The Australian Energy Regulator has published the submissions it received on the proposed manual meter reading fee to come into effect in April 2015. As well as the submissions from the five power distributors on what they would like to be allowed to charge customers who have refused a smart meter, there are 13 submissions from individuals/groups and one submission from Energy minister, Russell Northe.
The submissions from individuals and groups are spirited and well thought through. Minister Northe’s submission is confusing at times, as he commences with scathing criticism of cost blow-outs by some of the distributors and then, on page 14, voices concern that AusNet Services is not proposing to charge customers for a manual meter read. Minister Northe urges power distributors that “it is important that customers are suitably incentivised to accept the installation of a smart meter”. (Take away the positive spin and you’ve got, “it is important that customers are suitably penalised for refusing the installation of a smart meter”.)
AER will make a decision on the proposed manual meter reading charges by 31 October, 2014.
To read the submissions from all parties click on any of the distributors listed below and then click on ‘Proposal’ near the bottom of the new screen.
Stop Smart Meters Australia 
Look, these bullying, bloody-minded power companies need to get back under their rocks, stop trying to make us all pay for their mistakes and bad judgement.
We are already paying enough for the uninstalled meters….. End of Story.
They need to accept defeat graciously and with honor. They tried their best but it just was not good enough.
If this is the Australian Energy Regulator who allows these compulsory fees for a non compulsory smartmeter to go ahead, would that be for all Australia and not just Victoria? And also I guess, covers gas and water meters too. Genocidal maniacs!!!
Gwen, Victoria is the test case. If this can be stopped here, they won’t be able to get them in anywhere else.
If we are to pay extra for a meter reader having to come and read our meters I truly hope that we only get charged for the times that they do actually read the meter because the majority of the time they won’t come onto my property and I have to ring the reading into then, maybe I should be getting paid for the job they wish to charge us for.
You can ask them to pay your money back Neil as is is their job and they are not doing it. Find out who reads your meter. It is probably a contractor and send them a polite letter stating that every-time they don’t read your meter, they have to pay you. Work out how much money you want to charge, maybe four times the amount they charge.
They tried this on us but I found out what they were doing and nipped it in the bud.. They are now very polite and more than willing to read our meter. They just need to know who is boss and that you won’t put up with this.
Thankyou Minnie apparently United Energy organise the readings but they have there own game plan between themselves and AGL in this case ,you ring to complain about anything and say AGL passes the blame onto United then you ring United and they just state its AGL’s responsibility anyway I’ve gone over to Momentum and warned them of all trouble they may have entering my property and seem to be understanding at the moment but that may change we’ll see.
Neil i am with AGL as well, They got a very stern warning from me in an email. Here is what i told them I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH AGL UP UNTIL THE JUNE BILL ARRIVED AND I HOPE I WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS. SO WE DON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE, I HAVE NOTIFIED ### OF MY WILL IN REGARDS TO SMART METERS. I HOPE YOU WILL RESPECT MY WISHES, BUT JUST IN CASE YOU DON’T I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT ANY MENTION OF A SMART METER BEING INSTALLED ON MY PRIVATE PROPERTY BY ### WILL BE TAKEN AS COERCION.
COMMONWEALTH LAW HAS A PROVISION IN THE ” COMPETITION CONSUMER ACT 2010″ TO PREVENT HARASSMENT AND COERCION BY ANY CORPORATION TO ANY “PERSON” TO TAKE OF THAT CORPORATION GOODS OR SERVICES AND ANY BREACH OF THE ACT CAN ATTRACT A MILLION DOLLAR PLUS FINE FOR A CORPORATION AND FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL UP TO $200,000.
I will give you the email address Neil so you can also send a loud and clear message to these people. This behaviour will not be tolerated.
customer.service@agl.com.au
Neil you are better off sending an email to your electricity retailer and circulate it to Russel Northe’s office and Premier Napthine’s office at the same time. As soon as they open the email they will see that it has also been sent to Northe’s and Napthine’s office as well.
Lowlife United Energy vans are still prowling the neighbourhoods with one trying to get into my locked property today. Keep your defenses up people.
Would you be able to give me the link to then AER submissions re the manual meter reading charges .
Thank you
Dawn
If Arpansa or Minister Northe or the five distributors want to rebut Dr Esmekaya’s findings on the thyroid being damaged from RF radiation they are going to have to conduct exactly the same test and repeat it, otherwise this stands as the truth. It is based on fact they can’t rebut it, even with the scientific evidence they claim to have.
Eşmekaya MA, Seyhan N, Omeroğlu S. Pulse modulated 900 MHz radiation induces hypothyroidism and apoptosis in thyroid cells: A light, electron microscopy an
immunohistochemical study.
I wrote to Dr Esmekaya and asked him,
I am writing in regards to the study on Thyroid Hormone inhibited by RF Radiation (900 MHZ). Can you please tell me how this study relates to people?
THE REPLY WAS,
We can see similar effects on human thyroids. We both observed apoptosis (programmed cell death) and hypothyroidism in our study. You can have a look at our thyroid study attached to this mail. You will also see references of thyroid other studies.
Furthermore the Thyroid Foundation in Australia advised me in an email that,
Australian research states, thyroid cancer is increasing in younger Australians.
There is also an Israeli study which states,
Israeli scientists have reported preliminary findings of a possible link between the radiation from cellphones and thyroid cancer. There has been a steep rise in rates of thyroid cancer in recent years in Western countries.
Dr Esmekaya has stated that he has seen similar effects in humans. The thyroid is disrupted and eventually will stop working making you very sick. This test applies to all of us as we all have thyroids unless you have had it taken out in which case the radiation will probably affect some other part of your body. If your thyroid is left untreated for a long period of time it can damage the heart.
Doing untold damage to people – how has this been allowed to happen?? What kind of government condones it where you have NO CHOICE in your own health and wellbeing? Inadequate standards and zero protection here in Australia…..not so lucky afterall, are we?
We are lucky we have a voice and we will use it. How do these things happen? The same way other human atrocities happen. Human atrocities don’t last forever. They will eventually fail. Unfortunately the damage inflicted will be irreversible.
I stand by my statement – NOT SO LUCKY 😦
I say this because I believe ‘the lucky country’ is a farce created to make us think we are lucky, when in fact we have been brainwashed for decades by fools parading as government.
I understand what you are saying, we have been deceived into thinking we live in the lucky country, when in fact we might not be any better off then people in developing countries. We might have been brainwashed in the past, but now some of us have woken from our slumber.
The Lucky Country is an illusion.
Minnie and Access Denied, you are both so right, we all need to wake up from our slumbers. Slowly and one-by-one our freedoms are being taken away and minorities are getting their way. I used to think we lived in a democracy where the majority had its way. No more!
Society in general, businesses and government are all heavily under the influence of the UN’s Agenda 21 in the guise of sustainability, of which smart meters are a small part.
Minorities rule, political correctness is now insane, governments won’t listen or ignore their people, big business doesn’t care. Please people, read about it, be aware of its implications and stand up against it. Make a small donation to and vote PPV in November. It doesn’t matter whether you are Labor or Liberal, as these parties need to be jolted into realising that the Victorian people will no longer put up with their shenanigans.
Some people don’t want to wake up. One of my neighbors told me that she thought smart meters were a good idea. Mind you she has moved her daughter to another bedroom well away from the smart meter. When I explained that smart meters were part of a bigger agenda, she told me that the population had to be controlled.
I in turn told her that she could start with her family to reduce the population.
The argument ended when I told her to do some research and then come back and start an argument. Her reply was “I am lazy and just can’t be bothered” This is quite common. People are lazy. They want everyone to do everything for them. Then they complain. This neighbour of mine has complained many times that she is tired. Her daughter also does not feel well.
Parents with young children would surely be alarmed if they knew facts about smart meters. It is time now to give them the facts. I can’t imagine any parent not being disturbed by the health risks. No one wants their children to suffer, even if they are lazy.
You’re right Minnie – why have children at all, if you care so little for their wellbeing? People such as your neighbour need to get a reality check and realise that we are not a herd of cattle to be controlled by elitist bureaucrats with not much common sense. It’s that kind of person (your neighbour) who allows these parasites to THINK they are far superior than the rest of society, and then go around enforcing dumb ideas such as smart meters. I don’t like the sound of her. Not too smart, is she?
sdjim, my neighbour knows that smart meters are dangerous she is in denial. I had already warned her about the dangers and she did nothing about it. To be fair she was not home at the time, her adult daughter was. Her daughter was to scared to go outside and confront the smart meter installer. Her daughter hid in the bedroom and called her mother to ask what she should do. Her mother told her to call me but she did not have my phone number at the time and would of had to walk up the street past the installer and she was to scared to do this.
My neighbour starts arguments more out of fear i have measured the radiation levels in her home. She looked a bit worried. My neighbour complains of headaches and trouble sleeping all the time. She actually told me last week that the radiation levels can’t be that bad in her home because she is sleeping better, but then the other day she told me she keeps on waking up and has trouble sleeping. Two different stories.
I think she would love to have the smart meter removed but how this is going to happen i don’t know. She could start by asking them to remove it, but as she has stated she is lazy.
On the plus side she does claim to care about the environment. She got arrested last summer because she would not let a tree be cut down. They did eventually chop this tree down, it was a big dangerous tree and they had to do it.. I can tell you the police were not to happy with her, as it was over 40 degrees that day and they were their for hours in the heat. The judge was not to happy with her either and fined her.
I hear you Minnie, seems we both have strange neighbours! I do feel sorry for that young girl though, and understand how intimidated she would have felt. You’ve got to admire people who take a stand on environmental issues, most wouldn’t give two hoots as long as there was money to be made or something in it for them. Sounds like she has some respect for your opinion though and may secretly wish she had not had the ‘dumb’ meter installed, but has given up as it seems too hard.
Totally agree. Worse now because we are almost owned by overseas investors and manufacturing almost gone. Ed Gannon, Editor for Weekly Times, told ABC that Victorian dairy producers about to sell to China. Put that in your cup of tea and drink it. I dare you.
We are not the Lucky Country or Team Australia. We’ve been sold to the highest bidder.
Andrew Robb is set to announce the signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership. If you thought we are in a nightmare now, just wait. I don’t expect this to be posted but I had to say it. We are up the proverbial creek, with a totalitarian Captain at the helm.
We are already paying for Smart Meters even if we dont have one.
For ever they have done manual meter readings since power was first installed so why start charging after so many years?
If they want to charge us then give us back what we have paid for the smart meters we dont own, AND, dont add any smart meter expenses into our accounts as why should we keep paying for something we dont even own?
That is correct, Rik. This whole ‘system’ is flawed!
We got solar because of the price of the power, which was sinking us financially.
If they try to do it with charges, we will not hesitate to go off the grid.
As it is, they put two RF emitters out front of our house, just to make sure we get our fair share.
I dont have a smart meter on my unit but I have 3 smart meters right next to me. Their meterbox is right next to the fence and thats where my EHS comes from.
I live in an area with mainly 3 units per block so we have 3x the smart meters in this area. Most meters are at the front of the block so all 3 are at the street so anyone with EHS would hate to even drive down my street.
I can tell when the smart meters are reading as my wireless internet drops out. I never had any wifi problems till the smart meters were installed. I’ve tried 5 wireless routers all different brands and speeds, G/N/AC and all do the exact same thing. Its only been since the installation of smart meters so they aren’t just a burden on our health they are a burden on the whole area and all systems completely. I have to reset my router multiple times a day just so my iPad can connect to it. The whole wireless system gets all screwed up.
I usually dont vote as they are all lying ba**ards but this year I will happily vote for whoever will remove these bloody devices.
Mr Northe mentioned subsidizing for manual meter reading. This is not true as we already pay for our meters to be read. Households that don’t have air conditioners subsidize those that do. But that seems to be fair apparently.Similarly, households without solar panels are subsidising those with them.
SO THIS IS DISCRIMINATION AS THE GOVERNMENT IS MORE THAN HAPPY IF I SUBSIDIZE OTHER PEOPLE.
Addressing this to Mr Northe ,you the Government are suppose to do your best for the public not the distributors who are mostly foreign owned .
Re reading costs and penalizing those not wanting a S.meter I will be demanding back the $1000 plus I have paid for this by the end of 2015 with Jemena , I will also not be paying ongoing costs for the meters and re reading meters They really only have to do one a year the rest they can average on previous bills for the other 3 bills Jemena has already done this with me in the pass when meter could not be read any one still using the old meters can also submit readings with the retailers online which is quick simple to do I have submitted readings already with my retailer Lumo in the pass ,you have to start a online account with your retailer first which takes only a few minutes
This has been one big sham from the start the added Rf effects on health the cost and on going costs and the true who really benefits from them the 5 Distributors Regards KJ
So Russel want’s the Distributors to motivate us to accept a smart device. How exactly can you motivate someone to accept a possible cancer causing device? Perhaps Russel can elaborate on what sort of motivation he is referring to.
Last night an election add came on the television, the add brought up smart meters and the desalination plant as labor’s mess. Labor is not in power it is the Liberals that continued the smart meter mess. I was perplexed as to why smart meters were even mentioned. The only reason i can think of is the costs for the possible cancer causing devices are going to sky rocket so they are looking for someone to blame until the election is over.
Smart meters have become a taboo subject no one wants to talk about them or even answer questions about them. No one wants to be held responsible for them.
Dear Russell, thanks for the attempt to ‘suitably incentivise’ us. In turn, we the people of Victoria would like to ‘incentivise’ you and the other incompetents in both the labor and Liberal parties. We intend to do this at next month’s election.
Russ, you probably think that the forthcoming election will be won outright by either party, but look at the last federal election when Clive Palmer got in and now controls the senate. This is what will happen at a state level when PPV gain enough seats to have you (or Labor) forced to do what the people of Victoria want.
PPV is made up of staunch Liberal and Labor voters, who would normally support their parties through thick and thin, but not this time because we are now very well informed as to the dangers and sinister side of smart meter technology.
Russ, if you don’t know about these dangers, you shouldn’t be in a position in which the people of Victoria (your real bosses) have entrusted you with their safety and wellbeing. If you do know about them you are being irresponsible and are pandering to your perceived bosses, the power companies.
Tell me something Russ, who has been paying for meter readers past and present? The answer is we have though our continuing standing charges, now you want to approve even more ripoffs along with a regular charge for not having a smart meter. That is double-dipping my friend.
Lastly Russ, you would do well to remember the James Hardy/Asbestos situation. When smart meters are exposed for what they are and what they do, your party (and Labor) will be complicit along with the power companies. But, of course you will continue to ignore the facts like any ‘good’ politician.
PS Nick has the right idea in resigning, as is the case with most rats who desert a sinking ship.
Well said.
Hear, hear.
We didn’t have to pay extortion on Manual meter reading fees before, so why do we have to soon? Is that because our government is one big criminal enterprise corporation & we just put up with their crap to screw us over. Knowing they had sold us out Nov 2010 when they sold off our Power Grid Infrastructure for half price, to Asian countries such as Singapore. Why do we continue to put up with this tyranny, and bow down to these rulers?
We have options:
1) To refuse this implemented theft of aquisition imposed upon us and to get up & fight it .
2) We can just accept it for them to steam roll us, or…
3) Get off the grid and install your own Power System whether it be solar or other means.
What the government is doing to us is how they show there hatred towards us, their own people, for Canberra will not be getting Smart Meters because Politicians live & work there which to me says it all. That last fact can be found in New Dawn Magazine No 146 Sept-October 2014 Issue from most newsagents. Let’s not forget the fact that what these devices emit is a 2B Carcinogen that emits up to 6 or 7 times more radiation than mobile phones which will ensure a rapid population reduction which works accordingly for their Agenda 21 Plan to create an even sicker dumbed down society.
These meter readers were being paid for and was included in our previous bills. So why do these people who are already making indecent profits being allowed by politiicans to increase costs which dont relate in any way to improved services to consumers?
As we were paying for meter reading previously, they have to make a case for now wanting to included these costs on top of saving huge amounts of money, and making indecent profits.
Our politicians are rubber stamping these applications.
Well stop voting for the bastards ~ or paying taxes to support them.
Who you vote for is irrelevant: playing the election game is what keeps the system on the throne. Choosing your own slave-master is NOT a privilege.
Wow! Reading all those submissions, many of which tell of terrible health problems, worries and bullying suffered, because of the forceful smart meter roll out in Victoria, remind us that this is an ABSOLUTE CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY!
A crime that will go down in the history books as one of the biggest crimes against humanity.