Huffman Introduces Bill to Require SmartMeter Opt-Out
Bill would allow customers to not receive the new wireless meter; would also require a wired alternative.
Assemblymember Jared Huffman announced today that he is introducing a bill that would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to provide a way for consumers to opt-out of PG&E's Smart Meter program.
The inability of residents to not receive the new digital, wireless meters has been a sticking point for critics who are concerned about health, security, privacy and accuracy issues around the Smart Meters. Huffman's bill, AB 37, would require the CPUC to provide an opt-out alternative for customers who do not wish to have the meters installed and it would require utilities to provide a wired alternative to the wireless meter.
"I think it's going to represent a pretty significant improvement over the status quo," said Huffman. "There will be people who think it doesn't go far enough."
PG&E has said in recent weeks that it is considering the possibility of a wired alternative to the wireless meter, which works through a series of radio and cellular networks. Read about how the meters work here.
However, the CPUC has long maintained that the deployment of 10 million meters throughout California is part of a national smart grid that requires all consumers to be included and, therefore, has not allowed people the option of opting-out of the program. The CPUC also denied a petition to place a temporary moratorium on the deployment of the meters while these issues were examined.
Earlier this summer, Huffman also requested a study from the California Council on Science and Technology to look into the health issues surrounding the meters and the radio frequency and electro-magnetic frequencies standards established by the FCC. Though the meters meet current FCC standards, the question from the EMF Safety Network, which filed a petition with the CPUC, has been whether those standards are sufficient. Huffman said, from what he has heard about the work being done by the California Council, that the new study "is not going to conclusively resolve this debate."
That study is expected to be released later this month in draft form, but Huffman said he believed the question of individual choice was a separate issue, which is why he felt compelled to bring forward this bill before the study was completed.
"The question is for individuals who believe their health is at risk to have a choice," said Huffman.
The bill next goes to the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee in early spring. From there, it could move out of committee for a vote. Huffman said he has not only received positive input from colleagues, but also from the CPUC. He said the commission was receptive to working with the legislature on an appropriate opt-out option.
Currently, 7.5 million meters have been installed throughout California and are continuing to be installed. Installation began in Marin this year and, except for in Fairfax, has continued on schedule and is expected to be completed throughout the county by 2012. PG&E is voluntarily temporarily delaying installation in Fairfax. The Fairfax Town Council additionally passed a one-year moratorium on the meters, which PG&E has suggested has no legal authority over the utility.
"The best I can do is move this bill forward as quickly as I can," said Huffman.
Currently, those who have concerns are encouraged to call PG&E and asked to placed on a delay list in order to delay the installation of their meters.
RobertWilliams
7:31 pm on Monday, December 6, 2010
On Wireless Smart Meters, here are some short videos by scientists that tell the real story:
1. Insurance Companies Won't Insure Wireless Device Risks (3 minutes, 13 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382
2. Microwave radiation dangers in our home (6 minutes, 20 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAnrmJ3un1g
3. WiFi in schools proven dangerous (14 minutes, 32 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/safeschool#p/u/3/KN7VetsCR2I
4. Truth about Smart Meters - Dr. Karl Maret, MD, Biomedical Engineer
(Dr. Maret's presentation begins at 23:40 on the video telecast).
http://www.communitytv.org/programs/online/truth-about-smart-meters
5. Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE
6. Skyrocketing Utility Bills after smart meter installation (3 minutes, 19 seconds)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/63581287.html?tab=video
7. Wounded by Wireless Smart Meters (14 minutes, 19 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=840
RobertWilliams
8:12 pm on Monday, December 6, 2010
Huffman is the best assembly member in California. He actually uses rational thought to make decisions and go after legislation. That sounds standard according to textbook public policy and finance, but in practice, it is nearly extinct.
Other elected representatives, with few exceptions, represent the power and money groups that supported their campaign or the ones who will keep them in office at the next election. Since ordinary people don't organize or join together to finance a candidate , ordinary people as part of the general population no longer get represented in the current system.
Kelly Dunleavy O'Mara
12:17 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I do like Huffman. Having spoken to a number of legislators, he certainly seems to actually read up on subjects, research issues and think about them.
Susan B
7:09 am on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I am a San Diego area resident who has had a Smart Meter (two, actually) installed on my home without asking me - one for gas, one for electric. SDG&E just showed up one day and put them in. One is on the exerior bedroom wall, inches from my head, as I sleep. Have been wondering why I am not sleeping well lately and certainly am developing strong sensitivities to EMF, never had these before, though I have health problems that places me at risk. I tried to get the Smart Meters removed, physician willing to write a letter, but our utility company said it was impossible and that everyone will have these, shortly. CA Public Utilities Commission said the same, and added that a national SmartGrid is being required of the states by federal law, in the Energy Act of 2007. CA is one of 38 states to implement, now. Since I have had reactions to the Smart Meter that are very alarming (dizziness, tight feeling in head, tingling and itching of skin, sleeplessness, disorientation, mental confusion, increasing sensitivities to computers, cell phones, and cordless phones) ... am very concerned. SDG&E was quite unsympathetic, cavalier about health effects - it was just a "too bad for you" attitude. The technologies are definitely not proven safe, are unsafe, and yet are being rapidly installed. HELP!
Susan B
7:14 am on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Note the problems with sentence structure - that is an indicator, too - and I am a teacher. This is a very serious problem that needs to be halted, a moratorium on Smart Meters and opting out, including removal, is the best thing at this point. Please continue to help write laws, and a big thank you to Assemblymember Jared Huffman. We need this program to be halted, today! Maybe a court injunction would do it....
jsalinger
10:11 pm on Tuesday, July 5, 2011
I am a college professor in Orange County, SDGE is my utility company. I am diagnosed as electrical hypersensitive by a UCLA neurologist and am requesting filters on my line to filter out microwave/RF and harmonics that are presently coming into my home. SDGE & PUC refuses to accommodate my disability. Since neighbors got smart meters I am having trouble breathing with wheezing symptoms. I have a nervous system and immune system injury from radiation testing that was illegal while living near El Toro and Tustin Marine Air Corp. bases in 1993. I really need to be accommodated badly as my immune system is going deficient and I am at risk for lymphoma. Does anyone know of a class action lawsuit against the PUC and SDGE for people with electrical sensitivity? HELP
Steven Golden
7:45 am on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
On September 29, 2010 at least 4 Smart Meters were installed on my apartment building on the wall just below my Unit. That very day I woke up with a swollen wrist for absolutely no physical reason. I opened my front door and found the notice that the Smart Meters were installed.
My wrist and hand swelled so badly that I had to get a cortisone shot. Then, I got sick with sinus problems and a respiratory attack. One occurred after the other, and both conditions are still with me 3 weeks later. I have never been sick for more than one week in my entire life. I have heart palpitations and an erratic heart beat, along with insomnia. The latest affliction since the Meters were installed is Phantosmia, which I have never had before and will not go away.
I am EMF sensitive and these Smart Meters are ruining my health, my living conditions, and my life. We are being bombarded with Microwave EMF from these Meters from all directions without our knowledge or consent. Since I am EMF sensitive I have chosen to never use WiFi or any other wireless technology in my apartment. With these Smart Meters I have no say in the matter and I am being slowly tortured by SDGE and the CPUC.
valeri hood
9:33 am on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
While I am happy that Jared is helping with the Opt- Out I think that the people need to get more involved in this issue. Opt-out is simply a stop gap measure- the wireless smart meters have a range that will overlap adjacent homes and especially apartments and condos and the antennae that PG$E has already put on the poles has a strong signal that helps to create the wireless smog grid. Please continue to contact your local, state and federal officials and ask for a nationwide moratorium until the health affects have been studied in depth. I am concerned that the current study does not go far enough.
Kelly Dunleavy O'Mara
12:21 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
These are really interesting stories Steven and Susan. I understand that EMF-sensitivity is a recognized disability (I think?), so if you continue to document any physical problems with the help of a doctor it might help in your arguments?
Valeri is right, though, and it was brought up by the CPUC rep at the last meeting in Fairfax, that if you are concerned about the EMF and RF, then an opt-out isn't going to fully address that problem, because other people around you will still have the meters. So, I'm not sure what the solution is?
Susan B
7:18 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thanks, Kelly. I did go to the doctor today. He wrote a letter, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, as I am already disabled, they have to accommodate my medical condition, according to him. He said it is making my existing health problem worse. I FAXed the letter to SDG& E today after talking to the supervisor of a public relations division of the Smart Meter program for SDG&E. They have no idea the mistake they are making. Maybe a court order to cease and desist, lawsuits, a mega-lawsuit (class action) is what is needed. People should go to their doctors and document this, you are absolutely right. The meters on the other houses aren't inches from my head as I sleep, the waves drop off with distance. I am not in an apartment or condo. I am demanding, now, along with my doctor, that the meters be removed from my house. Visit www.emfsafetynetwork.org for more info. Even a division of the PUC said it was wrong. I am definitely concerned that sham studies would be set up by industry and the gov't, as much money is involved and saving face, too. CDC is used to doing that over their mistakes. A moratorium and removing them all is in order. FAST.
Susan B
7:23 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I want to add that the thing that upsets me the most, apart from the damage to public health, is that noone in government or industry really seems to care about life or health. It is all about the almighty dollar. They are destroying everything good - the air, the oceans, our lives and health, the land...there is no hope unless people stop being sheep and start taking an active role. Demand that these meters be removed and not placed on your homes. Call your state and Congressional representatives, contact President Obama (call Whitehouse), call the governor's office and Governor Elect Jerry Brown, call the media to have more stories. Refuse to allow these meters to further pollute our existence. Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors. Organize. This is real.
Tanya
6:17 pm on Thursday, December 9, 2010
It's so sad that the government is all about corporations and money. To be honest, if it is all about making more money I WILL PAY TO OPT-OUT!!!! We are not a wealthy family, but our health is important and I will pay whatever it takes to keep my family and future generations healthy.
valeri hood
3:03 pm on Sunday, December 12, 2010
Here's an interesting perspective about the problem with PG$E's Wireless 'smart' meters http://blogs.forbes.com/williampentland/2010/12/10/why-smart-people-are-suspicious-of-smart-meters/?boxes=Homepagechannels
Why Smart People Are Suspicious of Smart Meters
By WILLIAM PENTLAND
"The more people know about smart meters, the more likely they are to worry about the impact those meters will have on their privacy, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, a research organization based in Traverse City, Mich.
The report, “Perceptions about Privacy on the Smart Grid,” was sponsored by AT&T and included a survey of more than 25,000 adult-aged individuals in the United States. The findings:
“Overall, consumers are equally split about the affect the smart grid will have on the privacy of their energy consumption records. Thirty-nine percent of respondents believe the smart grid will diminish their privacy. Twenty-four percent of respondents are unsure as to the impact and 37 believe it will not impact or improve their privacy. Of particular note is that as professed knowledge about the smart grid increases, so too does the concern regarding privacy. There is a noticeable shift from the “no impact on privacy” to the “diminishes privacy” category.“
.........
"Outfits operating in the smart-grid space like Accenture, IBM and General Electric would be reckless not to read the writing on the wall revealed by the report. "
valeri hood
3:14 pm on Sunday, December 12, 2010
The reputation of the CPUC badly needs repair. It's too lax when it comes to safety, energy company policies and consumer issues. Ask the burned-out residents of San Bruno, where a Pacific Gas and Electric pipeline explosion killed nine and destroyed 36 homes in September.
Jerry Brown can send the right message. The terms of 2 commissioners on the 5 member panel will have expired with a 3rd ending later next year. Brown should look for experienced and critical-minded figures who can inject a more questioning attitude in the rule-making watchdog agency.
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), termed out after 12 years in the Legislature. Florez fought successfully for clean-air controls in the perennially smoggy Central Valley despite foes in the oil and agricultural sectors. We need a thorough inquiry into the problems of SmartMeters, that stirred a wave of complaints about faulty readings and sky-high bills.
Florez, who is both knowledgeable and tough minded, would give the commission new direction. But the prospect of his appointment will likely anger industry mainstays such as Pacific Gas and Electric worried that a tame agency would turn critical.
Sorry, but that's exactly what the PUC should be: vigilant and skeptical of the interests it regulates. That attitude is missing to date. A Chronicle examination found that between 2004 and 2009, the PUC did not impose a single fine on PG&E for violating natural gas safety laws, despite a list of infractions.
Susan Brinchman
11:13 am on Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Professor Salinger: Please email me at director@electrosmogprevention.org. Suggest you consider shielding. Dr. Dan Harper of Solana Beach, CA, is an excellent MD who can assist, also. Shielding can consist of aluminum screening on all windows. Have a consult with electrical engineers who specialize in rf radiation shielding. One such is www.emfcenter.com (Michael Neuert). Some shield the gas meters with farady cage. Go to www.smartmetershield.com for info on electric meter shielding.