Northcote resident says smart meter caused her tinnitus

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

A Northcote woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes the smart meter installed on the front of her home has caused her to suffer tinnitus.

She says her pleas to an ­electricity provider to get rid of the smart meter she’s blaming for her tinnitus are falling on deaf ears.

She is calling for residents to have access to an opt-out clause similar to Holland and the UK where people can refuse similar technology.

She said she started getting tinnitus – a condition that causes ringing in the ears – after moving into her house, which has a smart meter installed next to her bedroom.

“I’m just exhausted because I can’t get any sleep with the constant ringing in my ears – sometimes it’s so bad I feel as if my head’s ­going to explode,” she said.

“Even when I sleep in ­another room in the house, I still get the ringing but it’s not quite as bad.” She said when she stayed at friends’ houses where there were no smart meters, the problem went away.

She said a doctor had diagnosed tinnitus and given her a letter of support in a bid to get CitiPower to remove the meter. But despite several requests, the company has refused to remove it and ­reinstall an analog system.

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Stop Exposing Children to WiFi and 3G in our schools

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

invite_to_co-operate

Wireless RF emissions from smart meters are not the only concern parents have for their developing children. Schools, libraries and other public places are rolling out wireless networks without any consideration for the long term consequences that RF may have on health, behavioral issues, autism and other neurological effects. Evidence is continually building that clearly shows we should be concerned. We can send a powerful message to our Politicians that enough is enough by supporting  Parents from WiFi in Schools Australia who have established a petition on Avaaz.

Please sign and share the Avaaz community petition – “Australian Schools: Stop Exposing Children to Radiation from WiFi and 3G until long-term exposure is proven harmless”.

Please help grow this petition to reflect public concern. 

If we get enough signers, WiFi in Schools Australia can then also seek the assistance of the Avaaz team to launch a new, global Avaaz campaign.  This global campaign could help urgently move world government bureaucrats and politicians to revise current RF safety standards to better protect public health.  

Please sign and share this petition with others working/wanting to help protect and preserve all biological life on the planet.

You can email friends, family, organisations, lists and even your whole address book.

With hope, best wishes and appreciation of your support,

Parents from WiFi in Schools Australia

More information at www.wifi-in-schools-australia.org

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

535,970 Smart Meters have still not been installed in Victoria

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

SSMA has extrapolated the spin from the power companies in yesterday’s Herald Sun article that was also recently posted on the SSMA Website.

Congratulations to those who have taken measures to protect your families from the health, privacy and cost impacts directly related to Smart Meters.

The facts speak for themselves, keep up the fight Victoria…….

INSTALLED                                                                                  NOT INSTALLED

67%  JEMENA                                                        33% OF 319,000                    105,270

69%  UNITED ENERGY                                       31% OF 640,000                    198,400

79%  SP AUSNET                                                   21% OF 640,000                    134,400

90%  POWERCOR                                                 10% OF 700,000                    70,000

91%  CITIPOWER                                                  9% OF 310,000                      27,900

GRAND TOTAL                             2,609,000                   535,970  not installed as of 8/08/13

That equals 20.5% of 2,609,000 that do not have a smart meter installed

20.5% of Victorians is enough votes to destabilize any government.  When will the Victorian Government stop and listen to its people?

The fact that some of the utilities have a large % still outstanding and with less than 5 months to go to the end of the year this probably explains the apparent desperation and bullying tactics being employed.

In a democracy we have transparency, choice and continual dialogue – something the Victorian Government has failed on in all counts.

Thank you to all those who have supported SSMA as we continue to support all Victorians.

Original Herald Sun article linked here

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , | 117 Comments

Vote Against Smart Meters

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Armchair activists: here’s your chance  to make a difference, with just a few clicks of your fingers!

OurSay, in conjunction with Deakin University, is giving the public an opportunity to pose questions to Senate candidate and WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange.

The following question regarding  smart meters is one of the contenders:

“Wireless smart meters breach people’s privacy, increase costs to the consumer, cause serious health problems, adversely affect pets, livestock, wildlife and bees, and damage homes and appliances. What do you believe is the real reason governments around the world are inflicting (wireless) smart meters on unwilling consumers and what will the Wikileaks Party do about smart meters, if elected?”

Each voter is given 7 votes to be used on any question(s) they choose.  Julian Assange will be asked the top five voted questions on August 16th.

Click on the link below to register YOUR votes for this question.  You can assign all 7 of your votes to the one question to improve its chances of winning.

Getting this question asked of Julian Assange will greatly increase awareness of the smart meter issue and stress to the Wikileaks Party the importance of fighting for our rights in Parliament. AskAssange closes at 10PM on Monday 12th August, so get your votes in NOW!

Click here to lend a hand.

our say bar

Posted in Smart Meter | 24 Comments

Public Forum – Smart Meter Towers in Yarra Ranges

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

 

SmartMeterTowersAug13

Posted in Smart Meter | 5 Comments

Electricity smart meter companies confident deadline can be met | Herald Sun

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia
Electricity smart meter companies confident deadline can be met | Herald Sun

Victorians are being slugged at least $124 a year for the $2.3 billion smart meter scheme. Source: Leader

ALMOST two in three electricity smart meters installed in some parts of Victoria are not fully working as the deadline for the contentious rollout looms.

About 350,000 devices fitted in SP AusNet’s region are yet to go “live” with remote meter reads, the Herald Sun can reveal.

However the power company, which covers Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and the state’s east and northeast, says it is on track for the December 31 target.

Victorians are being slugged at least $124 a year for the $2.3 billion scheme.

The new meters record electricity use in 30-minute grabs and transmit data via radio waves.

The change allows for tracking of real time energy use to manage bills, new types of electricity charges that vary by time of day, and remote rather than manual meter reads, connections and disconnections.

Jemena and United Energy have the lowest installation rates of 67 per cent and 69 per cent, with SP AusNet at 79 per cent.

Powercor has fitted 90 per cent of its meters, CitiPower has done 91 per cent.

All except SP AusNet reported the majority of meters installed were operating to specification and remotely communicating.

SP AusNet spokesman Lyall Johnson said this was an unfair comparison, as the company’s process differed.

“SP AusNet has consulted with the Government and regulator on our targets, and we are confident we will deliver on our commitments,” Mr Johnson said.

Jemena and United Energy said extra crews would speed up installations in the rollout’s final months.

United Energy’s Stuart Allott said impeded meter access and an early focus on setting up the communications network explained its installation rate.

While it could not guarantee all meters would be fitted by the target, it expected to have visited every customer to either install or arrange installation by then.

Energy Minister Nicholas Kotsiras said: “It is expected that distribution companies meet their obligations for the rollout by the end of 2013.”

karen.collier@news.com.au

via Electricity smart meter companies confident deadline can be met | Herald Sun.

 

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Smart Meter Meeting and Film Afternoon – Tasmania

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Tasmania Invitation

Location Update: Meeting is being held in Hobart

Posted in Smart Meter | 6 Comments

Electricity giant SP AusNet has appeal to increase charges to consumers to cover the cost of smart meters dismissed | Herald Sun

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

AN electricity giant trying to slug Victorian customers tens of millions of dollars more for smart meters has had its legal bid for higher prices rebuffed.

The Australian Competition Tribunal has dismissed distributor SP AusNet’s appeal to increase charges over the next two years to cover communications technology costs.

The rejected $72.2 million cash grab follows criticism over the company’s choice of technology for the state’s controversial compulsory smart meter rollout.

Other networks are using a different and cheaper communications technology.

Australian Energy Regulator chairman Andrew Reeves said the tribunal ruling was a significant consumer win.

“It confirms the AER was correct in deciding that consumers should not be required to bear the cost of SP AusNet’s decision not to switch to a lower-cost technology,” AER chairman Andrew Reeves said.

An AER spokesman added: “Once its costs had increased significantly from what was initially expected, the business should have reviewed its choice of technology.

By not doing so, we felt that they had departed from the commercial standard that was expected”.

SP AusNet’s most common annual smart meter charge this year is $130.45.

The AER said the distributor had wanted to increase charges by about 32 per cent over two years, rather than an approved 14 per cent.

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, SP AusNet’s general counsel and company secretary Susan Taylor said the company was disappointed with the decision and would “carefully review the implications … and determine whether it is appropriate to take any further action”.

Australian Competition Tribunal rulings can be appealed at the Federal Court.

karen.collier@news.com.au

via Electricity giant SP AusNet has appeal to increase charges to consumers to cover the cost of smart meters dismissed | Herald Sun.

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Germany Rejects EU Smart-Meter Recommendations on Cost Concerns – Bloomberg

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Germany said it probably won’t follow smart-meter guidance from the European Union — which has recommended that 80 percent of homes install the devices by 2020 — because such a move would be too costly for consumers.

The EU proposal is “inadvisable” for Germany, the Economy Ministry said in a statement, citing a study it commissioned from consultants Ernst & Young. For users with low power consumption, the installation cost would be greater than the achievable energy savings, it said.

Read the rest of the article via Germany Rejects EU Smart-Meter Recommendations on Cost Concerns – Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net

 

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Smart Meters – Welcome to a brave new world WITHOUT privacy

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The articles linked to this post clearly demonstrate what kind of details are available to the power companies using smart meters to monitor our power usage. Power usage

Image: National Institute of Standards and Technology

It also covers some of the concerns that the public has with respect to how this data can be used such as providing a profile of a monitored household to determine whether a house is occupied or not. Refer to article here: privacy-on-the-smart-grid

There are some good suggestions on how household details can be obfuscated but it remains to seen whether any of them will be implemented by Power companies.

What should be a bigger concern to the public is that the smart meter combined with smart appliances creates the potential framework to support further monitoring measures in the future that may not be limited to simply turning on/off appliances remotely.

A “brave new world” in deed where it appears our home is no longer our private sanctuary.  Is this a case where technology has outpaced our laws particularly in regards to electronic trespass and where suddenly we appear to be potentially inviting corporations and potential government agencies into our houses without our knowledge or consent?

NBC News reports:

Researchers examining the privacy implications of smart-meter technology found that one German provider’s devices contained vulnerabilities that allowed them to snoop on unencrypted data to determine whether or not the homeowners were home.

After signing up with the German smart-meter firm Discovergy, the researchers detected that the company’s devices transmitted unencrypted data from the home devices back to the company’s servers over an insecure link. The researchers, Dario Carluccio and Stephan Brinkhaus, intercepted the supposedly confidential and sensitive information, and, based on the fingerprint of power usage, were able to tell not only whether or not the homeowners were home, away or even sleeping, but also what movie they were watching on TV.

Posted in Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments