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APS and SSMA Differ on Smart Meters

Sedona Smart Meter

Sedona Smart Meter Awareness

Sedona AZ (June 17, 2013) – On Wednesday, June 19, in Sedona City Council Chambers at 5:00 in the evening, Sedona Smart Meter Awareness and APS will make presentations regarding the utility’s plan to remove Sedona analog meters and replace them with smart meters this year or next.

Based on two years of research and study, SSMA is recommending that Sedona local elected officials intervene on its residents behalf with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to request a no-fee community-wide opt out.

Over the past couple of years, SSMA persistently reported its smart meter research findings to the community, the Sedona City Council, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC is the State agency responsible for regulating fees and tariffs for utilities), and the SedonaEye.com news.

Massive cell towers planned for Yavapai County residential communities

Massive cell towers planned for Yavapai County residential communities

For those who may not know, smart meters are utility devices that pulse electromagnetic frequency and transmit your utility usage over microwave radiation frequencies 24/7 ad infinitum.

Most of us did not realize that over the past 30 or so years microwave radiation has grown exponentially and, while not a problem then, we are now being bombarded with radio frequency.

From 2000-2010 our exposure was 20,000 times greater than it was in 1980. Imagine how exposure has increased in the past three years with the influx of “new” iPhones, iPads, GPS, and more forthcoming.

The smart meter represents just a single device among many that comprise the smart grid, a grid where all devices (whether turned on or off) are constantly communicating with each other wirelessly, adding to the load of radio frequency exposure.

power lines photoAPS plans to install these meters on all residential and commercial properties in Sedona.

In actuality ‘Radio Wave or Microwave Sickness’ was discovered 81 years ago and has been verified thousands of times since, so why are smart meters and the rest of the wireless technology being foisted on the population?

And how are those individuals with medical implants; pace makers, insulin pumps, hearing aids, etc. whose signals are subject to interference supposed to avoid exposure everywhere?

How are our most vulnerable citizens; the elderly, chronically ill, pregnant women and children supposed to protect themselves when these meters are installed in all public places they frequent, such as; schools, courthouses and public defender offices, hospitals and urgent care facilities, ambulances, freeways, entertainment venues, retail and grocery stores, etc.?

aps logoInstallation of smart meters violates our Fourth Amendment rights, complete with a host of unintended vulnerabilities and expenses. Over and above its lethal emission of microwave radiation are all of the potential losses that affect every part of our lives.

In fact, Radio Frequency Radiation Risk tops A.M. Best’s list of emerging technologies on 02/14/13 that present significant risks with possible long-tail losses.

There is no federal mandate forcing monopoly utility companies, such as APS, into coercing its customers to accept devices that emit microwave radiation. The law (The Energy Policy Act of 2005) specifically states that two-way transmitting meters be given “upon request” to consumers requesting them.

sedonacityAs for its coverage area, Oncor, the Texas electric utility gave the following response to questions posed about locating Wireless Tower Antennas and Smart Meter Routers and the size of the area they cover:

The area of transmittal between wireless tower antennas and smart meter routers varies substantially based on geography and customer density. On average, the area for routers is approximately 5 square miles, and on average, the area for collectors on Oncor’s system is approximately 125 square miles. 

Oncor could not answer these two critical questions:

No. 15. “The frequencies from routers, antennas and other wireless infrastructure are going through building materials, fire separations and hitting anything in their path. Can the utility provide the attenuation coefficients for the building material including electrical/mechanical systems as well as documentation from engineers showing attenuation (elimination) of the frequencies inside buildings?

No. 18. How many billions of times per second can structures and fire separations be vibrated before the building is not compliant with building code?’

texas public utility sealEverything and everyone is radiated with or without a smart meter – and whether you choose to use wireless or not!

Smart meters perform surveillance and monitoring activities violating our privacy and security. The meters have a propensity to catch fire, and the enormous security risk posed by using wireless transmissions of data is a threat to safety and security, advises SSMA.

Reasons cited for the fires caused by smart meters; the device itself is plastic and prone to melting in hot environments; the converter (or Switching Mode Power Supply’) may be faulty; the device’s pulsating frequencies create vibrations, improper installation (e.g., “hot swapping”), and the device’s essential incompatibility with our household wiring and appliances.

As for the safety of smart meters, more murkiness exists surrounding whether these have been certified or passed any type of qualifying standard inspection. Forget trying to locate any government agency responsible for its regulation, except the FCC whose “safe” standard does not address damage produced by non-thermal mechanisms, such as those produced by microwave radiation, on biological beings and whose standards are dramatically too high along with Canada’s when compared with other countries.

red rock sedona DesertMany have already had identities stolen by spammers or hackers, but large scale hacking is occurring regularly. Last fall, the Russia hacked into South Carolina’s Department of Revenue and stole 75% of its tax payer’s personal information. The victims are lucky that the data was stolen from a state agency as the state will have to provide insurance for all of those citizens. If it had been a utility, they would have been out of luck.

Above and beyond those vulnerabilities that exist when using wireless transmissions, there is no security on the Internet, as many know.

There is mutual agreement among former CIA director James Woolsey, the former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure, Protection and Counter Terrorism Richard A. Clarke, and the former director of the CIA Leon Panetta that there is a complete lack of cyber security.

David Chalk, a cyber security expert from Canada has remarked that if our Internet system is breached, it would take us back to 1870 in three days.

Along with the financial losses, over billing has been associated with smart meters because the meters are running all of the time to communicate with whatever wireless devices are in its neighborhood, such as cell phones, or laptops, and no cost-savings could be realized.

In the words of Sedona Smart Meter Awareness spokeswoman, Nancy Baer, “We are privileged to live in an astoundingly beautiful place; a gift from Spirit and and the indigenous people who were the stewards and conservators of this land who preserved and maintained it. We are asking our Council to apply the Great Law of the Iroquois as caretakers of “all that is here” in all its decisions and remind its elected members of the words of Chief Oren Lyons in a speech before the United Nations:

Our leaders were instructed to be men of vision and to make every decision on behalf of the Seventh Generation to come; to have compassion and love for those generations yet unborn. ”

For the best in Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!

For the best in Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!

 

7 Comments

  1. I hope you have good luck with APS and the smart meters. I live in Spring Valley (Cordes) area and we had absolutely no choice, just happened.

  2. Paul H says:

    You can opt out for free. ACC is soon going to tell us if we have to pay for not being exposed to a class 2b carcinogen. The smart meter is the only thing you are exposed to 24/7. Even the sun gives us a break. So many people in Arizona have told me that they wake up at 3:12 am. It just so happens that is the same time the meter broadcasts it”s daily data. Coincidence?

  3. You did and do have a choice. no one is telling you.
    Call your local leaders, Ms. Mercier. Call APS and have your meter removed, then tell your neighbors. Get busy now!! Happy health to you and thanks for commenting. This is what will win the battle, one person at a time. One home at a time. Slow and steady wins the race.

  4. Kristin says:

    Declassified government document from 1976 showing the known dangers and biological significance of radiowaves and microwaves include the following topics for which there is considerable research: blood, cardiovascular system, cells, central nervous system, digestive system, glands, metabolism, reproduction, visual systems, internal sound perception as well as miscellaneous effects.

    Why would anyone want this on their home or their neighbors home?

    http://www.magdahavas.com/pick-of-the-week-23-research-on-biological-effects-of-radio-frequency-radiation-in-eurasian-communist-countries-1976/

  5. Nancy Baer says:

    If you have or had smart meter health or safety problems CALL: (800) 638-2772 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET

    or submit your complaint by email.

    Here’s the information you will need to provide:

    A description of the product;
    The name of the manufacturer;
    A description of the injury, or death, or the risk of illness, injury, or death related to use of the product;
    The date or estimated date when the incident occurred or when you first became aware of the potential for the product to act in an unsafe manner;
    You will also need to provide a description of who you are, for example, consumer, health care professional, a government agency; your name and mailing address; and permission to publish your Report on SaferProducts.gov. Finally your verification that the Report is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief.

    Once the CPSC receives your complaint they will send a report back to you for your review and consent. It will then go to the manufacturer where they will have to respond in ten days. After that depending on the number of complaints the compliance office receives, they will decide if the products should be recalled!

  6. Nancy Baer says:

    – Laptop use lowers student grades, experiment shows –
    – Screens also distract laptop-free classmates –

    “We really tried to make it pretty close to what actually happens in the lectures, we found that lo and behold, the students who multitasked performed much worse on the final test and those who were seated around peers who were multitasking also performed much worse on the final test,” said Sana.

    “So you might not be multitasking but if you have a clear view of someone else who is multitasking, your performance is still going to be impaired.”

    The students in the first experiment who were asked to multitask averaged 11 per cent lower on their quiz. The students in the second experiment who were surrounded by laptops scored 17 per cent lower.

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