The Great Meter Con – Recent letters in The Age

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Get smart
David Lamb’s (Letters, 27/3) and David Laird’s (31/3) smart meter problems are small beer. Since my smart meter was installed, my supplier has billed all my electricity at the peak rate despite most of it being used in off-peak hours (for water heating on a dedicated circuit). Previously, this was billed at off-peak rates. Incompetence or a scam? Presumably tens of thousands of others are also affected – many unknowingly.
Brewis Atkinson, Nunawading

Via: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-letters/why-should-those-hurting-share-the-pain-20140402-35yrt.html

Get with the times
I can add to David Lamb’s concerns about smart meters (Letters, 27/3). Since its installation nearly two years ago my smart meter has registered readings for off peak and peak usage, as well as calculating my solar exports to the grid.
However, it has not been smart enough to match Victorian summer time with the time shown on the meter clock. Real Victorian time has been one hour ahead of meter time, which creates problems for anyone trying to use power at off-peak times. Energy Australia customer relations staff, when they eventually understood my complaint, simply suggest that it ”balances out”. In other words, stop stirring the pot. ”Just another example of corporate con”, to quote David Lamb?
David Laird, Forest Hill

Via: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-age-letters/a-white-male-of-means-will-no-doubt-decide-20140330-35s3y.html

The great meter con
I have two smart meters at my home. One is for peak electricity supply and the other is for off-peak electricity. In the two years since they were installed, the only benefit I can see is that the electricity retailer saves money by not having to send someone to check my use.
I thought the purpose of smart meters was to enable energy providers to charge a high use rate at times of high energy demand and a lower rate at times when surplus energy was available. Silly me. Just another example of corporate con.
David Lamb, Kew East

Via http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-letters/please-dont-return-us-to-the-dark-days-20140326-35ip8.html

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Public Exposure: DNA, Democracy & the ‘Wireless Revolution’ documentary

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Cinema2014AprPublicExposureOhMy

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PEOPLE POWER VICTORIA – NO SMART METERS: The emergence of a new political party

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

LogoHeaderPurpleO2

Stop Smart Meters Australia is launching a new political party for Victoria, with a charter centred on opposition to the mandated roll-out of wireless smart meters for electricity, gas and water, and on the commitment to re-establish a healthy environment for all.

The People Power Victoria – No Smart Meters party (PPV) also stands for fair and affordable delivery of essential services to all Victorians, respect for Human Rights and a safer, more ethical use of technology.

Victorian politicians of both Houses of Parliament are ignoring our concerns, happily leaving their constituents vulnerable to the whims of private corporations. Perusing this website alone, you will find countless examples of injustice enforced upon everyday Victorians, and essentially, our politicians simply DO NOT CARE. It is time now to play their game and create a new political force.

The community’s experience with rising essential services’ costs and disregard of customers’ rights and wellbeing is epitomised by the incompetent and aggressive roll-out of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (smart meters) program in Victoria. This program is just one example of a broader frustration for voters who expect laws and processes that recognise and protect human and democratic rights of Victorians. This new Party aims to ensure laws and processes are properly introduced and implemented, and have as their aim genuine protection for all Victorians.

PPV will provide a focal point for voters who are frustrated by the lack of political action and feel strongly that much more needs to be done through our parliamentary system to protect the human and democratic rights of Victorians.

Our mission is to reclaim our state and set it on a new and better path.

We have a vision of a caring and compassionate society, where individuals and families have the freedom to be masters of their own lives and homes, and where every Victorian is given the opportunity to prosper and thrive.

This is your chance to have a voice, to reclaim your rights, your home, your state and to change the course of history.

We cannot do it without you. Please complete a membership form and encourage everyone over the age of 18 in your family and friendship circle to do the same. Applicants have to be enrolled to vote in Victoria. Party membership is FREE, and a membership form can be completed online or downloaded at: http://www.peoplepowervictoria.org.au/

We need at least 500 members to register our party, so spread the word!

To enable us to run in the forthcoming Victorian election, we are hoping to gain 500 members within the next six weeks.

Thank you. It is only together that we can make a difference!

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Sofia’s Story – Punitive power and the smart meter tyranny

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Sofia is a sole parent, with a 14 year old daughter.

She became ill after a wireless smart meter was installed on her house 19 March 2013. Sofia hadn’t given permission for its installation. In fact, she wasn’t even aware that her original electricity meter had been swapped for a smart meter, as it occurred whilst she was on an interstate business trip.

It was only afterwards, when she and her medical advisors were searching for the cause of the sudden deterioration in her health, that she discovered the horrible coincidence. The smart meter had been installed in the worst possible position, inside her bedroom cavity wall, just centimetres from where her head lay as she slept at night.

Victorian smart meters, such as hers, emit microwave radiation 24/7. Network traffic can result in as many as 190,000 transmissions per day from a mesh smart meter. Authorities never alerted the public to this fact.

The technicalities of wireless smart meters were the last thing on Sofia’s mind when she ended up in hospital with swollen legs and an acute burning rash, all over her body. She had developed a burning sensation in her eyes, throat, mouth, and covering her face. That was just the start of the nightmare. Sofia was also suffering from unexplained headaches, insomnia, nausea, irritability, constant fatigue and short-term memory loss. To make matters worse, she experienced an acute deterioration of her vision.

Sofia was subsequently diagnosed with EHS (electro hypersensitivity), triggered by her smart meter’s microwave radiation. She has had to cease professional employment. She is no longer able to go about her normal daily activities in the community, without experiencing great pain from exposure to ubiquitous electromagnetic radiation. She is now on a Disability Pension.

All Sofia is asking for is the return of her safe, analogue meter. But do you think her power distributor, United Energy, or the Victorian State government are listening? All her pleas have been ignored and ridiculed. Even the Victorian Energy Ombudsman was unable to help her.

Finally, at her wits’ end, and in a state of unbearable pain, Sofia took matters into her own hands. Her smart meter was removed. As a result, her health slowly started to improve. In order to show good faith and a willingness to pay her electricity bills, Sofia continued to pay her electricity based on estimated usage.

On 3 March 2014, 8.30am Sofia’s power was cut off, without warning or written notification. United Energy, Sofia’s power distributor, refuses to reconnect her, unless a wireless smart meter is installed.

This is despite the provision of medical evidence verifying her condition. This is despite the fact that other Victorians, who have objected to a smart meter, have now received letters formally honouring their request to not have a smart meter installed.

It seems that the horrible quagmire which Sofia ended up in would never have eventuated, if only she had known enough in the first place to lock her meter box.

Her requests to speak to her power distributor’s management have been refused. Efforts by her Federal MP and Legal Aid have come to naught. A representative of the Victorian Department of State Development and Business Innovation lamely suggested that she move to the country to escape the radiation, leaving her 14-year daughter in the care of friends so she can continue with her schooling.

And this all is happening, despite the former Energy Minister stressing, in one of his interviews, that disconnecting power from people’s houses is INHUMANE.

Sofia and her daughter are still living without power and suffering immensely mentally and emotionally.

How callous and inhumane can United Energy be?

How could this happen to anyone living in a democratic country like Australia?

This YouTube clip about Sofia’s story was sent to Stop Smart Meters Australia by Paradigm Images Production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVtEkwkk8Ec

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‘Letter of the Week’ to Victorian Premier Dr Denis Napthine

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Stop Smart Meters Australia has recently been presented with a copy of a letter that was sent to the Premier of Victoria, Dr Denis Napthine. We believe it is an excellent letter worth sharing with our followers.

See: A letter to the Premier of Victoria

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A response to Jemena

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Jemena is sending letters out to people within their distribution network who have rejected their “offer to replace the old meter with a smart meter”.

Click here for a copy of the letter: Jemena Letter

The letter from Jemena seems to imply that people who have not consented to installation of smart meters have refused Jemena general access to their meter. People have ONLY objected to providing Jemena access to the meter for the purpose of REPLACING the meter.

A supporter of Stop Smart Meters Australia has written a response to Jemena, encouraging people to use it as a template if they wish. He believes if people do not reply to Jemena’s letter, they are conceding that they have not given Jemena general access to the “old” meter.

A copy of this response letter can be found at:Response to Jemena’s OFFER Letter

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Ballarat ‘Take Back your Power’ Screening – 25 March, 7:00 pm

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

1Award Winning Film Take Back Your Power_0

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Stop Smart Meters Australia’s submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Stop Smart Meters Australia’s (SSMA) submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, addressing the findings of the Victorian Auditor-General’s 2009 report Towards a ‘Smart Grid’ – the roll-out of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure, is now available on the Parliament of Victoria website:
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/paec/auditor_generals_reports/review_of_reports_2009-2010/submissions/Submission_11_-_rcvd_2013-11-15_Smith_StopSmartmeters_-_Smart_Grid_Redacted.pdf

The Auditor-General’s 2009 report was a scathing indictment of Victoria’s smart meter rollout.

Let’s hope the Committee does indeed exercise its powers to scrutinize even further and follow-up on the matters which were flagged by the Auditor-General. In view of the serious financial, social and health impacts which the rollout of smart meters has already had on Victorians, and even greater adverse impacts which may accrue in the future as a result of the rollout, SSMA believes it is imperative that the Committee is punctilious in carrying out its important role.

Click here to view all submissions which have been approved for publication:
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/paec/article/2144

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Longtime President of Microsoft Canada is now Canada’s leading advocate for wireless radiation safety

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The longtime president of Microsoft Canada is now Canada’s leading advocate for wireless radiation safety. High tech leader Frank Clegg, is now CEO of the new non-profit organization, Canadians for Safe Technology (C4ST). Clegg’s reports that:

• It has been three years since the World Health Organization shocked the medical community by warning that exposure to microwave radiation from wireless devices might increase our cancer risk. If the same elite cancer specialists were to meet again today, the warning would be upgraded from a “possible carcinogen” to a “probable carcinogen.” That is according to Professor Emeritus Anthony Miller, of the University of Toronto, who was speaking recently to Toronto’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.

• Since 2011, governments around the world have alerted their populations to approach wireless devices with caution. In Belgium, it will soon be illegal to sell or market “kiddie-phones,” mobile phones that are specially designed for children.

• In France, the government “recommends limiting the population’s exposure to radiofrequencies – in particular from mobile phones – especially for children and intensive users.”

• In India, both the State of Rajasthan and the City of Mumbai have passed laws prohibiting the placement of cellular antennae on the roofs of hospitals and schools and in playgrounds because they are “hazardous to life.”

• Electrosensitivity is not like an allergy you are born with; it is an illness that builds up over increased time and radiation exposure. Just as we cannot yet explain why some individuals will die from second-hand smoke and others can live a long life smoking 2 packs a day, we cannot explain why some individuals react to wireless radiation. But with more and more cell towers and smart meters crowding into our living spaces, with Wi-Fi in buses, schools, trains, offices and hotels, people who are sensitive now struggle to work, travel and support their families.

Glegg’s full report can be found at: Invisible threat: The link between wireless radiation and a host of serious illnesses.

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

Screening of ‘Take Back Your Power’ film – Fitzroy, 10th March

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Take Back Your Power flyer

Please email Amanda on nefertiti@fastmail.fm to RSVP as numbers are limited, or join Truth Cinema and RSVP here.

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , | 1 Comment