Victorians beware: New push to install smart meters!

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

It has come to SSMA’s attention that Victorian power distributors are once again targeting residences that refused a smart meter during the 2009-2014 state-mandated rollout of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

Despite the Victorian government’s 2014 Order in Council stating, in the case of account holder refusal, that a distributor is not required to comply with the requirement that a remotely read interval meter must be installed until such time as “refusal is withdrawn or access to install a remotely read interval meter is otherwise available”, distributors continue in their attempts to sneak radiation-emitting infrastructure on to residences.

A ‘Notice of Meter Upgrade’ that was recently mailed to customers from United Energy states “We are advising you that a qualified meter technician will carry out the installation of the AMI meter at your property…”.  At least this customer was given some forewarning.  It has been reported that a customer in Powercor’s catchment area found her notice of refusal ripped off, and a smart meter installed.

AusNet Services customers can also expect to find their meters targeted – but for many of these customers it will be because the radiofrequency communications card in their WiMAX-networked smart meter has died.  According to information referred to by the Australian Energy Regulator in its 2016 to 2020 determination for AusNet Services, these modules only have a design life of seven years, and the manufacturer had advised that “chipsets and other components used in the WiMAX communications modules are no longer available to purchase”.  Consequently, AusNet Services has adopted “a reactive approach in which WiMAX hardware is replaced with mesh radio equivalents when a failure is observed”.  This strategy might provide those AusNet Services customers who had the misfortune to have a WiMAX smart meter installed on their residence, and who haven’t yet had their meter converted, a window of opportunity to make sure their meter remains a much safer, non-communicating meter!

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Online health summit | Are EMFs killing you and your children?

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

FREE from 18 – 24 September  (U.S. Eastern time)

Are you concerned about the ocean of EMFs we’re drowning in (mobile phones, WiFi, smart meters, Bluetooth, and even common household appliances)?  Scientists are already sounding the alarm about the health dangers posed to you and your family …and 5G is just around the corner!

This online health summit, put together by Lloyd Burrell, features nearly 3 dozen interviews with some of the world’s leading experts in this area.  You’ll learn a lot of information that you can use to protect not only yourself but your children from the dangers of EMF exposures.

Interviewees include Joseph Mercola, MD, Olle Johansson, PhD, Camilla Rees, MBA, Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD, Paul Héroux, PhD, Lloyd Morgan, Senior Researcher, Environmental Health Trust, Frank Clegg, Ex-CEO Microsoft Canada, and David Carpenter, MD.

To register for the EMF Health Summit 2018, go to: https://emfhealthsummit.com/go-3-h1-a/

 

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Petition | Please test 5G technology BEFORE it is rolled out

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

A petition addressed to Australia’s Minister for Communications, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, calls for thorough and independent testing of 5G for potential long-term adverse health effects before this technology is rolled out in Australia.

The petition points out that the health effect issue of 5G is potentially very controversial as the communications industry is massive and 5G technology will be quite pervasive – but its long-term health effects on humans are largely unknown.

Please consider signing this petition if you care about this issue.

To view the text for the petition, and to sign, go to: https://www.communityrun.org/petitions/5g-roll-out-in-australia

Note that the petition says that by signing you will receive campaign emails from CommunityRun and GetUp Australia.  However, you can unsubscribe from these messages at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link on the bottom of these emails.

Previous SSMA posts on 5G include:

Also check out Senator Patrick Colbeck from Michigan speak about the dangers of 5G to the U.S House Energy Policy Committee.

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Take Back Your Power 2017 now permanently free to view!

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The award-winning documentary Take Back Your Power uncovers the shocking story behind why hundreds of local governments are standing against the multi-billion dollar rollout of ‘smart’ utility meters. Take a journey of revelation, examining evidence of in-home privacy invasions, systemic over-billing, extortion, health & environmental harm, fires and unprecedented hacking vulnerability. And be inspired by emerging solutions.

With compelling insight from whistleblowers, government agents, lawyers, doctors, researchers and environmentalists, Take Back Your Power investigates the claimed benefits and emerging risks of a profit-based global initiative that seeks to change the way we live. What you’ll discover will surprise, unsettle and ultimately empower you.

This final cut has 20% new content since the original 2013 release.

► Watch it free on TakeBackYourPower.net
► Watch it free on YouTube

Awards won:
Leo Awards, Best Feature Length Documentary Program 
AwareGuide Transformational Film of the Year
Indie Fest Annual Humanitarian Award
NaturalHealth365 Film Of The Year

 

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The Problem with 5G – PC Magazine

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The technology might be the problem, but even worse for the companies behind it is the perception that 5G is already unsafe before they even get it on a single pole.

If you read the barrage of scary literature about 5G mobile phone technology, specifically the use of millimeter wave frequencies to transmit data, you must conclude that it is a bad bet.

I’m not saying this because the technology does not work. It’s a bad bet because so little is known about the effects of millimeter waves (30GHz-300GHz). While these frequencies only permeate a small fraction of the human epidermis (the skin), the effect on the cornea, in particular, needs serious research.

Because the industry is too cheap to study the health effects of the technology itself, it lets this sort of product out the door despite the fact that it has already been weaponized by the military. These frequencies are so poor at travelling long distances, they need a transmitter on nearly every telephone pole and light pole to make 5G work.

5G is already getting some bad publicity, which could result in everything from bans on the technology to equipment destruction by vigilantes.

Of course, when you read deeper into what the chip and telecom companies are trying to do, you quickly discover that many systems calling themselves 5G are currently 4G mods using 5G as a marketing tool. Let’s ignore that scam and stay focused on millimeter waves.

As usual, the mostly arrogant (or naïve) technology industry is caught flat-footed at the negative reaction. It always figures that the stupid public will buy into anything new and jazzy if it makes their handheld phone seem a little faster, and even pay more for the privilege of the upgrade.

One of the ways the industry has made this all work in the past is by quick implementation followed by a “Hey look it works! Nobody was killed” approach. That cannot happen with true 5G, which needs all these mini-towers all over the place. That leaves plenty more time for the public to get a clue and be freaked out.

When you do a search for “5G is Safe” on Google and Bing, you get a number of negative stories and a laundry list of why some people believe it’s unsafe. Companies may as well begin to market a 5G mobile phone with a skull and crossbones on it.

If this bad PR is somehow reversed and 5G takes over the market, I will be shocked. The way it is going does not bode well for any of it.

John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine

Posted in 5G | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Victory! U.S. State of New Mexico Rejects Smart Meters

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Recently the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission denied Public Service Company of New Mexico’s (PNM) application to install smart meters.

The Reasons for rejecting the installation of smart meters include:

  • No net public benefit, no evaluation of alternatives and the public interest
  • PNM’s unlicensed contractor and PNM’s repeated inability to accurately specify the qualifications required for a contractor
  • The uncertainty of savings for ratepayers: imminent rate increases, the risk that lifetime costs will exceed savings
  • Disproportionate benefits for investors: elimination of financial risks for investors, immediate increase in investor earnings, PNM’s requests that the Commission find the AMI capital costs and expenses are reasonable and prudent, full recovery of undepreciated costs and customer education costs as regulatory assets
  • Discretionary project — insufficient demonstration of need and no plans to use AMI for energy efficiency
  • Opt-out fees do not provide meaningful opportunity to opt-out: unreasonableness of fees , health concerns, safety concerns
  • Job losses
  • Recent and future rate increases

Evidence about health effects was discussed at length: “Customers who have strong feelings about the health effects of the meters should be allowed to protect their stated health concerns without a prohibitively high cost.”

The decision goes on to state: “The conditions of the portion of the population who believe  they are electromagnetically sensitive deserve acknowledgment and consideration as decisions are made regarding the implementation of an AMI Project. Accommodations could include reasonable opt-out provisions and fees and perhaps the selection of technologies that minimize the impacts on such people. Such accommodations may be desirable to minimize health risks to customers and address the needs and preferences of PNM’s customers. These are issues that can and should be addressed in a public input process of the sort PNM stated in its 2012 Report that it would conduct before bringing a smart meter proposal to the Commission for approval.”

The PRC Chairman Sandy Jones concluded that the AMI program “was clearly not in the best interest of the public.”

The decision means there will not be smart meters in the near future in New Mexico’s metropolitan areas.

Let’s hope that Australian state governments will wake up to the fact that there are no net benefits to the customer in installing smart meters, and that at the very least, people who are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation should be catered for. But then again, are our state governments more interested in people or profits for multinational corporations????

Sources: 1 2 3 4

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Six reasons to say no to a smart meter | The Telegraph

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The great smart meter revolution has faltered and households can choose, once again, to opt out and keep hold of their old-fashioned utility meters which require manual reading.

When they were introduced in 2009, smart meters were supposed to simplify the billing process and ensure readings were up to date and accurate. But the roll-out has been plagued with problems – as explained below.

Now, according to research conducted by comparethemarket.com, one in five people do not want one.

The Government had originally said that every household would be set up with a smart meter by 2020 – and nearly seven million have been installed so far – but in June the Government subtly downgraded this requirement. Now every home will be “offered” a smart meter by 2020, with no obligation to take one.

The controversy around smart meters is more so because it is the Government’s job to set overall energy policy, not the job of suppliers, and the move away from carbon-based energy sources, the national roll-out of smart meters, and the expansion of renewables and nuclear power has cost consequences, with the consumer expected to pick up the tab.

Every household will, ultimately, pay for the new meter roll-out via their bills. As energy companies are quick to say, this is one reason why bills are rising.

1) Smart meters could make it harder to switch gas and electricity providers

2) Smart meters don’t bring an end to estimated bills (or billing errors)

3) Smart meters won’t work if you have a poor signal in your area

4) The display units linked to smart meters are crude and difficult to understand

5) There’s little evidence so far that smart meters will save energy – or money

6) Smart meters ‘pose security and other risks’

See Six reasons to say no to a smart meter to read the full article.

Note, SSMA adds a 7th reason – the debilitating health effects of smart meters constantly pulsating microwave radio frequencies into people’s homes.
Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged | 10 Comments

Melbourne CBD Screening of GENERATION ZAPPED

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

GENERATION ZAPPED investigates the potential dangers of prolonged exposure to radiofrequencies (RF) from wireless technology; its effects on our health and well-being, as well as the health and development of our children. This includes links to breast and brain cancer, to its associations with increased infertility and genetic mutations related to autism and ADHD, to newly identified illnesses, such as electrical hypersensitivity (EHS).

Thursday, 26 July, 5.30–7.30 pm
WeWork, Bourke St, Melbourne

Screening followed by Q&A.

Tickets are pre-purchase only. Ticket sales close at 10 am 26th July

Click here to purchase your ticket.
Enter the promotional code Friends to receive 50% off the ticket price.

Come along to see GENERATION ZAPPED and have your EMF-related questions answered by Environmental Health Assessor, Lucinda Curran.

 

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Tasmania’s new electricity smart metering roll-out: Why opting out may be your wisest, and healthiest choice

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

On December 1, 2017, the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) final rule determination, titled: “Expanding competition in metering and related services” came into force in Tasmania, SA, NSW, the ACT and QLD. The rule states that this is a framework which is designed to, “promote innovation and lead to investment in advanced meters that deliver services valued by consumers at a price they are willing to pay. Improved access to the services enabled by advanced meters will provide consumers with opportunities to better understand and take control of their electricity consumption and the costs associated with their usage decisions,”

This rule came about as a result of a request from the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Energy Council that considered that the previous metering rule allowed and encouraged the continued installation of mechanical analogue meters, which they said had “only limited functionality”.

What this means is that over the next few years we will see a gradual replacement of the existing analogue electricity meters with so called advanced meters (also called digital or smart meters). These meters have the capacity to collect energy use data and send that back to the provider by a wireless network without the need for a meter reader going from house to house to collect that data. As for the uptake of advanced meters (smart meters), TasNetworks has estimated that presently (2017-2019) only about 4% of residential and 12% of small business customers have a smart meter.  By 2024-29, it is expected that this will increase to 31% of residential and 59% of small business customers. By 2029-34, it is expected that all energy customers will have a smart meter.

As a result of opposition to the mandated introduction of smart meters in Victoria [thank you to all those Victorians who stood up against aggressive Government and power companies’ threats and bullying – SSMA comment], including concerns over possible health impacts, the new AEMC rule gives Tasmanians (and in the other states mentioned above), the right to opt out, by contacting their energy provider (Aurora in Tasmania), stating that they do not want a communicating smart meter.

As mechanical analogue meters are no longer available, the opt-out provision obviously does not apply to new connections, homes undergoing major renovations requiring new wiring, homes having solar panels connected to the grid, faulty existing meters requiring replacing, and “maintenance” replacements where testing has indicated that an analogue meter is at risk of becoming faulty.

In these situations the only way the customer can avoid having a communicating smart meter installed on their premises is to notify by phone and in writing to Aurora that they wish to opt out and not have a wireless communicating smart meter (Type 4) but prefer a smart meter which is not enabled for wireless communications (Type 4A).

To opt out

  • For Aurora’s customers who wish to opt out, the number to ring is 1300 13 2003
  • The Aurora postal address (send by registered mail) for a written opt-out notification is: Aurora Energy Pty Ltd, GPO Box 191, Hobart, Tas. 7001

After advising Aurora, it is important to also put up a “Do not Fit a Smart Meter” notice on your meter box. Date the notice, laminate it for the weather and take a photograph of it.

Don Maisch PhD
July 11, 2018

Abridged:  To read the full report go here.

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Look out Victorian water customers – your utility may be rolling out smart meters!

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

It appears that water corporations have failed to heed the lessons learnt from the Victorian electricity smart meter debacle.

Nine out of seventeen water utilities in Victoria are contemplating, or have started, smart water meter rollouts.  The water businesses seem to be under the collective delusion that re-badging smart meters as ‘digital’ meters, ‘intelligent’ meters, or ‘data loggers’ will be the game-changer that allows them to avoid the Victorian electricity smart meter stigma.

Final pricing decisions handed down by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) for each of the corporations revealed an abundance of dubious claims made by water utilities about smart meters.  These include:

  • Digital metering will contribute to “efficiency savings and lower costs and customer prices”.

(Really? Perhaps the utility propagating this myth should read what the Auditor General had to say about Victoria’s costly rollout of electricity smart meters.)

  • Had “strong customer support for digital metering”.

(Does it? That’s news to us! SSMA also wonders if this utility has strong customer support for increased pulsed microwave irradiation of their properties and communities?)

  • Customers have requested digital water metering to enable them to “better monitor and manage their water consumption”.

(Exactly how difficult is it to walk out to one’s water meter to check usage?  Victorian electricity customers have hardly fallen over themselves to access on-line consumption data.  According to the 2015 technical study commissioned by the Victorian government, the capability included with Victorian smart meters to enable energy management via Home Area Networks “is rarely employed at present”.)

A snapshot in regard to the utilities in Victoria that are tangoing with smart meters follows: Continue reading →

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