Are Smart Meters Dangerous To Your Health & Privacy?

The other day, I spoke with a woman from Idaho who was forced to abandon her home two years ago, because of the installation of a smart meter which caused her all kinds of health problems. At first, I thought “this woman is a nut”, but as I listened, I realized that she was on to something and her issues carry some serious weight.

We (that would be you and I, and the public at large) need to stop and take some time to consider these SMART METERS which are being FORCED upon us by President Obama's Dept. of Energy, IBM, Siemens, and your local utility companies. 

What is a Smart Meter?

Nearly 9 percent of the electric meters in the U.S. are smart, and more are on the way. But those smart meters may be a lot smarter than you think -- and know a lot more about you than you might want.

"The idea behind a smart meter is that it communicates information to the utility," Kevin Doran, a research professor at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In an interview with PRI’s Living On Earth, Prof. Doran stated: "In theory, the utility can also use that pathway, if you will, to send information back to the consumer. The utility company could charge more for peak times, or it could even turn off appliances when they're not being used but could be saving electricity.Information from smart meters could help utilities manage energy more efficiently, but it could also be used for more nefarious purposes. 

My concerns:

·    Not only can your utility company (electric, water, or gas) monitor your energy use, but they can also RATION your use if they choose to, or they can penalize you for useage during peak periods. For example, if during the summer, it’s 96-degrees outside and you choose to keep your thermostat set at a comfortable 70-degrees,  the power company might demand that you set your thermostat no lower than 74-degrees and they could actually prevent you from going any lower in temp. Also, they could penalize you with a much higher rate for use during these peak periods.

This rationing is akin to what took place in the East European countries under Communism. I visited Romania in the early 1990s, and was informed that all their heat and electricity was centralized; it flowed from the center of the city (Bucharest) to the rest of the region. In many cases, under Nikolai Ceausescu (Romanian president from 1967-1989), Romanian citizens froze in their homes because they were only given enough heat to keep temps at 34-degrees. Sometimes the government would not turn on the heat until the middle of December when it was already below-zero temps. Also, Romanian citizens were only given enough electricity to light one or two 40-watt light bulbs, never mind trying to run an appliance or television.

·    Privacy issues. Each appliance in your house is being designed to send back information to the utility company under the guise of using energy more efficiently. But these chips and the smart meters can be used for more nefarious purposes. This data holds information about when you arrive home, go to bed, watch TV. Smart meters can be hacked, and someone in your neighborhood who has issues with you could hack into your smart meter and increase your electric or water bill.

·     We are told that smart meters will reduce our energy costs, but homeowners in Bakersfield and Fresno, CA., saw a dramatic increase in their electric bills after smart meters were installed. There is NO evidence currently that smart meters lower your utility bills, it’s just the opposite.

·      Health issues. Smart meters are causing increasing numbers of physical problems for consumers including headaches, heart palpitations, ringing in the ears, sleeplessness, pains in various parts of the body. There are numerous reports of fires beings started by faulty smart meters which have taken the lives of the homeowners.

 What should you do?

• Get informed. Ask yourself why there is a current moratorium on smart meters in Marin County and Santa Cruz, CA. This is home to “green activists” who are concerned about energy usage and its effects on the environment, but now they are also concerned about the effect of smart meters on humans.
• Call your utility company (Electric, water, gas) and ask them what their plans are for smart meters.    Tell them you are opposed to the installation of a smart meter on your home until they can assure you in writing with factual evidence that smart meters are safe.
• Write your senator or congressman and tell them you want a moratorium on smart meters. Tell them you don’t care for the invasion of privacy or the ability of the government to control and mandate your energy usage from your smart meter.