous studies have shown repeatedly that those very same frequencies disrupt the human nervous system. Indeed, “nerve block” is the phrase used in the studies to describe what occurs.

The studies are not controversial. In others words, there are no studies that show otherwise. Nerve block induced by frequencies in the 2 to 50 kilohertz range is an established fact. The studies that show this nerve block are all from reputable sources including the epitome of “establishment” science when it comes to electricity, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

So the demonstration you will see in the video is groundbreaking, or more accurately, “smart” meter breaking.

Unless they cease, desist, and bring down the wireless “smart” grid at once, “smart” meter manufacturers and the utilities that use them are going to be facing massive liability and personal injury lawsuits because, unlike the microwave radiation that anti-“smart” meter advocates have been calling attention to for years, there is no scientific dispute regarding the biological effects of 2 to 50 kilohertz frequencies.

Additionally, state utility regulators and public health departments will need to actually do their jobs which always used to include protecting the public and promoting public health and safety.

Lastly, the U.S. Department of Energy will have to bring an immediate halt to the promotion and subsidization of the wireless “smart” grid.

Every day of delay will bring greater liability for the aforementioned corporations and agencies and the individuals involved. It’s one thing to act in ignorance, quite another not to act once knowledge is received.

To everyone reading, send this video to your utilities, your state utility regulators, your state health departments, and to hungry lawyers everywhere. Links to studies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NTSejgsjTcnerve-block-frequenciesrev1

 

 

Smart meter health problems compared

SMARTeffects-v2-100Thanks to Ronald Powell Ph,D for placing two reviews of smart meter health impacts side by side.  He compares the EMF Safety Network Survey results (USA 2011 ) to an Australian peer reviewed study by Dr. Frederica Lamech (AUS 2014).  The results are astoundingly similar, especially when you account for the different methods for gathering the raw data. Network’s survey was distributed online with boxes of symptoms to check off, and Dr. Lamech’s study tallied written responses.

Symptoms after Exposure to Smart Meter Radiation

Structure Report: Smart meter conflict of interest and cover up

www.briannarelle.com

Emails between utility giant PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) expose conflict of interest and cover up of skyrocketing smart meter bills.  The consultant the CPUC hired in 2010 to investigate the complaints, Structure, had worked for PG&E for the previous five years, and was not “independent” (as claimed in CPUC and PG&E’s misrepresentations).  CPUC President Peevey knew the results of Structure’s investigation long before it was complete, and shared that information with PG&E.  CPUC’s Peevey was aware smart meters were overcharging through personal experience.

The coordinated propaganda campaign between the CPUC, PG&E and marketing firms that resulted in the smart meter deployment couldn’t tolerate news such as the fact that 500,000 smart meters were at risk for overcharging in hot weather.  Peevey’s own bill doubled when a smart meter was installed on his vacation home, causing  him to joke about making The Sea Ranch a smart meter free zone.

The CPUC and PG&E used the Structure report to cover up smart meter problems, and to defend the deployment at the customers’ expense.  These emails suggest that returning to the tried and true analog meters is a viable remedy to avoid future skyrocketing utility costs, and that observant meter readers are a cost-effective way to ensure public and environmental safety.

READ MORE:  http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/structure-report-smart-meter-conflict-of-interest-and-cover-up/