Pacific Grove City Watch Group: SmartMeters: What's next?

Pacific Grove City Watch

CRITICAL ACTION
- "You MUST PROTECT YOURSELF"
- "Box Your Analog Meters - Frame, Chain, Wooden"
- "Utility Commission Committee emails"
- "Protest Sign Ideas"

RED ALERT - ACT NOW
4/19/11 - print and send letter or email to the Ca State Utility Commission Committee - find the letter
in "Utility Commission Committee emails" folder.

ACTION ALERT - Everyone must get involved - or we will all be surrounded.

--give information to your neighbors, including Wellington’s phone number: 1- 866 - 671 - 1001

--with your neighbors, watch your neighborhood

--take flyers with you and let people know

- check back here for updates, and share this page.

Protest (pick 1, 2 or more to do as you have time):

--stand with a protest sign with a buddy on a busy street corner for an hour or two, have flyers to hand out if people want more information

--contact

--------the PUC -- regarding the opt-out proposal and Smart Meter program

--------Governor Brown

--------Bill Monning, Sam Blakeslee, Luis Alejo, state senators and Assemblymembers

--write letters to the editor

--------Monterey Herald

--------Salinas Californian

--------Monterey County Weekly

--------other newspapers

--file a complaint with the county district attorney

Monterey County Update Bulletins

Please take flyers with you wherever you go, and give to businesses and people you meet. Write Wellington phone number on your flyers (1-866-671-1001) so that people can call that number when they get their letters from PG&E. We need everyone’s help to get this stopped. Flyering, or holding signs protesting Smart Meters with a friend for an hour or two at busy intersections gets the word out.

OTHER RESOURCES

- EMF Safety Network now has a page devoted to the California Council on Science and Technology study and the critiques – great scientific information. It is under the Smart Meter Hazards tab at the top. www.emfsafetynetwork.org

Monterey and Pacific Grove libraries have books with Smart Meter documentation that I’ve put there, for those who don’t have computers. Seaside, Carmel and Salinas will be getting copies as soon as I can get there – this week. The libraries may be reluctant to keep these books. Call the libraries or go by and ask to see these books. Most of the libraries will have a three-volume set.

The District Attorney complaint form is in Vol. 1 to copy.

You Must Protect Yourself

1 - Box and chain up your electric and gas meters - YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN - see intructions and photos TOP RIGHT.
2 - get your keys back from PG&E, change your security code on your gate - If you have a gate lock or code to get to your meter and you’re changing it to keep Wellington and PG&E out, call Kathy at to let them know 831-241-1893

3 - Once you receive a letter from PG&E stating that they "will be installing SmartMeters in your neighborhood soon", call Wellington (the installation company) at 1-866-671-1001 - M-F, 8am-8pm, and ask them if they have a "work order" for your house. Give them your physical address and they can check. If they do have a work order for your location, tell them you don't want a SmartMeter. They won't argue with you. They will send your "work order" back to PG&E, and they will not schedule your house for installation.

4 - If they don't have a work order for your house, then you'll need to check back with them again. If at any point you receive a letter from PG&E, saying that they are about to install in your neighborhood, that is the point at which to make certain to call Wellington and strongly decline a SmartMeter. (They don't want trouble, and they feel this is PG&E's problem, not theirs, so they'll send the "work order" back to them.)

5 - Then, call PG&E 3 or 4 business days after speaking to Wellington, to make certain that they received back the work order from Wellington. Call this number: 1-866-743-0263.

These steps should hopefully buy us enough time for the "Opt -Out program" from PG&E to come into being.

6 - If you want to, you can also call PG&E at 1-866-743-0263, and insist on being put on their "delay" list. (This doesn't guarantee anything, however, and shouldn't be considered your "protection". But, it's probably a good idea to do this, too.)

Even if you aren't worried about SmartMeters, those of your neighbors who are electrically sensitive or have compromised health would be very grateful if you could PLEASE take these steps to help keep our neighborhoods protected from unnecessary and toxic radiation from these meters.

It will also help us prevent rising PG&E rates during peak usage hours, and also prevent the loss of privacy that these meters inherently are.

Nothing will stop them from getting to your meter except you.

Utility Commission Committee

NOTE: below email addresses are all in one building. To email ALL, simply copy and paste the whole list.

California State Assembly

Committee on Utilities and Commerce

Committee Phone (916) 319-2083

Assemblymember.Bradford@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Fletcher@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Buchanan@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Fong@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Fuentes@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Furutani@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Gorell@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Hernandez@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Huffman@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Knight@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Nestande@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Skinner@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Swanson@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Valadao@assembly.ca.gov

4/19/11 - Letter to the Utility Commission Committee

California State Assembly

Committee on Utilities and Commerce Committee

You are considering Smart Meters and their future.

Below is an article about the uproar in Maine and proposed legislation there, and an outstanding comment regarding Smart Meters and why they and the much-touted Smart Grid don’t work in reality.

A mistake is a mistake. The ramifications of this program were never sufficiently investigated, and we are dealing with the fall-out from that now.

Introduce this legislation for the residents of California:

Whereas, substantial and serious problems and issues have arisen with the deployment of the Smart Grid/Smart Meter program in the state of California and in other states,

Including billing increases, health problems, environmental impacts, privacy issues, interference, and job loss, brought to our attention by the public,

Whereas, the California Public Utilities Commission has not undertaken thorough, substantive investigations into these issues, dismissing applications filed with them, disregarding the advice of the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, and disregarding the growing opposition and concerns of the public and their elected officials; and

Whereas the actual benefit to the public, and the energy savings from, the Smart Meter/AMI program is questionable, leading the Attorney General of Connecticut to file a brief opposing their proposed AMI program; and

Whereas the continued use and deployment of Smart Meters in California poses a clear and present threat to the well-being of the residents of the state of California, risks including privacy, security, health, accuracy, and consumer fraud; and

Whereas immediate action is needed to address these issues, because inaction will allow these problems to continue and, in all probability, compound, to the serious detriment of our constituents throughout the state,

Whereas the California Constitution, Article 1, Section 1, is very clear about the substantial “inalienable” rights of the residents of this state, including the right to enjoy and defend our life and liberty, protect our property, and pursue and obtain “safety, happiness, and privacy;” and

Whereas the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act states: "The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them...The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created." The people of California, not the public agencies they have appointed, have the ultimate authority to decide on their own behalf; and

Whereas, common sense concurs,

We, the legislators of the State of California, do take the following immediate actions:

An immediate halt to the Smart Meter/Smart Grid program statewide, including a halt to the installation or activation of Smart Meters and infrastructure and including water meters
Immediate deactivation of existing Smart Meters and infrastructure statewide
A prohibition on the disposal of analog meters, and a requirement that they be securely stored in California, in the areas from which they were removed.
Immediate public hearings and investigation into Smart Meter problems, including rf health, safety, and environmental issues
An investigation into the California Public Utilities Commission and its ties to industry, and recommendations made for reform, including replacement of staff and commissioners, including those with conflicts of interest, and an examination of all records related to consumer complaints and health problems related to Smart Meters, including phone conversations, correspondence, and contacts with customers including site visits.
An investigation into California utility companies, consultants, and contractors, including subpoena of all records related to consumer complaints and health problems related to Smart Meters, including phone conversations, correspondence, and contacts with customers including site visits.

Sincerely,

Your constituent,

Thursday, March 17, 2011

SmartMeters: What's next?

By Howard Glasser

Updated: 03/17/2011 07:08:34 PM PDT

SmartMeters: What's next?
It's a sad state of affairs when your peaceful, serene county begins to feel like a war zone and you have to stay home, stand guard and keep watch for the SmartMeter installation trucks rolling down your street to protect your home because PG&E doesn't understand the meaning of the word "no."

What part of "no" don't they understand? We've posted signs saying do not install. We tell them no at the door. Kelseyville's District Supervisor Rob Brown has followed Wellington trucks to people's homes advising residents that they can say no when PG&E's SmartMeter messenger and facilitator tells us we don't have a choice. Like other cities and counties around the state, our county supervisors passed a moratorium putting a ban on installation until AB 37 has its chance in Sacramento to provide customers with an opt-out position. People have formed citizen blockades to stop SmartMeter installations. We've written our legislators. We've contacted PG&E and the CPUC. What more do we have to do? It seems that with all this and an ongoing, ever-growing movement of health professionals and scientists, community groups and regional organizations all essentially saying "stop!" we're nonetheless being besieged by an industry with deadlines they are bent on meeting come hell or high water and the public be damned in the process.

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Box Your Analog Electric Meter - Wood - Instructions

WOODEN METER BOX ENCLOSURE - Photos below

These are instructions for building a box to cover an electric meter and fuse panel. The outside dimensions are 24 X 20 inches. Please make sure this size will be adequate for your needs, and make size adjustments if necessary.

Materials needed:

1 - 1” x 6”x 8’ pine board

1 - 24” x 20” x ½” plywood (Home Depot sells 24” x 24” pieces)

1 - 30” piano hinge

4 - metal “L” brackets (can be seen in bottom right photo above)

1 - 1½ x 3” metal latch

1 - lock

1 - 4” x 6” piece of glass or clear plastic

16 - 1½ “ wood screws (8 for the sides, 8 to fasten the box to the house)

8 - ½” screws to fasten the “L” brackets to the sides of the box

Wood glue

Directions

1. Cut the 24”X24” plywood to 24”X20”

2. Cut the 1”X6” board into four pieces:

2 sides boards 24” long

top and bottom boards 18½” long

3. Make a rectangular frame by gluing and screwing the top, bottom and sides together using four screws on each side (2 on the top and 2 on the bottom). Make sure the inside angles are 90 degrees and the frame fits the plywood door.

4. Using a jig or coping saw, cut a 5” wide X 4” high rectangle opening in the door. The hole should be 4½” in from the top and 3½” in from the left side

5. If the box is going to be painted, this is the best time to do it.

6. Screw the metal “L” brackets to the inside of the frame, at the top and bottom of the sides so that the frame can be screwed into the side of the house.

7. With a hack saw, cut the 30” piano hinge to 24”. Using the included screws, fasten the hinge to the door and to the frame (note: the hinge must be fastened to the inside of the door and the edge of the frame, or it won’t open properly).

8. Fasten the long piece of the latch to the inside of the door and the short piece to the outside of the box so that they cannot be removed.

9. Fasten the glass or plastic to the inside of the door to cover the hole. Plastic can be stapled or screwed in, glass can be held in place with plastic mirror supports.

10. Screw the box onto the house. Center the box so that the meter is directly behind the opening in the door so it can be read.