1) Thanks to the knowledge and perseverance of one of our members who found that some “transmitter off” meters actually were transmitting signals, BC Hydro has admitted that an “error” occurred with 300 meters. The letter from BC Hydro is below.
We were told that BC Hydro cannot turn the transmitter off, that it would be turned off at the factory by ITRON (hence the initial fee). If this were just a minor glitch, as BC Hydro says, and the meter wasn’t really connected to the grid, what signals were being sent and where did they go? And how did the transmitter turn off?
If this truly was a problem with the software trying to connect, and it automatically turned itself off when it didn’t connect with BC Hydro, how do we know that the software could not be activated by a signal from Hydro? How can we trust BC Hydro not to turn it on without our permission? And if BC Hydro does all the testing it claims to do, why did it take an outsider to identify this problem and why did it take months to convince Hydro there was a problem??
2) An Australian website that has a lot of interesting articles and references.
http://www.emraware.com/newsletter_november_december_2016.html
3) GE has acquired the basis for the smeter grid platform and now has access to all the data that is coming in via the smeters as I understand it.
“The architects of B.C. Hydro’s Grid Director smart meter analytics platform already have 100 employees, a figure that is expected to grow as Bit Stew gains access to GE Digital’s global industrial customer base…
“(This deal) gives us an infinite number of customers to target,” said Clark. “When we did our original pitch we saw our target market at about $4 billion. Now I see it at about $100 billion and that’s the strength of leveraging what we do through GE.””
4) In the UK, more analysis of the Business Case, after a fraction of the smeters have been installed, confirms that there will be little if any benefit from this program. And from a quick scan of the report, I could find nothing about the shortened lifespan which will increase the costs even more. We need to demand a similar financial review of the program in BC.
http://www.techmarketview.com/ukhotviews/archive/2016/11/16/smart-meter-madness-7
The report is here:
And rates are increasing 10% for “green” taxes, while the potential benefit is down to £11 a year. This sounds like the “success” seen in Ontario.
5) In Florida, “$$mart” water meters are going haywire with people getting huge bills. The utility says the meters do not function if they get wet, and neither do they operate well in the hot humid weather in Florida. What about in the rain in BC?
In South Carolina, water meters are “mis-calculating”. I do not know the type of smeter used, but the most common brand is Neptune, the type being used in BC. Too many “errors” are being reported, so anyone with a dumb water meter should watch bills and usage very carefully.
Letters:
From: X
Sent: November 10, 2016
To: Sharon Noble
Subject: YES – Smart Meters Radio-Off WERE TRANSMITTING!!
Hi Sharon – I have been going back and forth on this issue of Smart Meter/Radio-Off with BCUC and BC Hydro for some months and now have an acknowledgment from Hydro that there was indeed an issue of Smart Meter/Radio-Off actually transmitting:
Here is their admission I just received 2 days ago:
Around the same time as Mr. _____ registered his inquiry [complaint with the BCUC], our smart metering team became aware of a situation in which our Network Management System – the system that monitors and manages communications with smart meters and other network devices – reported communications from a number of smart meters that we believed to have had their radios disabled. While our smart metering team was aware, our Customer Relations staff had not yet been made aware at the time of their first correspondence with the Commission on this issue.
Working with our meter vendor, Itron, we’ve investigated the issue and found the following:
- Dating back to January 2015, approximately 290 radio-off meters were “heard” by the Network Management System;
- In all cases, contacts with these radio-off meters occurred for a maximum of 25 days after the meter installation; and
- The affected meters had an older version of software installed and were de-energized between 25 and 50 days prior to installation (e.g., in a warehouse).
The meters did not fully connect to BC Hydro’s communications network because the meters were correctly configured as radio-off in our communication and billing systems. As a result, no meter data was sent back.
BC Hydro and Itron confirmed that an error in a specific version of the meter software caused the affected meters, under specific conditions, to attempt to connect to the communications network for up to 25 days after installation at a customer’s residence. After 25 days, the meter’s radio functions become dormant and no longer attempt communications.
The meter at Mr. _____ residence is amongst the meters found to have attempted to connect. The meter was installed on ______, 2016 and our records indicate it intermittently attempted to communicate for a period of 22 days. This corresponds with when we understand that Mr. _____ detected radio transmissions in the vicinity of the meter, and so the meter was likely the cause of some of the radio transmissions detected. [initially denied by BC Hydro]
BC Hydro and Itron regret that because of this software error, meters we believed to be radio-off attempted communications of any duration. Now that we are aware of the issue and understand the conditions that trigger it, we have processes in place to ensure this does not happen going forward. We are also working with Itron to ensure that this situation does not re-occur with future software versions.
Recognizing that radio-off meters still attempted to connect to the network for up to the first 25 days after installation, we will be providing the 290 affected customers an on-bill credit equal to one month of their radio-off charge ($20). A letter is being sent to them to explain the situation.
= = =
Below is my response to the BCUC which were quite helpful to me within their capacity:
To BCUC …
Thank you for reinvigorating my original complaint to the BCUC, regarding Smart Meters/Radio-Off wireless transmissions actually occurring as I had seen in my testing.
I have spoken with Mr. Sanders today and am pleased to see BC Hydro has indeed found validity in my initial concern and that they appear to be working to rectify the situation, which includes a small monetary rebate to those 290 Smart Meters/Radio-Off identified. I would also suggest that it may be prudent to instruct BC Hydro to thoroughly test the rest of the Smart Meter/Radio-Off installations now in place, to make 100% sure they are not also broadcasting wirelessly.
Ahead of this incident, the public’s confidence in BC Hydro was already weak after having smart meters forced on them amidst fears for health and privacy. Going the extra mile now and including the public in Hydro’s findings may help alleviate some of the skepticism that is firmly in place.
I acknowledge that BC Hydro and the BCUC have been saddled with an unpopular and challenging task of implementing, to some, an onerous Green Energy plan, put in place by the Province of BC. This rigid Green Energy plan appears to be lacking any consideration for the developing concerns from the scientific community around escalating non-thermal impacts of wireless radiation. Canada’s Safety Code 6, in light of growing research, appears to be ignoring the latest scientific evidence of non-thermal wireless radiation impacts on biological organisms.
Doing all you are able to do, to safeguard and ameliorate the public from any unknown future impacts from this precedent setting wireless technology, may not only be the most decent course of action, but also the best in terms of possible future liability concerns. On this latter point, I note that large insurance companies are no longer willing to extend liability insurance for wireless exposure. I suspect this issue will only grow over the coming years as more is proven up.
I’d like to leave you with the following:
SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
“If there is even a reasonable possibility that cell phone radiation is carcinogenic, the time for action in the public health and regulatory sectors is upon us. Even though the financial and social cost of restricting such devices would be significant, those costs pale in comparison to the cost in human lives from doing nothing, only to discover thirty or forty years from now that the early signs were pointing in the right direction….If the probability of carcinogenicity is low, but the magnitude of the potential harm is high, good public policy dictates that the risk should not be ignored.”
DC Superior Court Judge Frederick Weisberg in her 2014 Ruling allowing expert testimony on litigation alleging cell phone linked tumors.
http://ehtrust.org/court-allows-expert-testimony-litigation-alleging-cell-phone-linked-tumors-according-consumers-legal-team/
Best regards,
X
_________________________________________________________________________
From: XX
Sent: November 15, 2016
To: ‘Jane.Philpott@parl.gc.ca’
Subject: Dangers of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF)
Dear Honourable Dr. Philpott
Re: Dangers of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF)
I notice in a recent news article that you have spearheaded recent changes to the Canada Food Guide and in particular the labelling requirements when marketing food and beverages especially to children. The changes were based on the May, 2010 recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).
I’m not sure if you are aware that in May, 2011 (one year later), the WHO classified “Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields” (RF-EMF) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B).
The classification of non iodizing radiation as class 2B was the result of a study by a Working Group within the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The classification applies to RF radiation from any RF device. This includes cell phones, Wi-Fi, smart meters, cordless phones and cell towers/base stations. The classification applies to a full range of frequencies in the RF region from 30 KHz to 300 GHz because research shows damaging effects from various frequencies.
I’m also not sure if you are aware that every cell phone has a warning buried deep in the literature that comes with the cell phone stating a minimum distance from the body, typically greater than half an inch.
I quote from my iPhone 4 manual:
“keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body and only use carrying cases, belt clips or holders that do not have metal parts and that maintain at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) separation between iPhone and the body….iPhone’s SAR measurement may exceed FCC guidelines for body-worn operation if positioned less than 15mm (5/8 inch) from the body (eg. when carrying iPhone in your pocket).”
(SAR means Specific Absorption Rate and FCC means Federal Communications Commission)
When a person purchases a cell phone, there is no obligation by the seller to alert people to the minimum distance from the body nor is there any warning label on the phone packaging.
Children are particularly vulnerable. Multiple studies have shown that children absorb more Microwave Radiation (MWR) than adults. One found that that the brain tissue of children absorbed about two times more MWR than that of adults, and other studies have reported that the bone marrow of children absorbs 10 times more MWR than that of adults.
As with your recent food and beverage labelling changes, I request you undertake mandating the minimum distance label warning for wireless devices, particularly on the cell phone packaging and mandating wireless device providers, including cell phone providers educate the public on the dangers of keeping the device/phone too close to the body.
The wireless industry should not object, as the warning is already contained in their published literature.
Yours truly,
XX
_________________________________________________________________________
TIPS
Subject: Re: [Opt-out – Salt Spring Island, BC] BC Hydro on Salt Spring Replacing Expired Analog Meters
Jessica from the Customer Meter Department left a message with the call back number 1-800-409-8199, and yes I did have a letter a few months back stating that my analog meter expired this December.
I am a single parent with two children and a small farm without extra funds to spend a lot of money going off grid. My approach is to use mostly what I have and minimize rather than trying to purchase a $15 000 solar system (as estimated by the solar consult that one company gave me) to switch over.
I haven’t used a fridge(use a cooler with a icepack for the necessary) or dryer for over 10 years but plan on purchasing a Unique [http://uniqueoffgrid.com/] 3 way freezer (AC, DC, propane), setting up solar for the older Kenmore low voltage washing machine that I have, thermoelectric on the fireplace (http://thermoelectric-generator.com/teg-thermoelectric-power-generators-for-sale/) for charging computers, probably will go to an internet key (Rogers or Telus) that powers off of computer, in the past I have used this on a very long USB cord so the wireless key is sitting outside and in a shielded box.
I have found a woman (up island but visits SSI) who recycles (fixes) broken solar panels as for me buying new solar panels does not feel that sustainable due to the toxicity of the process and child labour of the parts. Also I am converting over to using rainwater (utilizing gravity rather than pumps) so I do not have to power water pump although for irrigation in summer I will have to set up additional solar for the water pump in the well or a solar pump from the pond (which would need to be dug deeper to last the full summer). Hot water for the winter will be from the fireplace as a start using thermosyphon rather than a pump.
I am meeting with a local carpenter this afternoon who has helped several people get off grid, David Carson westghoster@gmail.com. He seems to have a lot of great ideas of working with what you have and bringing in some simple systems to complement rather than spending mass amounts of money to simply convert.
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
~ Winston Churchill.
Sent from a hard wired laptop, using a hard wired modem.