Smart meters made us ill, says resident – Frankston Weekly

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

BY ALECIA PINNER. A MT Eliza couple has been sleeping in their van for six weeks as they believe their smart meter is making them sick.

Rosemary, who did not want her full name published, said her symptoms began soon after the smart meter was installed in October.

“I didn’t realise the meter had a radio transmitter in it which sends out microwaves 24-7,” she said.

” I am very sensitive to EMFs [electro-magnetic fields] and within no time I developed ringing in my ears, buzzing in my brain, headaches, heart palpitations, insomnia and other symptoms.

“I know my body very well. I was not like this prior to the smart meter. When I stay away, the symptoms clear up, only to return when I come home. To start with, I could go away from the house for a couple of hours and it would stop.

“Rosemary said her husband had also started to experience a high-pitched ringing in his ears, was “jittery” and having trouble sleeping.

She said she was hesitant to have her two-year-old granddaughter stay at the house and was overcome with nausea, feeling too unwell to complete everyday tasks. “I do the bare necessities now and I can’t take it.”

After Rosemary contacted the Energy and Water Ombudsman, Jemena representatives, who are responsible for installing smart meters, returned to her home. An installer told Rosemary he had turned power to the meter down 90%.

“I can’t notice any improvement and have no proof that the meter has been turned down. The Ombudsman says that if the meter complies with Australian Standards there is nothing they can do about it.

“She said Jemena had refused to swap the meter for a different design. “I still can’t spend much time in my home and my husband and I are both sleeping in the van.

My husband is battling cancer and does not need this stress and further damage to his immune system. After he had an operation last week, I had to bring him home to sleep in the car.”

Rosemary’s doctor has written a letter asking the company to remove the meter but Rosemary said Jemena had stopped returning her phone calls.

“California is now uninstalling smart meters as too many people have been made sick by them. Unless we can fix the problem, we may have to sell the house as we cannot live like this. My house is ruined, it is unlivable. My home was my refuge.

“Last month, five Victorian smart meter installers, including Jemena, issued a joint statement saying distributors remained confident the meters were safe. A Jemena spokesman did not return the Weeklys calls before deadline.

via Smart meters made us ill, says resident – Local News – News – General – Frankston Weekly.

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Posted in electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), headaches, Heart palpitations, insomnia, Jemena, Jemena turned the meter down by 90%, Microwave, Ombudsman, Ringing in my ears, sleepless nights, Smart Meter, Tell us your story | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cranbourne resident takes a negative look at smart meters

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

WARNING to power companies: don’t mess with Rosina O’Neal’s meter box.

Mrs O’Neal is on full alert for electricians attempting to install a smart meter at her Cranbourne property.

Taped to her meter box is a notice that makes her feelings clear: “The owner does NOT consent to any electricity supplier sending you here to enter upon this property for the purpose of installing a smart meter…You will be held accountable to the law of our Australian Constitution Act 1900-01 and the Privacy Act for trespassing and are liable for a $167,000 fine.”

Mrs O’Neal is one of a growing number of people concerned about the possible health effects of the meters, which are being rolled out across the state.

About 50 people turned up to the first meeting of the Casey and Cardinia Smartmeters Awareness Group in Pakenham late last month.

Organiser Kate Everett said the group was trying to spread awareness of the dangers the meters posed to the health of residents.

Mrs O’Neal couldn’t make it to the meeting but she subscribes to the group’s view that microwave radiation from the meters can cause cancers, Alzheimer’s disease and heart attacks. She said she knew of people who had become seriously ill after smart meters were installed in their homes.

She also fears the meters can be used to spy on residents.

“They emit so much radiation that they can be read from the tower so they can monitor when you’re at home and when you’re out.”

via Cranbourne resident takes a negative look at smart meters – Local News – News – General – Casey Weekly.

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Posted in Casey and Cardinia Smartmeters Awareness Group, Microwave, Smart Meter | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Power rationing ruling alarms consumer groups

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

CONSUMER groups are concerned that a ruling to allow power companies to ration their supply to households could leave some people high and dry.

A final ruling by the Essential Services Commission this week opens the way for power companies to temporarily interrupt the power to households that choose to take part in customer trials using supply control features on smart meters.

The ruling specifies that the supply controls could be used only for ”non-credit management” purposes.

But consumer groups, including the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) and the Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), say energy retailers have no other reason to ration energy supply than to control the level of debt and ensure struggling households pay their bills.

Under the ruling, power companies could cut off electricity briefly to remind customers paying a lower rate for a capped amount of electricity, that they are using more energy than they had agreed to.

”We do not believe there is any reason for retailers to offer such products except for credit management purposes, whether this is explicit or not,” VCOSS has stated.

Janine Rayner, of CALC, says there are ”fairer and more balanced ways” for consumers to manage their energy use and debt.

These include flexible payment options, bill smoothing, hardship programs and energy efficiency audits, rather than ”taking the onus on themselves to self-manage and self-disconnect”.

This week’s ruling will also allow energy companies to turn off individual appliances.

via Power rationing ruling alarms consumer groups.

Posted in load control, supply capacity control | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Power companies to flick your switches | Herald Sun

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The state regulator has paved the way for a radical system that gives the potential for companies to temporarily disconnect customers when they hit a consumption cap.

VICTORIAN households may get the option of letting electricity companies ration their power in exchange for cheaper bills or other incentives.

Energy experts say the state regulator has paved the way for a radical system using smart meters that also gives the potential for companies to temporarily disconnect customers when they hit a consumption cap.

Other households could end up signing contracts allowing appliances such as airconditioners to be cycled on and off during heatwaves to reduce strain on the power grid.

Consumer groups are deeply concerned an Essential Services Commission ruling released yesterday will allow retailers to punish those having trouble paying bills.

“We advise consumers to be wary of these products if offered by energy retailers and to be aware of the other ways to reduce consumption and deal with high bills – such as energy efficiency, payment plans and hardship programs,” the Consumer Action Law Centres Janine Rayner said.

But the ESC, which has authorised product trials with volunteers, says rationing for “the primary purpose of credit management” rather than other reasons is banned until at least 2014.

Despite publicly releasing its decision, the ESC had no one available to comment.

The ruling comes with the State Government soon to reveal the fate of the beleaguered smart meter project, which is expected to progress because too much money has already been sunk into it.

Ms Rayner said the ESC decision allowed distributors to limit power supply to help avoid blackouts.

It also paves the way for companies to use “supply capacity control” to temporarily interrupt supply once a household hits a certain limit, or to “load control” by turning appliances on and off without cutting all power.

“Supply capacity control could be used by retailers to offer capacity limited tariffs, again to ration power and possibly avoid disconnection,” its paper states.

An example of load control is to cycle an air conditioner on and off to reduce load on the network on a very hot summers day.

“The customer would be offered a saving on the bill for accepting such a load control and the cycling of the air conditioner would be designed so that the customers comfort would not be materially affected.”

comments on this story

via Power companies to flick your switches | Herald Sun.

Posted in load control, Smart Meter, supply capacity control | Leave a comment

Resolution of the Public Forum On Smart Meters

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

The Public Forum was held at the Uniting Church Hall Pakenham on Wednesday November 30th, 2011.

This meeting of residents of Pakenham and surrounding districts, supports the proposal that a meeting be held with the Minister for Energy, Michael O’Brien, and the Minister for Health David Davis and community  representatives to raise resident’s concerns with the mandated Smart Meter Roll Out, and related health issues.

These concerns include;

  • Impact of the radiations emitted by the smart meter on people’s health.
  • Invasion of privacy
  • Increase in electricity cost.
  • Other issues

That this meeting be held before Minister O’Brien announces his decision in relation to the “Review Of The Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program”.

That representatives from the various communities actively concerned with the smart meter roll out be invited to participate in this meeting.

That a letter be sent to the Minister O’Brien and Minister Davis, requesting this meeting be held as a matter of urgency.

Carried Unanimously.

Posted in Meetings, Smart Meter | Leave a comment

Installed onto my property without my consent

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

I recently found out that a smart meter was installed onto my property without my consent. So I decided to contact the company for a please explain. To my horror the response I got was we can do whatever we want and we have government backing.
Since this Smart Meter was installed my family has been suffering headaches which is a direct result of the Smart Meter. I would think any government that supports a Smart meter does not care for the community they are meant to serve. Smart Meters are there to make Money at the expense of human health. I would urge people to get back the rights these power companies are taking away from us.

Posted in headaches, installed without consent, Tell us your story | 2 Comments

Electrical industry calls for investigation into electricity prices

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Today, peak Australian electrical industry body, the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA), called on the Victorian Government to investigate electricity prices rises to provide greater transparency for consumers.

Yesterday Origin Energy announced further electricity price rises meaning the average family will pay about $103 extra per year. It is expected that other electricity retailers will follow in the coming weeks. A further rise is expected with the introduction of the carbon tax half way through next year.

NECA Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Philip Green, said the Victorian Government should investigate why electricity prices are rising and provide the industry and public with greater transparency.

“Electricity prices have risen considerably over the past few years with little explanation. The industry and public should be told the reasons for such steep rises,” Mr Green said.

“Electricity distribution costs have allegedly soared and customers are paying for smart meters, feed-in tariffs, solar systems and energy saving schemes.

“The Victorian Government should follow the lead of the Essential Service Commission of South Australia who investigated the impact of these activities and whether they reasonably led to hikes in electricity prices.”

NECA who represents over 5,000 electrical contractors across Australia is also concerned about the impact that higher electricity prices will have on small business and consumers now and also again in July 2012 when the carbon tax is expected to be introduced.

“At the moment there are a number of measures that are placing a lot of pressure on electricity prices in Victoria. In this year’s budget the Baillieu Government announced $445 million for electricity concessions.

“NECA believes this money would be better spent providing assistance to Victorians to undertake energy efficient measures that will help to lower electricity consumption and therefore electricity prices plus this has the added benefit of helping the environment in the years to come,” Mr Green said.

via NewsMaker – Electrical industry calls for investigation into electricity prices.

Posted in Bills Soar, National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA), Smart Meter | Leave a comment

Sydney – here they come!

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Thousands of homes across the Hunter and in Sydney will form the first “Smart Cities” in Australia, as part of a $100 million trial that will see the deployment of smart-grid technology. Ausgrid beat tough interstate competition to win in the Commonwealth funding for the revolutionary “Smart Grid, Smart Cities” project.“Smart Grid, Smart Cities” is the first large-scale trial to test network, metering and renewable technology, along with consumer behaviour and responses, to help guide the deployment of smart grid technologies across Australia. Smart grids work by combining advanced communication, sensing and metering infrastructure with the existing electricity network. A smart grid can find and repair faults on the electricity grid quicker, self-heal, manage voltage and identify infrastructure requiring maintenance. It can also help individual consumers manage electricity consumption and will enable the use of energy efficient ‘smart appliances’, which can be programmed to run on off-peak power. Ausgrid will install new generation smart meters in 50,000 homes in Newcastle, Scone, Ku-ring-gai, Newington and the Sydney CBD. About 15,000 of those homes will become “smart homes” trialling in-house displays that track their electricity use and cost.“Smart Grid, Smart Cities” will explore synergies between smart grid and high-speed broadband technologies.

via 50,000 NSW homes to form “smart cities” | Broadband, Powering NSW.

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New Stop Sign

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

Why a new stop sign?

The old one stated:

I DECLINE TO HAVE A ‘SMART METER’ FITTED UNTIL AFTER THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAS COMPLETED THE ‘SMART METER’ REVIEW PROCESS. THANK YOU.

The new one says:

NOT EVER Click Here

Posted in New Stop Sign | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Frequencies now similar to mobile and cordless phones!

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

What the? ARPANSA seems to contradict both the Minister and Jemena!!

The Minister for Energy Michael O’Brien says:

“a Smart Meter produces less radio frequency than other house hold items like a cordless phone”. “You receive far more radiation from other common house hold items like a cordless phone or baby monitor!”

“If you have a microwave oven in your home, if you have a mobile phone in your home, a baby monitor or a cordless phone, you will be exposed to a higher level of radio frequency,” http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/money/article/-/11348901/smart-metre-concerns/

Jemena says:

Smart Meter radio frequency emissions are less than most other sources in the home such as those produced by mobile phones, microwave ovens and baby monitors. This means the radiofrequency of a smart meter would be at a weaker (and therefore safer) level than most other sources in the home. http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/money/article/-/11348901/smart-metre-concerns/

But ARPANSA says:

With frequencies similar to mobile and cordless phones, smart meters and other wireless devices used for communication are regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). http://www.arpansa.gov.au/RadiationProtection/Factsheets/is_smartmeters.cfm

So we have gone from less, to weaker to similar!

Who do we believe?

Posted in 2.4GHz, 918-928GHz, Energy Minister, Microwave, Radiation, Safety, Smart Meter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment