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APS Smart Meters Dumb Choice Opines Activists

Sedona AZ (September 20, 2012) – Many APS power customers in Arizona are joining a national groundswell of property owners and renters organizing against local power utility companies on-going replacement of current digital and analog meters with so-called “smart meters.”

A primary reason for the anti-smart meter consumer outcry is radiation exposure.

In its continuing coverage of the smart meter installation controversy, the Sedona Eye will attempt to provide an open forum for APS and its customers to vet concerns, to share and seek information as to the truthfulness or falseness of smart meter claims and beliefs, and to debate issues that may arise as it relates to the APS smart meter installation decision.

The following is a Q&A opinion piece sent to the Sedona Eye by Nancy Baer, Sedona Arizona anti-smart meter activist and is based on her and fellow researchers opinions about potential hazards associated with smart meter installation:  The smart meter Q&A opinions herein, including the image notations (top right), are those of its authors and are reprinted for the purpose of a public vetting and debate of the authors anti-smart meter installation opinions and research findings:

Nancy Baer and fellow anti-smart meter activists write the following Q&A opinions:

  • “APS says smart meters are green—they save energy and will stop global warming.”

WRONG.

Energy savings happen only when customers use less. You don’t need a radiation-­‐emitting and privacy-­‐intruding smart meter to save energy.

It’s APS’s green-­‐wash money-­‐grab.

  • “APS says smart meters emit RF radiation only 45 seconds a day. That’s not very much…”

WRONG.

What they don’t tell you is that means 22,000+ spiked pulses of RF radiation, going off all day and all night—and you cannot turn it off. This is enforced exposure to a World Health Organization Class 2B carcinogen—RF microwave radiation.

  • “It’s not true that smart meters make people sick—otherwise it’d be in the news.”

WRONG.

All over California and the US, smart meters have made people ill—headaches, ringing in ears, sleep disturbances, heart problems, nausea, anxiety.

RF causes DNA breaks and blood-­‐brain barrier breeches. Thousands have submitted complaints to authorities. How many more?

  • “They won’t let my private data from the smart meter get into the wrong hands, will they?”

WRONG.

Utilities and the industry have been talking from the beginning about the massive goldmine of data they are going to collect from smart meters. Are you and your family for sale?

  • “APS says I can control all the appliances in my house online, and save money.”

WRONG.

Unless you replace every appliance with new, radiation-­‐emitting versions that “talk” to your smart meter—a very expensive way to “save money.”

  • “APS says the radiation from my cell phone is stronger than a smart meter.”

WRONG.

Peak power of the spiked radiation pulses from a smart meter can be stronger. It’s your own personal cell tower—all night, all day, every day.

  • “Why haven’t I heard more about smart meters in the media? It must not be that important.”

WRONG.

Media blackout is no indication of anything but the power and money of APS and the wireless industry. Who do YOU think should determine what goes on your home?

  • “I hear we need to update the electric grid. APS says smart meters are part of the smart grid.”

WRONG.

Wireless smart meters are not a necessary part of grid upgrade. Our grid does need much work—but wireless meters make the whole grid MUCH more vulnerable to cyber-­‐attack.

  • “They tell me smart meters are safe. They wouldn’t be putting them on houses otherwise—right?”

WRONG.

There are many accounts of fires and appliance damage resulting from smart meters. Smart meters lack the most basic safety certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

  • “APS wouldn’t lie—or do something unsafe, unhealthy, or intrusive, would they?”

WRONG.

APS’s record of disregard for the human consequences of its actions goes back decades. These are untested devices. You are their guinea pig. They are a monopoly utility, and by now we know what monopolies do:  ABUSE POWER. But this time we say NO.

  • What can you do?
  • Call the APS Opt-­‐Out List at 602-371-­‐7171 *  Tell APS that you want an Analog Meter Only * Put up a No Trespassing sign and a “No Smart Meter” sign on electrical panel.
  • Then visit these websites to find out more:
  • Facebook.com/groups/PreserveSedona/
  • StopSmartMeters.org
  • EMFSafetyNetwork.org
  • SageReports.com
  • SmartMeterDangers.org  (end Q&A submission)

What is your opinion? Agree or disagree? Do you have smart meter research that may contradict or affirm the findings of Nancy Baer and fellow anti-smart meter activists? The Sedona Eye welcomes and prints all points of view. Submit yours in a Letter to the Editor or Q&A opinion piece to Editor@SedonaEye.com and or as a comment below this article. Join the conversation!

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3 Comments

  1. Nancy Baer says:

    Dear Mayor Adams, Vice Mayor DiNunzio, Councilors Litrell, Martinez, McIlroy, Ward and Williamson:

    Curtis Bennett, Chief Science Officer, Interprovincial Journeyman Electrician (Red Seal), Engineering Technologist issued the attached letter dated September 24, 2012 to the City Council of Naperville, Illinois and Naperville Fire Department. He has recommended that this be shared with the City of Sedona and our Fire Department. Therefore, I am including the City Clerk so that she may transmit this message to the Fire Chief.

    Chief among his comments regarding the missing critical data is concerned with the rest of the wireless radiation; relays, routers and cell towers radiating within a circuit, not being considered in the initial equation regarding the safety of ‘smart’ meters.

    Bennett says, “Oncor in Texas stated routers are covering 5 square miles and collectors covering 125 square miles. That makes the frequencies illegal as applied and creates a biological killing field while radiating all buildings, as well as infrastructure.”

    You may or may not recall that I recently sent you a video of aphids located 14 miles away from one radar beam. Every time the radar scanned the area where they were located, the aphids jerked uncontrollably. Here’s a refresher for you if you missed it.

    “If aphids can react to the microwaves from a distant radar, how do human cells react to even closer microwaves from cell phones and towers and WiFi, ‘Smart’ power meters, CFLs, digital phones, baby monitors, microwave ovens, etc.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=018C2oG2Rcs&feature=channel&list=UL

    · Imagine, hundreds of square miles bathed with these pulsating frequencies simply to communicate with ‘Smart’ devices to create a wireless grid.

    Please protect us from this threat.

    Sincerely,

    Nancy Baer
    Sedona, AZ 86336

  2. (The Sedona Eye will include this comment in its Friday edition as a Letter to the Editor as requested and will also include the photographs referenced in this comment. Follow the Sedona Eye’s continuing coverage of the APS Smart Meter installation controversy: Use search words “smart meter” on this site to read prior articles.)

    Dear Mayor, Council members, City Manager,

    There has been lots of confusion whether there are (smart) automated meters installed by APS in Sedona, or not. After doing some homework, here are my findings.

    There are two kinds of meters installed by APS in Sedona.

    First, are the analog meters with numerical dials. It is the default meter everybody used to have. It is mechanical and has no electronic parts. This meter is time tested over the past 20 years.analog It is accurate and safe. This meter does not generate harmonics (dirty electricity), because it does not have a power switching mode supply, or SMPS for short. Analog meters do not run on electricity and there is no port for meter reading. Read-outs are done from reading the dials.

    The second type is the automated meter with digital read-outs. The manufacturer is Itron and there are two models. The Centron used residentially and the Sentinel for commercial and industrial applications. Neither one of these meters is UL certified.

    Here are the pictures of the Itron models. The first one is the Centron. Notice that there are no dials, just digital read out. This digital meter is capable of tracking your electricity usage by the time of day. This meter uses electricity to run and has a battery for backup data storage. This meter contains electronic parts, as well as a port for meter reading. Reading of this meter will include usage and time of usage, etc.

    This meter has a ‘power switching mode supply’ (SMPS). Its function is to ‘step down’ the 240v alternating current (AC) coming in from the utility pole power lines to the 2 to 10 volts of direct current (DC) required to run the meter’s digital electronics, which record the electricity usage data. The SMPS function emits millisecond bursts of sharp spikes constantly around the clock. It is well known that SMPS can generate spikes of so-called electromagnetic interference (EMI), or high frequency transients which then travel along the wiring in the walls, radiating outward in the wiring’s electromagnetic field. Such spikes are known as ‘dirty electricity’ and can be conducted to a human body that is within the range of the radiating field.

    The Itron automated meters consume electricity and even when no appliance is in use, you will still be charged for the electricity consumed by the meter itself. Sentinel If all else are equal, customers with an Itron meter will be consuming more, and thus paying for a higher energy bill. Instead of saving energy, they are consuming more energy. Any damages or loss resulted from any electronic devices that not UL certified and mounted on our buildings will not be covered by our homeowner’s insurance.

    Now seeing the difference between the analog and the automated meters, are the Itron meters “smart meters”?

    According to APS, they are not.

    What about according to Itron, the manufacturer?

    Here is the link to Itron’s site about these meters. https://www.itron.com/na/productsAndServices/Pages/CENTRON.aspx?market=electricity

    Here are the “features and benefits” listed on Itron’s site.

    “When you deploy the CENTRON meter, you can:

    Deploy a metering platform that will be ready for an automatic meter reading (AMR) system.

    When you are ready to deploy an AMR system, the CENTRON meter’s flexible format allows the communication functions to be installed without disturbing the finely-tuned metrology. Options are available for network communications, PLC and an array of radio frequency (RF) protocols Adapt meters easily and cost-effectively to meet the needs of your customers. The modular architecture of the CENTRON meter allows new snap-in personality modules to be installed in the meter without disturbing the finely calibrated metrology board in the lower, measurement portion of the meter. Optional snap-in personality modules include demand, time-of-use (TOU), load profile and various communication protocol options.

    So yes, these Itron meters installed in Sedona are not yet automated ‘smart’ meters technically, but they all can, and will, become automated ‘smart’ meters when APS is ready.

    The snap-in modules will easily and cost-effectively upgrade all these “automated” digital meters in Sedona as smart meters with RF protocols.

    The only true non-automated meter is the analog meter – the only safe option without RF, without dirty electricity, without the fire hazard, without interference with medical devices and electronic appliances. This is the only meter people all over the nation are asking to keep when they opt-out. This is the only meter that does not have any harmful health effect.

    If we don’t stop the deployment of the Itron meter in its track, Sedona will have smart meters when APS is ready.

    In point of fact, they have already been putting these meters in every neighborhood around town.

    If Mayor Bloomberg of New York City can ban ‘super-sized’ soda, we can ban automated meters in Sedona.

    Fifty seven cities and counties in California have opposed automated meters in California. Many people have since become ill (as in electromagnetically hypersensitive, or EMF sensitive) when the automated meters were installed. Nationally, 15 – 20% of the population is EMF sensitive.

    In California, anyone who is EMF sensitive and opts out is allowed to have an analog meter, because even the automated meter without an antenna will make them sick.

    According to Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, a retired lecturer at Imperial College London, ‘smart’ meters may cause autism and cancer (see attached paper). Currently, one out of every 80-150 births results in a diagnosis of autism.

    The WHO classified radio freuqency radiation (RFR) as a class 2B carcinogen in May, 2011. This is typically emitted by wireless devices, such as cell phones, cordless phones, WiFi routers, wireless digital smart meters and all wireless transmitters. Many nations of the world are recommending precaution, to avoid hazardous exposure conditions and protect health. APS still claims in their literature updated June 2012 that WHO has concluded no known health effects with RFR. This is fraudulent and an out right lie.

    APS is telling the City that they won’t be deploying smart automated meters in Sedona until 2013. With APS’ track record of truth telling, will the City be ready to stop their deployment if the utility changes its mind and decide to start activating these Itron meters next month? Because the Itron is not considered a fully functional automated ‘smart’ meter, APS does not even need to notify any of its customers that it is deploying their meters. Our analog meter at our commercial building in West Sedona was switched to an Itron Sentinel without any notice. By the time APS is ready to notify us of its deployment, no analog meters will remain in Sedona.

    The only chance we have to prevent this fiasco from occurring is happening NOW, before APS flips the switch. Please put “automated meters” on your “urgent to do list.”

    We do not have to reinvent the wheel, there are already legal documents drafted by various cities in California banning these meters. The best written one is the one from the City of Fairfax. Here is the link. http://www.town-of-fairfax.org/pdfs/council/council_packet/SmartMeter/Motion%20to%20Delay%20Deployment%20with%20Attach%20043012.pdf
    And here is their latest ordinance #765 http://www.town-of-fairfax.org/pdfs/council/council_packet/2012/052412/Item%203%20Ordinance%20Extending%20SmartMeter%20Moratorium.pdf

    October 4th 2012 is the National Day of Action Against Smart Meters. I invite the City of Sedona to join in and start seeing the truth of what APS is doing in Sedona.say no There are overwhelming concerns among local Sedonans with the pending deployment of automated meters. Just look at the volume of correspondence and requests from all of us asking the City to do something to protect and preserve our beloved city you have received over the past year. Did you receive any request from anyone in Sedona asking to have a smart meter?

    It is our goal to be able to keep our analog meters both residential and commercial. The City of Fairfax did it and we can do it, too. Mayor Bloomberg did it with “supersized” soda for public health reasons, we believe our mayor is equally capable to accomplishing a similar feat by banning “automated’ aka ‘digital’ meters. This will make Sedona a safe haven for those who are sensitive to RF, as well as increase everyone’s property values.

    Sincerely,

    Monnie Ramsell

    cc Elizabeth Kelley M.A.
    Director, Electromagnetic Safety Alliance, Inc.

  3. Nancy Baer says:

    Sanjay Gupta, MD had a (smart meter) video on CNN yesterday – I received a message from Curtis Bennett that he had tweeted Gupta and is following up with an email. Additionally, he contacted the group that published the CCST report that all of the utilities are relying on for justifying using ‘smart’ meters and they asked for his feedback.

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