EWEB pushes smart meters despite high risks
By Kathy Ging
PUBLISHED: 12:00 A.M., SEPT. 23
Despite opposition by informed professionals and evidence of
multiple risks, the Eugene Water & Electric Board is pushing to replace
long-lasting analog electric and water meters with wireless plastic digital
smart meters.
On Oct. 1, EWEB will consider a $26-million smart meter contract,
potentially with a company that has a B-minus bond rating and whose meters were
replaced elsewhere due to faulty installation, poor design or overheating.
Beforehand, ratepayer-owners should protect the pocketbooks,
privacy, security and health of their children, pets and themselves by urging
EWEB to adopt an indefinite smart meter moratorium. Comments by EWEB staff that
smart meter approval was more important for EWEB than for other communities led
to my two-year investigation of these devices, and I recommend that ratepayers
research them now.
Smart meters are Internet-capable “computers” with antennae
that transmit customer use data via radio frequency/microwave radiation. They
can record timed interval electric consumption, communicating with utilities
for monitoring and billing, promising cost savings that have not materialized
elsewhere and in some places have generated cost increases.
Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan attorneys general found
no energy savings with smart meters, determining that costs exceeded benefits.
Maine’s Public Utility Commission ordered an audit of Central Maine Power and
found that $363 million promised savings turned into a $99 million cost in only
three years. Speculative predictions of cost savings diminish as EWEB reduced
projected savings over 20 years from $20 million to $9 million.
Billing error increases of 100 percent have resulted from
some meters reading erratically. A mother with five children reported a 100
percent bill increase after time-of-day pricing was implemented. Variable
pricing being considered by EWEB can add to the economic hardships of limited
budget households and 9-to-5 workers.
Beyond errors, cost and phantom savings, smart meters
introduce many problems:
Security: Digital smart meters differ from automatic meters
accessible by curbside readers installed in 7,000 EWEB homes. Smart meters
would link into smart grids, a plan increasingly criticized by cyber-security
experts. The smart grid is “really, really stupid,” said former CIA Director
James Woolsey. The FBI warned in 2009 that electricity theft will increase with
more smart meters. Cybersecurity expert David Chalk reminds that anything can
be hacked, jeopardizing entire grids.
Health: Informed consultants, doctors and scientists
worldwide caution that wireless smart meters emit radiation that can harm
health and affect biological tissue although non-ionizing or non-thermal
radiation. The Arizona Corporation Commission recently directed the state Department
of Health to study smart meter health effects for a year.
Cumulative exposure is creating immune-compromised refugees,
some unable to live in their homes after smart meter installation. Effects
include heart palpitations, insomnia, skin tingling, tremors, migraines,
medical implant interference and DNA changes that can lead to cancer.
Liability: Reports of health effects of this radiation are
supported by a significant body of research. Lawyers are agreeing to represent
clients who claim harm from smart meters. Health effects, fraud, negligence,
fire and product liability lawsuits are pending in California, Washington and
British Columbia. A Vacaville, Calif., family settled out of court after a man
died in a house fire the day after smart meter installation.
Surveillance: Smart meters providing detailed electrical use
will be used for government surveillance says former CIA director Gen. David
Petraeus. In post-Snowden America, more privacy invasion is alarming.
Utilities are rolling out technology without adequate
testing to ensure privacy, medical safety, grid security and accurate
cost-benefit analysis. A culture of denial reveals disingenuous attempts to
discredit rational arguments from diverse disciplines and political views
warning about smart meter perils.
EWEB board members and ratepayers have been misled. No
dissenting viewpoints were allowed on EWEB’s information website. Board, staff
and consultants were poorly informed or quiescent about issues erupting after
millions of smart meters were installed elsewhere, ignoring advice to engage a
citizen advisory committee.
EWEB’s rhetoric misconstrued the Integrated Electric
Resource Plan citizen committee advisories as approving “demand responses” such
as Smart Meters. Videotapes of board sessions reveal the utility did not
adequately circulate information about emerging smart meter challenges.
Is this technology needed? EWEB has an electricity surplus,
not a peak power problem. Providing more important back-up water supplies could
cost $150 million, money that should not be spent on experimental smart meter
technology.
EWEB General Manager Roger Gray questioned if Eugene wants
to return to the 20th century or adopt a 21st century utility model. But if
smart meters and grids are hacked, it could mean a return to the 19th century.
Gray did not mention that. It’s your move, Eugene. Game
over?
Kathy Ging, a Eugene Realtor, is a member of
FamiliesforSafeMeters.org. The group is screening a documentary on smart
meters, “Take Back Your Power,” on Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m at Cozmic
Pizza, 199 W. Eighth Ave.; admission is free. More information is available at
Info@FamiliesForSAFEMeters.org.
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