PORTLAND, Maine — Supreme court justices on Thursday questioned whether utilities regulators shirked their responsibility for ensuring the safety of “smart meters” when they allowed customers to opt out without giving assurances to other customers who have them.
Opponents of Central Maine Power’s wireless-enabled electric meters say the devices emit radio frequency radiation that risks health and are an invasion of privacy because of the detailed data they collect. The Maine Public Utilities Commission allows customers to opt out of using them if they pay $12 a month, but the opponents say customers shouldn’t have to pay more if they don’t want the devices.
Central Maine Power contends the 600,000-plus smart meters that have been installed are safe, cut energy use and allow utilities to quickly pinpoint problems during power outages.
Bruce A. McGlauflin, a lawyer for smart meter foes, said elimination of the $12-a-month-fee would alleviate some of the opponents’ concerns, but not others including the safety problems.
On Thursday, skeptical justices questioned a lawyer for the PUC about why the agency failed to meet its statutory obligation of addressing the safety of smart meters.
Jordan D. McColman, lawyer for the PUC, responded that other agencies with greater expertise had found no credible studies that demonstrated harm and that the panel felt the opt-out option addressed lingering concerns for customers.
But justices repeatedly pressed him about why the commission didn’t put that in writing.
Federal stimulus dollars funded roughly half the $200 million cost of the smart meter project. All but a couple thousand of them have been installed in CMP’s coverage area and the remainder should be installed by next month, said company spokesman John Carroll.
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Interfere with Ham radio bands . We need to keep this going . Many benefits with Ham radio emergency communications, education,beter world view . Promotes learning. piece and good will.
Maybe if your on the 2.4ghz ham band, but I bet your not.
You got that right.
Ok well how about when I try to steal my neighbors WiFi ?
Mine doesn’t interfere with my radio equipment. Hmmmmm…
Well has not directly interfered with mine yet. But it could happen . When we have local power outages the noise level on HF is far less. I can not tell for sure if Smart meters are partly to blame .
Do you read your posts? Before we had smart meters, the noise on HF got less with a power outage. Do you actually sit around gabbing on HF during a power outage? Where…. 3910?
3.788 sometime late at night I talk with Dave(G0EVY) and the gang. I would much rather talk on sideband CB than the circus on 3910 . Any way I recently sold my Kendwood TS 520s. Guess I am stuck with 10 and 2 for now On 28.390 I talked to another scout troop in Australia during JOTA Half way up black cap in my truck . I am not saying I am smarter than a meter . I personally feel if people want to opt out they should have to pay a fee. Maybe read own meters every other month to keep meter reading cost down.
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It save them Money at the cost of the tax payer.
I keep hearing “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” by Led Zeppelin because of the metal plate in my head…
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Maybe a nose ring will block the signal. I won’t get one because I like the song I’ve been hearing since June 1968. It’s “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf. It put a stop to the Monkees theme song playing in my head. I didn’t sleep well with that one, just kept Tossin’ and Turnin’ all night.
I don’t pay $12 a month for it – who are you kidding? my electric bill tanked after I got it…I pay $35 a month!
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In Vermont I believe you can opt out with no charge
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I already pay six dollars and change per month on all unoccuppied residences that have zero kwh usage if they remain hooked up. If I have many more non-use charges I will be in deeper doo.
Data please.
These so called smart meters are a first step allowing the government to determine how warm you keep your living room. Are we people or sheeple? Just say NO
Henny Penny comes to mind…
I’ve heard the argument that they can interfere with an insulin pump. This is not true, as I have both a pump and a smart meter.
Once this is resolved, these people can go back to complaining about normal stuff, like gay marriage or the 2nd amendment. Or gun-toting gays.
But then they know your using an insulin pump, don’t they?
Ah, here it is! :
“Instead, it uses sophisticated software that has the ability to detect and distinguish the unique electrical signatures of virtually any electrical device in the home. For example, when the refrigerator kicks on, the system knows it based on the unique electrical signature created by the appliance. That information can then be coalesced into a report for the homeowner showing electrical usage by device and displayed on touchscreen”
http://www.cepro.com/article/smart_electrical_monitoring_system_less_than_2k/ (Third paragraph up)
~And~
http://www.im.ethz.ch/publications/weiss_Percom2012.pdf – “Leveraging smart meter data to recognize home appliances” by Markus Weiss+#, Adrian Helfenstein+, Friedemann Mattern+, and Thorsten Staakeᶲ
I have a smart phone and it does’t intere with my electrical lines at all
I have a smart meter and every gaget imaginable, no interference… Its all in their heads
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“…and they can be hijacked for information.”
So can the computer you’re using to post in the BDN comments section yet you appear to be using that voluntarily. Hmm….
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My tin foil hat keeps out most of the harmful rays from my smart meter.
I am worried about my dog. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a tin foil hat to stay on a small pug?
yeah, you’ve got to use a lead lined bra…………..
allow utilities to quickly pinpoint problems during power outages.
wouldn’t anyone like that?
I don’t need it if I can see the alien mother ship hovering over the power lines.
I hope none of these people use a cell phone or a wireless internet connection or go into an internet cafe or a public library or school…
Really people…… Do the research on these, there is no health hazard…… Dont use your cell phone, cordless phone or the wireless router……The frequency of operation is
typically in the 902 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands. Power output is typically 1 watt..
Cell phones today are like 300MW lets see wireless router mine is 21 MW cordless phone must be around 25MW . Most are no where near a watt. That being said your local ham can run 2,00watts .
The offer of $100 million dollars to most anyone would tend to make them forego safety concerns, including long-term effects.
In the short term, having an analogue meter means that there will be human being hired to come around and read it. I think that’s good, as I think that having human beings do a lot of different jobs that no long exist – was good.
You can read many stories about the initiation of, or exacerbatin of health problems from people who experienced these symptoms following Smart Meter installation — when they did not even know the meters had been installed.
My tinnitus has been greatly exacerbated since the installation of Smart Meters in the neighborhood. Again, before I knew they had been installed, but occurring at the time they were placed. I live near a relay pole. Maybe that’s the reason, but I have, as yet, found no scientific explanation. Perhaps there isn’t one.
I often forget how many more people are bombarded with television, electronic devices, etc., than are not. I think they are, in fact, people who are more sensitive to rfs, just as there are people who are more sensitive to sound and light.
But with the rfs or whatever is being emitted, I think the effects can be insidious. People are walking around like zombies, not even recognizing if someone is speaking to them because it is assumed they are using cell phones. (Okay – different subject perhaps – but is it? Is the constant exposure dehumanizing humans?)
There is no question in my mind that, regardless of whether or not one wants to believe the anecdotal stories reported by so many people who claim ill effects, the PUC took the money and ran, just as is true with giveaways of enormous sums of money, and the court should find that to be the case.
All those microwave RF (radio frequency) device users … want to see how harmless they are?
Take the metal cabinet OFF of a microwave oven, along with the metal or plastic oven box section … just leave the microwave output unit in place, bypass the timer, then just plug the thing back in 24/7 and MAGIC: welcome to Oncology.
Ever wonder WHY microwave frequency appliances were forbidden in the USSR ???
Oh, SORRY; this might be called an “extreme” example. But is that what it TAKES – to wake up some people?
Actually, human zombie reduction BENEFITS the Earth … please IGNORE the above.
You going to start treating cancer patients ? New New ALEC Bill LD101screweveryone. No more laws for safety reasons . Die sooner so we do not have to spend money to treat the sick.
Who are the smart meter foe’s?