They sounded great. Wireless “smart” meters to measure how much electricity Californians use. But then some health concerns began creeping in. And just as PG&E (News - Alert) enters the final phase of its deployment of these meters, the largest of the state’s Investor Owned Utilities (IOU’s) has quietly started to replace the smart meters with the old trusty analog version, according to a story by Joshua Hart at indybay.org.
Opponents say the new meters cause headaches, anxiety and toothaches, according to the story.
Consumer rights and health groups jumped on the IOU move, demanding that millions of Californians who had received the new wireless meters be allowed to switch them for their old analog meters at no cost.
The utilities have been under fire for months, “with gas explosions, safety breaches at nuclear reactors, and an increasingly extortionate rate structure,” Hart writes. This has not helped.
‘Smart’ meters, new wireless utility meters originally installed as part of the “smart” grid initiative, backed by technology firms, the Obama administration and the Department of Energy, were at first received with great joy, according to Hart. The premise behind smart meters is certainly good – they’re digital devices that collect energy-use data and transmit and receive data, too. The idea behind smart meters, according to Sempra Energy Utility, is one you can’t argue with – the meters will enable customers to monitor their consumption more precisely so they can make more informed energy choices.
Lower utility bills and enhanced renewable generation capacity were some of the dreams they were meant to fulfill. In California, one of the “greenest” states, it all seemed to fit.
But those promises have been met “with widespread reports of higher bills, privacy violations, fires and explosions, and commonly reported health impacts such as headaches, nausea, tinnitus, and heart problems associated with powerful wireless transmissions,” Hart reports.
Sempra rebuts this in its story, saying the radio frequency technology being used in its smart meters is “are far below the FCC (News - Alert) exposure guidelines.”
But, from the Green Party to the Tea Party and even Occupy protesters have all lined up against the program, Hart writes, and “dozens of grassroots organizations have sprouted up over the past several months to fight what they call an undemocratic, unconstitutional and dangerous assault on people in their own homes and neighborhoods.” Many people have been detained or actually arrested for peaceful civil disobedience, according to Hart, and even simply speaking out against deployments. It’s gotten so intense that more than 47 California cities and counties have insisted on halting installation of the new meters, and a dozen local governments have passed laws prohibiting the controversial technology. Nevada is even investigating the health claims allegedly posed by the meters.
Its possible PG&E has seen the writing on the wall. It’s begun e-installing a classic spinning disc analog meter in at least one home in Santa Cruz, where the resident complained she had been suffering from headaches and other symptoms from her ‘smart’ meter.” The move comes after promises from the California Public Utilities Commission President (CPUC) Michael Peevey that the utility will allow customers “to go back to the analog meter if that’s your choice,” according to Hart’s story, though he adds that the “CPUC has been slow to respond to thousands of ordinary citizens reporting health effects from the new meters.”
Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM (News 
- Alert) in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jamie Epstein
