Bloated power sector must be reined in – The Age, 8/11/12

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The workforce in the electricity industry has more than doubled over the past six years although the actual amount of energy supplied to consumers has remained flat.

That’s right. Zero growth in supply to the national electricity market but a workforce which has bloated from 35,000 in November 2006 to 71,900 in 2012.

The industry spin on rising capacity, and consequent overspending, has been that it has been required to meet the rise in ”peak demand”. The reality, however, is that peak winter demand has fallen 1.9 per cent since 2006 and peak summer demand has fallen 4.6 per cent since 2006-07. So peak demand has fallen while the workforce has doubled.

You would not know it from reading some of the stuff submitted to the Senate inquiry into electricity prices…….

Read more: Bloated power sector must be reined in

 

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More switch off smart meter rollout  | Casey Weekly Berwick

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

VIVIENNE Skeen says she will go to court if necessary in her battle to stop an unwanted device — an electricity smart meter — being installed on her property.

Ms Skeen, who lives in the Lakeside estate, Pakenham, has written to Premier Ted Baillieu, challenging him to tell her which law she is breaking in refusing to have one of the new meters. She is one of a small number of residents across Casey fighting the new meter rollout.

Despite assurances from the government and medical experts, opponents cite alleged health effects, including cancers, heart attacks and Alzheimer’s disease, from the meters. Some also allege breaches of the constitution and government intrusion into their property and lives.

She has a ‘Stop Smart Meters’ notice on her letterbox. Her meter box is padlocked, with a Perspex screen so the meter can be read. She also has a warning notice saying she does not give her consent for a smart meter to be installed.

“We live in a democracy — supposedly,” she told the Weekly. “We’re all being told it’s mandated that we have a smart meter. The mandate is on the power companies to use their ‘best endeavours’ to install one, not on us.”

Electricity distributor SP AusNet wrote to Ms Skeen last month advising it would be installing the new meters in her area.

She said that when she called to object, she was told that if she did not co-operate with the installation the police would be called.

“I rang Victoria Police and was told they have no record of assisting in the installation of a smart meter. The only reason they would attend would be to keep the peace.”

A spokesman for SP AusNet, Lyall Johnson, told the Weekly the company was not forcibly installing smart meters where householders had blocked access.

A spokeswoman for the Casey and Cardinia Smartmeter Awareness Group, Kate Everett, said the campaign against smart meters was “gathering momentum”, with about 20 Garfield residents attending a recent forum and a legal challenge to compulsory installation likely.

via More switch off smart meter rollout  | Casey Weekly Berwick.

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Encouraging breakthroughs – Keep the pressure on!

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

I have received a letter today from SPAusnet telling me that they will suspend our installation.  That is good news for us and that is why I am encouraging you to keep opposing your installation by writing letters, notification, declarations, emails, signage on your gate, etc…

The effort has worked for us……for now, and I am heartened that, by persisting, it will also work for you; although I know it is time consuming.  There are easy letter templates on stopsmartmeters.com.au website, click on “actions you can take” and fill in forms, send them. The more the better.

I am continuing to write letters to government departments, with all that spare time I now have, to ask for support for opt-out option. There are templates for those as well on the website. I am also still thinking of a local radio interview.

Please pass the information on to as many of your friends, colleagues, family, as possible.  It helps, even if they have a smart meter already.  Thank You.

(Our correspondent has requested to remain anonymous)

The letter from SpAusnet (which a number of people have now received) reads:

“Your continued opposition to the installation of the new meter, even when provided with the factual information in relation to the scheme, has now been referred to the DPI (Department of Primary Industries) and the Victorian Government for further instructions as to how they wish us to proceed in relation to the Smart Meter program.
 
Whilst awaiting further instructions your property will not have a meter installed and the installation company have been advised not to attend.  If, prior to receiving a further response from us, you receive any further letters detailing installation please advise me immediately.”
 

Correspondence from PowerCor to a customer reads:

“Your request to be placed on the conscientious objectors list was actioned……..The next correspondence you will receive from us will be after the Government has instructed us on how to proceed with customers such as yourself.”
 

Related links: Confirmed! The existence of a “conscientious objectors” list &  Declared “exempt” from smart meter installation

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Smart meters a concern to the population | The Ballarat Courier

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Smart meters are a growing concern to the population.

There are a number of organisations which have given strong cautions about all technology that emit radiation similar to that of smart meters.

These include the Council of Europe, the European Environmental Agency, UK Trade Union Congress, the International Commission for Electromagnetic safety and the Russian Commission for Electromagnetic Safety.

Another organisation which is concerned about smart meters is the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. It has recently called for an immediate moratorium on installing smart meters due to radiation health risks.

The World Health Organisation and the National Toxicology Program have also studied the effects of non-thermal radiation on human health. Their updated results on May 31, 2011 are that, among other things, radiation can significantly increase the risk of glioma – a deadly brain tumour. They have classified RF radio frequency as a possible carcinogen, the same as lead and DDT.

Furthermore, the Bioinitiative Report of 2007 – authored by 15 scientists, researchers and health policy professionals and one of the most informative reports written on the subject – clearly documents evidence that numerous health problems are created by exposure of RF, including DNA breakage and cancer.

The report is recognized by the European Parliament and the European Environment agency.

Public fear about wireless Smart meters are well founded. They are backed by various medical organisations such as the public health departments of Santa Cruz County California and the Salzburg State Austria.

These authorities are worried about the growing number of citizens who say they have developed electrohypersensitivity. The information here shows that installation of smart meters should stop as there is evidence to show that they are dangerous for the health.

JULIETTE CALDERONE

Ballarat

via Smart meters a concern to the population | The Courier.

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$20 smart meter slug blows fuses

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

POWER distributors will reap an extra $20 million from smart meter  customers next year after yet another budget blowout.

The hike, which is over and above costs already approved, will add up to $20  to the annual charge householders with the controversial devices must pay.

The Baillieu Government blamed its predecessor for the problem, vowing it  would be tougher for electricity giants to slug customers from now on.

St Vincent de Paul Society manager of policy and research Gavin Dufty said it  was time customers saw benefits in the face of spiralling smart meter  charges.

“Enough is enough,” Mr Dufty said.

“It’s up to the industry and Government to start handing back the benefits.  Victorian households are paying for this infrastructure and almost four years in  it’s just been costs.”

Customers in CitiPower’s distribution area will be hardest hit, with the  annual meter charge rising 18.1 per cent to $127 excluding GST.

Powercor’s fee rises $16, SP AusNet’s about $8 and United Energy’s only $1.  Jemena’s fee is unchanged.

Rachel Obradovic, spokeswoman for Energy Minister Michael O’Brien, said the  Australian Energy Regulator was obliged to automatically approve the hikes  because they traced back to when the former Labor government allowed rises of up  to 20 per cent to avoid scrutiny.

The threshold has since been abolished.

“This is the last time these rules will apply,” Ms Obradovic said.

“Labor’s energy spokesperson should apologise to Victorian energy  customers.”

But Opposition energy spokeswoman Lily D’Ambrosio said the minister had  endorsed the smart meter program and would have known the price hike was  coming.

“Instead of looking at reducing cost pressures this Government is again  playing politics,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

Distributors argued they needed more money because of higher-than-expected  information technology, communications and traditional meter costs.

Meanwhile, gas distributor Envestra threatened to defer its proposed  investment program in Victoria over a disagreement with the industry  regulator.

wes.hosking@news.com.au

Source: http://www.news.com.au/money/cost-of-living/smart-meter-slug-blows-fuses/story-fnagkbpv-1226507848375#ixzz2AwXYhhnY

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Big energy users agree to switch off in peaks – NSW here they come!

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

ELECTRICITY demand will be cut by the amount of power needed for 50,000 airconditioners on the hottest days this summer under a deal between NSW transmission network operator TransGrid and big energy users like manufacturers, universities and data centres.

The deal – a forerunner of the kind of demand management arrangements recommended in a Senate report to be tabled on Thursday this week – means the big users are paid to switch off an agreed quantity of power for an agreed period of time on days when electricity demand peaks.

It was brokered by demand side response company EnerNOC, which aggregates and guarantees the demand reduction, and will help cut the huge peaks in demand that occur for fewer than 40 hours a year but require infrastructure spending that accounts for about 25 per cent of household power bills.

It could pave the way for similar deals with businesses and even households if smart meters are rolled out nationwide.

Smart meters collect more information about electricity use than ordinary meters. They can also send and receive information and remotely control electricity use, such as a proposal in a Senate report that households agree to savings by letting power companies shut down their appliances during peak periods of demand.

Iain MacGill, an electrical engineer and director of the University of NSW centre for energy and environmental markets, said the state government must ”bite the bullet” and commit to a potentially costly roll-out of smart meters to manage NSW’s electricity.

The Senate report, which will form the basis of the federal government’s package of power price reforms to be put to the states in December, proposed a national roll-out of smart meters.

Only about 20,000 NSW homes have the meters, compared with 1.3 million in Victoria, where the government aims to put them in every home by the end of next year.

As revealed by Fairfax Media on Wednesday, the Senate report into electricity pricing will recommend accreditation for demand side management companies, as well as a shift to ”cost reflective pricing” – allowing consumers to avoid the expensive peaks.

via Big energy users agree to switch off in peaks.

People in NSW here they come!

 

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Switch off and get paid

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

CONSUMERS will be able to cut their electricity bills by agreeing to companies remotely switching off their appliances during spikes in demand.

The proposal is part of a package of federal government reforms expected to back ”cost-reflective pricing”. This will allow consumers to avoid peaks that occur for fewer than 40 hours every year but account for about 25 per cent of retail electricity bills.

Under the proposal, households and businesses would be able to cut their bills by choosing to switch off during peak demand times when power costs soar.

The system would be compulsory only for big users, with medium-sized users allowed to opt out and small users required to opt in if they want to switch off at peak times to reduce their bills.

The power pricing package is designed to tackle the price drivers that account for 42 per cent of projected NSW electricity cost rises from 2010 to 2013 on top of the average 9 per cent impact of the carbon tax. It will be put to the premiers on December 7 and is outlined in government-backed recommendations from a special inquiry to be tabled in the Senate tomorrow.

The ”opt in” recommendation could avoid big price rises for households that do not change their usage.

The change would require a national distribution of smart meters and would be accompanied by intensive public education and special protections for low-income households.

The report will recommend accreditation for companies offering to pay businesses and possibly households if they agree that non-essential power – for things such as pool filters, deep freezers or air conditioners – can be remotely switched off during spikes in demand.

The report is similar to the package to be put first to energy ministers on November 3, to a special business advisory forum on December 6 and to the Council of Australian Governments the next day.

They recommend more funding and clout for the Australian Energy Regulator, new rules to determine reasonable price rises for network businesses and a consumer advocacy body to scrutinise costs at every stage of generation and transmission.

Read more via Switch off and get paid.

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Save the date: Victorian Smart Meter Forum – November 25

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

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Confirmed! The existence of a “conscientious objectors” list.

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Stop Smart Meters Australia has been aware for some time, anecdotally, that some people who are refusing to accept the installation of a smart meter have been placed on a smart meter ‘refusal’ list.

This has now been confirmed in writing to a person who was intimidated and bullied by a smart meter installer.  This person made a complaint about the bullying incident to the relevant power distributor and continued to refuse a smart meter.  Consequently, this person has been placed on the “conscientious objectors list”.

The question arises, does one need to be bullied and intimidated before one can request to be on the “conscientious objectors list”?  If so, there will no shortage of people on this list….

Power distributors can no longer deny that such a list exists for people who refuse to accept the installation of a smart meter.

No matter which power distributor you are with, if you do not wish to accept a smart meter, insist that you be placed on the “conscientious objectors list”.

Related story:  Declared “exempt” from smart meter installation

 

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Glen Eira meter fears – Health – News – Caulfield Glen Eira Leader

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

A GROWING number of Glen Eira residents think smart meters are affecting their health, councillors say.

Councillors have revealed many residents have complained about health problems since the device was installed.

The council has now voted to seek a report into residents’ concerns.

The State Government plans to install smart meters at every Victorian home and small business by the end of next year.

It says the meters are safe and fall “well within” the requirements for electromagnetic and radio frequency emissions.

Cr Oscar Lobo said constituents were complaining of ill-health.

“People claim that they now have constantly high-pitched ringing ears,” Cr Lobo said.

“They are suffering palpitations, regular headaches, fatigue, lethargy, disturbed sleep, regular nosebleeds, pressure in the head and difficulty concentrating.”

Cr Margaret Esakoff said one resident had told her she had to confine herself to a room in her house to avoid symptoms.

Read more via HAVE YOUR SAY: Glen Eira meter fears – Health – News – Caulfield Glen Eira Leader.

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