Opt Out of Smart Meters

Opt Out of Smart Meters
Letter to the Editor

As many people know, I am adamantly opposed to the Southern California Edison Smart Meters. I have written in the past about the potential health issues they could cause. In addition they are a direct invasion of privacy, could be hacked into, and will lead to “Time of Use Billing” (which will force you to pay higher rates at peak use times). I have chosen to be put on the Delay List for these and other reasons.

I also know the Advice Letter (AL) sent to rate payers by Edison has been suspended for 120 days. ( http://www.sce.com/NR/sc3/tm2/pdf/2726-E.pdf )

  • I intend to Opt Out, but will refuse to pay the $75.00 fee and the monthly meter reading fee of $10.00. I already have a meter, and the meter reading fee was built into the rate structure 75 years ago. If billed, I intend to take Southern California Edison to court. I will start with Small Claims Court, and if many of us do that, Edison will have to send a “brigade of lawyers” constantly to court.
  • I have noted on the form Edison sent me I am Opting Out and that “I do not agree to any fee/monthly charge.” Unless you add a similar note, it is your consent to be billed.
  • I intend to mail Edison's form to them next week along with a copy of the Suspension Document –noted ---certified return receipt requested.
    ( http://www.sce.com/NR/sc3/tm2/pdf/2726-E.pdf )
  • Once again, tell them you will not pay any fee/monthly charge.

Now Edison has sent letters to those on The Delay List stating to Opt Out will cost you a one-time fee of $75.00 and a monthly fee of $10.00 to read your meter. Now there is some controversy if this fee has been suspended or not. I do know the Advice Letter of transmittal sent to you by Edison has been suspended for 120 days, but Edison insists that their fees have not been suspended – a strange kind of doublethink.

We can thank the Consumers Power Alliance (CPA) for getting this suspension. CPA is a coalition of concerned citizens and organizations dedicated to the promotion and support of America's safe, reliable, cost-efficient and secure energy production, supply and delivery systems, who have banded together to oppose the rushed deployment of wireless smart meters and global smart grid as reckless, eco-toxic and dangerous. http://www.consumerspoweralliance.com/
I am still doing research on this latest twist. See the following: http://stopsmartmeters.org/2012/06/07/breaking-southern-california-edison-opt-out-fees-suspended/

For more details see this article: http://burbankaction.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/consumer-power-puts-sce-smart-meter-fees-on-temporary-hold/

This is the Advice Letter (AL) Suspension Notice: http://www.sce.com/NR/sc3/tm2/pdf/2726-E.pdf

My research shows that the federal legislation encouraged but did not mandate Smart Meter Installation. In addition, nothing was ever directed that it be wireless. Thus, it could be hard-wired. The wireless aspects bring the potential for health-related problems including cancer.

  1. As I read this federal law, it does not mandate the utilities to install Smart Meters in homes. It only mandates the utilities to “offer” them and to install them “upon customer request.” I chose not to have a Smart Meter!
  2. So, if any of you hear the same statements that the meters are mandatory, just quote the above from the Energy Policy Act.
  3. I found the Energy Policy Act of 2005 at
    http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS109hr6enr/pdf/BILLS-109hr6enr.pdf
  4. The entire bill is 550 pages of very fine print. Section 1252 is on pages 370-374. Here is another place to find the bill
    http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.00006: (click on Text of Legislation)
  5. I think the purpose of this section is to encourage all electric utilities to use “time-based metering” and “time-of-use pricing.” The goal of this is that if you know exactly how much it costs to operate each of your appliances at different times of the day, you will tend to run them when it is cheaper.

For those who are not aware of the workings of these meters, here is an explanation of their mechanics and why they are such a health risk:

First though I know as a Ham Radio Operator that licensing is required to broadcast on the bands being used. This means the utility companies are installing a federally regulated transmitter on homes without permission. Does the fact that the utility company is the end user allow this to happen? These devices come under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. A lot of Part 15 reads that if you cause interference you have to remedy it. Also, if you own the device and control it you are responsible. In this case, the homeowner does not do either of these. So I interpret that to mean in this case Edison is responsible, and I doubt if they are licensed. In addition I have found:

  1. The limitations on Smart Meters are routinely violated by electric utilities (including Edison) in the manner they install and operate Smart Meters. See the Sage Report
  2. Sage and Associates found violations under formulas of FCC OET Bulletin 65. It is public information on the FCC website. It was the basis for the modeling in the Sage Report.

Analysis input assumptions: Smart Meters [SK9AMI-4] have two RF transmitters (antennas) and are the type of Smart Meters typically installed on most buildings. They contain two antennas that transmit RF signals (916 MHz LAN and 2405 MHz Zigbee). The antennas CAN transmit simultaneously, and thus the maximum RF exposure is determined by the summation of power densities (from the FCC Certification Exhibit titled RF Exposure Report for FCC ID: SK9AMI-4). Model SK9AMI-4 transmits on 915 MHz is designated as LAN Antenna Gain for each model.

1. Transmitter Power Output (TPO) used is as shown on the grant issued by the Telecommunications Certification Body (TCB).

2. Antenna gain in dBi (decibels compared to an isotropic radiator) used comes from the ACS Certification Exhibit.

3. Collector Meters [SK9AMI-2A] have three RF transmitters (antennas) and are installed where the utility needs them to relay RF signals from surrounding Smart Meters in a neighborhood. Collector meters contain a third antenna (GSM 850 MHz, 915 MHz LAN and 2405 MHz Zigbee). Collector meters can be placed on any building where a collector meter is needed to relay signals from the surrounding area. Estimates of the number of collector meters vary between one per 500 to one per 5000 Smart Meters. Collector meters will thus “piggyback” the RF signals of hundreds or thousands of Smart Meters through the one collector meter. In a collector meter, only two of the three antennas can transmit simultaneously (the 915 MHz LAN and the GSM 850 MHz (from the FCC Certification Exhibit titled RF Exposure Report for FCC ID: SK9AMI-2A).

Conditions Influencing Radiofrequency Radiation Level Safety: Finally, some meters will have higher RF emissions because – as collector units – their purpose is to collect and resend the RF signals from many other meters to the utility. A collector meter is estimated to be required for every 500 to 5000 buildings. Each collector meter contains three, rather than two, transmitting antennas. This means higher RF levels will occur on and inside buildings with a collector meter, and significantly more frequent RF transmissions can be expected. At present, there is no way to predict whose property will be used for installation of collector meters.

People who are visually reading the wireless meters “by sight” or are visually inspecting and/or reading the digital information on the faceplate may have their eyes and faces only inches from the antennas. This could lead to assorted health issues.

F. K. ( Joe ) Holtzman
Mission Viejo