Florida Power & Light: The Smart Meter Challenge Continues
People in Florida are taking a stand against “smart meters” being installed across the state of Florida. Two different groups of approximately 100 people have filed 2 separate petitions with FP&L. These people did not want a smart meter attached to their homes and now FP&L wants to charge them extra for their old analog meters. Did you have a choice? What benefits are you really getting from having a smart meter on your home? Have you noticed any savings on your bill because of your smart meter? What about your privacy, safety and health? Who is answerable to you, the customer?
If you haven’t been aware or noticed what kind of meter you have on your home you might want to check it out… if you are one of the 4.5million FP&L customers who are getting them it’s time for you to educate yourself and see what you have attached to your home.
David, that’s you, the homeowner really hasn’t been truly educated on these transmitters, keep in mind that FP&L saved a ton of money by getting rid of meter readers, those folks now get to enjoy more leisure time with their friends and family while you, David, get to enjoy radio waves transmitting from your home. Remember FP&L received $500,000.00 from the federal government to have GE build these meters to be placed on your home. Why?
Safety standards for the smart meters are not a concern to Goliath (FP&L) but they should be of grave concern to David (the homeowners) who has them attached to their homes. There is a lot of information out there on some of the safety hazards of smart meters…one distinct hazard are of fire. “Smart meters are often installed in pre-existing meter sockets. Meter sockets are expected to operate safely for many years. However, the safe operating life of the meter socket may be reduced by many factors including (but not limited to) excessive moisture, environmental contaminants, frequent changing of meters, excessive electrical load (overload or short circuit), vandalism, ground settling, storm damage, and other conditions.
As utilities move toward two-way communications for meters and remote meter reading, the opportunity for inspection of meter sockets is expected to decline. The interval between site visits by utility personnel could be more than 100 times longer than current monthly schedules” Who will have the liability for this problem?
Privacy issues with smart meters are:
“Homeland Security said our electric grid should not be dependent on wireless systems, which are by their nature extremely vulnerable. We understand that police will be allowed to subpoena the data that the ‘smart’ meter collects from utility companies. In addition, third party corporations will be able to access and analyze your private household appliance use data without your knowledge or consent. For example, if your health insurance company found out from your utility that you opened your fridge often in the middle of the night, they may raise your premium to cover their liability for your unhealthy lifestyle.”
Some people are not concerned with having their lives out there for anyone to view and use, I for one care very much for my privacy and have never given consent to any utility to use my data or spy on my lifestyle.
Health concerns are wide and varied, coming from multiple sources and doctors.
“ Exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation from these meters is involuntary and continuous. The transmitting meters may not even comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “safety” standards (see http://sagereports.com/smart-meter-rf/). However, those standards were initially designed to protect an average male from tissue heating (cooking) during a brief exposure. These standards were not designed to protect a diverse population from the non-thermal effects of continuous exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation. Therefore, these “safety” standards were not designed to protect the public from health problems under the circumstances which the meters are being used.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has called for a moratorium on the installation of transmitting utility meters on the basis that:
“Chronic exposure to wireless radiofrequency radiation is a preventable environmental hazard that is sufficiently well documented to warrant immediate preventative public health action.”
I applaud these David’s in taking on Goliath as years from now who will know the final toll this will have on your health and the health of your children. Are you willing to risk your well being, health, safety and privacy of yourself and your loved ones, I’m not!
Maine and California have a opt out option for Smart Meters and it looks as if Massachusetts is set to follow.
Sources:
http://www.electricalpollution.com/smartmeters.html
smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Business_Strategy
