Smart Meters

Should We All Just

Opt Out?

by David Sheldon
Outline of Talk

Overview
Illness Caused By Radio Frequencies
Illness Caused by Dirty Electricity
The Privacy Issue
DTEs New Opt-Out Plan
What Can We Do?
The McMillin Bill
Appearance of Smart Meter
No longer has the
familiar big wheel
or the clock dials.
Has an electronic
digital display that
flashes different
numbers in
sequence.
Functions of Smart Meter
Can measure and store, or transmit,
usage information in intervals of an
hour or less, enabling the utility to
see your usage broken down, in some
cases, to the exact time of day.
Uses radio waves, or a hard wired
internet connection for real-time
transmission of the data to the utility.
smart meter functions continued:

Uses two way communication so that

the utility can send signals to the
meter as well as receive signals from
the meter.
Often has the ability to turn service on
or off remotely when a bill has not
been paid, or at time of move-in or
move-out.
smart meter functions continued:

Acts as a gateway for communication

by the electric utility to and from
individual appliances within the home
once the home has installed the
next generation of appliances that will
contain smart chips.
Is All This Data Collection Really
Necessary?
It reveals information to the utility,
and possibly others, about your
lifestyle and heretofore private
activities within the home.
Let us examine the arguments of
the utilities to see if they really need
all this data.
Why do utilities say they
need smart meters?
To encourage customers to conserve
energy AND to shift some of their
energy demand to off-peak times of
day.
Conservation to be encouraged by
providing customers the ability to see
their energy usage by the hour thru
an internet display or in real time on a
home monitor.
Do Smart Meters Really
Conserve Energy?
NO Only the customer can do
that by making changes in
lifestyle.
No study to date has shown real
evidence that customers change
their behavior because a smart
meter was installed.
But lets say there is a way to
make these incentives work.
Does that mean we need smart
meters?
NO All that would be needed is
dual register meters that
accumulate peak time usage in one
register and off peak usage in the
other register.
Dual Register Electric Meter

Utility would send signal to meter during

time of peak demand to turn on the
peak usage counter.
Why else do utilities say they
need all this data?
To eliminate the cost of meter
readers.
But there are systems in use by
other utilities called AMR
systems, which automatically
transmit monthly reads to a drive
by vehicle, only once/month.
 Are smart meters necessary to
promptly report power outages?

Utilities want to be alerted to power

outages and be able to dispatch service
personnel quickly to correct these.
All that would be needed is a radio
signal (battery powered) transmitted
ONLY when there is an outage!
Who Pays for Smart Meters?

We all do through our federal

taxes and through the extra costs
that will be passed on to us
through our monthly utility bills.
Why are Smart Meters so
controversial?
Invasion of privacy our Fourth
Amendment rights are being violated.
Health electro-sensitive people
become sick almost immediately.
Health entire population at risk long
term for cancer and neurological
illness.
Canary in Mine???
 Why controversial cont.
Damage to household appliances
reports of refrigerators burning out,
expensive high end stereo equipment
being destroyed.

Making entire electrical grid as

vulnerable to hackers and terrorists
as the internet already is.

Risk of house fires.

Pattern of Smart Meter Emission

Note that
radiation is
only slightly
less out the
back side of
meter into
home or
business.
Smart Grid Traits

The meters communicate with the utility

using wireless radio frequency radiation
(RFR)
They use pulsed waves (as much as 2
times per second), not continuous waves.
Each brief transmission reaches high
intensity peaks.
The peaks are usually averaged over 30
minutes, hiding the peak energy levels.
Peak vs Average Power Density
Peak Pulse Intensity vs Avg Exposure

50 millisecond long pulse can have 1

watt peak pulse intensity but the
average power level is in the micro-
watt range.
It is the average power that would
cause heating of tissue, but it is the
peak intensity that causes biological
effects!
Why it is (falsely) claimed to
be safe

Meets FCC guidelines

Said to be less exposure than from a
cellphone or other common devices
Only transmitting 1% to 2% of time
 FCC Guidelines

To protect a 6 ft 200 lb male from

thermal effect (heating of tissue)
Emissions averaged over 30 min.
Protection from one device only, (not
from cumulative exposure to many
devices)
Protection from a single acute exposure
(not 24/7 exposure)
 FCC Guideline No
protection from:

Non thermal biologic effects

Pulsed signal vs continuous wave
The peak energy level of pulses
Cumulative exposure from all
sources.
FCC guideline No
provisions for:

Children
Elderly
Pregnant women
A nightime recovery period
Cell phone vs. Smart Meter

Same or similar RF frequency

Utilities say smart meter radiation is
much less than cell phones
Daniel Hirsch, nuclear physicist, says,
with apples to apples comparison, smart
meter emits 100 times more than cell
phone
 World Health Organization

WHO in May 2012 issued a report

classifying the radiation from cell phones
and smart meters as a possible
carcinogen
WHO in 2001 had issued a report
classifying Extra Low Frequencies as a
possible carcinogen
Effect of Pulsed Microwaves

Breach the protective blood/brain barrier

Effect neuro transmitters
Effect testosterone levels
Can decrease sperm production
Effect natural rhythym of brain
Can effect heart rate and heart rate
variability
Links to original reports:

michiganstopsmartmeters.com

stopsmartmeters.org
 Recap Part 2 Radio Frequency

FCC regulations do NOT protect against all effects

Low radio frequencies can interfere with cell
communication
Residents exposure is much higher than admitted
RFR is a toxic accumulant, i.e. effects of exposure
build up over time
Wireless microwave is NOT acceptable for the
smart grid
 Power Quality or
Dirty Electricity
The green line is a pure 60 cycle current
on your house wiring. The jagged red
lines represent high frequency pulses.
 Most Common Complaints
From Dirty Electricity
Cognitive Functions
concentration, memory,
behavior, etc.
Other Studies sleep
disruption, headache,
depression, discomfort,
irritability, nausea, visual
disorders, cardiovascular
problems, respiratory
problems, nervousness,
agitation.

All these are related to electrical

changes in the brain.
What Causes Dirty Electricity?

A device called a switched mode power

supply is primary culprit.
All smart meters and digital electronic
meters contain this type of power
supply. The type of power supply that
does not cause dirty electricity is too
expensive, too bulky and too heavy for
use in a meter.
Part 3 Threat to Privacy

How smart meters threaten

both our privacy and our freedom
to lead our lives as we choose.
Why is Privacy Important?

The freedom to lead our lives depends on

our being able to establish areas of our
lives that are not monitored and controlled
by others.
If our employer can pry into all our daily
living habits, it may turn out that we have
to conform to the employers dictates in
order to hold on to our jobs.
 If an insurance company can pry into all
our daily living habits, it may turn out that
we are denied insurance unless we live
according to its dictates.
If our government can pry into all our
daily living habits, it may turn out that
every aspect of our personal lives can be
regulated and controlled.
Privacy Assault Phase One

The installation of a smart electric, gas or

water meter on your home
All 3 types of meters reveal information
about your private life.
The electric smart meter reveals the most
and is also a kind of gateway drug,
leading to still further intrusion when you
are forced to buy smart appliances.
Data Revealed - Smart Meter Alone
Once a smart electrical meter is
installed on your home, even before
there are any smart appliances in the
home, much information about your daily
activities will be revealed to the utility
company and to anyone who can buy
(or hack into) the data the meter
generates.
Each Appliance Has Unique Signature

Amount of current draw

Duration of current draw
Startup or inrush current
Whether current drawn is in step with
applied voltage or lags behind (power
factor)
Whether there is a regular pattern of on
and off cycles.
One Minute Intervals With Appliance ID
Utility Can Change Recording Interval

Most utilities now say electric usage will

be recorded separately for each hour.
These readings will be stored in meters
memory and may be transmitted less often
than hourly.
The smart meters are remotely
programmable.
The utility can change the recording
interval times by remote control at ANY
time, with or without notice to homeowner.
Software to Automate Data
Extraction
In California, utilities already have
permission to sell smart meter data to 3rd
party marketing companies.
Software is already on the market that will
transform a raw data graph into usable
information about lifestyle, habits, kinds of
appliances being used, etc.
A battle is already in progress about who
controls all this data.
Who Would Want This Information?
Insurance Companies
Employers
Marketing Companies
Police
 Privacy Assault Phase Two

Smart appliances will give the utility the

power to turn off individual appliances in
your home.
The utilities are saying these programs will
be voluntary (for now anyway)
Soon you will not be able to buy any
appliance that is not smart.
Federal Privacy Guidelines NOT
Being Followed

The National Institute for Standards &

Technology (N.I.S.T.), a federal agency,
formed a working group to study and
recommend appropriate standards for
protecting peoples privacy within a smart
grid system. This group issued a report in
August 2010.
Key recommendation of N.I.S.T.

Choice and Consent. An organization

should clearly, fully, and accurately describe
the choices available to individuals, and to
the extent practicable, obtain explicit
approval for the collection and use of their
personal information. Consumers should
have the option to forgo data collection and
services that are not related to the core
services provided by the organization.
Recap Part 3 Privacy Issues

When a utility tells you all they are

measuring is your total electric
consumption, that is not true
Utilities want to capture the details of
your daily life because this is a
commodity they can sell
Federal N.I.S.T. recommendations on
privacy are not being followed
Where else are these
meters being installed?
DTEs Opt-Out Plan
You agree to have a non-
transmitting smart meter
installed on your home.
You agree to pay $67 up front
and $9.80/month indefinitely or
until DTE gets a rate increase
next year.
 You dont get any relief from the
privacy invasion. The non-
transmitting meter is still a smart
meter and has the memory
capacity to store all your detailed
electrical usage for upload to a
hand held device carried by the
monthly meter reader.
 You eliminate the direct RF radiation
from your own meter but not from
neighbors meters.
You still may get sick or develop long
run health problems from the dirty
electricity that this meter puts on
your home wiring.
When you visit health care
practitioners you may become ill from
the RF in their offices, since they
cannot opt-out.
 You dont get any relief from the
privacy invasion. The non-
transmitting meter is still a smart
meter and has the memory
capacity to store all your detailed
electrical usage for upload to a
hand held device carried by the
monthly meter reader.
What To Do?

Do NOT sign up for the Opt-Out Plan. To do so

would constitute consent for smart meter
installation.
Inform utility, by certified letter, that you DO NOT
CONSENT to the installation of a smart meter on
your home, whether it is radio transmitting or not.
Post a sign on or next to your meter to inform the
installer that you DO NOT CONSENT to such
installation.
Lock your meter housing if possible.
 If meter already installed, demand its removal,
and consider self help if your demand for
removal is not honored.
If DTE starts adding opt-out fees to your bill, pay
them under protest.
Let your state legislative representatives know
how you feel about this issue.
If your rep holds a town hall, this would be
good opportunity to speak out.
Ask your local government to
pass a resolution:

Supporting the right of all utility

customers to opt-out of smart meters
without paying an opt-out fee
Supporting the right of opt-out customers
to keep or get back their analog meter.
Extending these protections to at least
small business and professional offices
The McMillin Bill
House Bill 4315

A proposed law to defend the rights of

utility customers not to be forced to
accept a harmful meter or to pay a fee
to avoid getting one.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN ENACT:
A UTILITY SHALL NOT DO ANY OF THE
FOLLOWING:
(A) MAKE UTILITY SERVICE TO A RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMER CONTINGENT ON THE INSTALLATION OF AN
ADVANCED METER OR USE OF AN ADVANCED METER
FUNCTION.

(B) OFFER OR PROVIDE A RATE DISCOUNT, METER

PRICE DISCOUNT, REBATE, BONUS, OR OTHER
INCENTIVE TO A RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER FOR
REQUESTING OR ACCEPTING THE INSTALLATION OF AN
ADVANCED METER OR USE OF AN ADVANCED METER
FUNCTION.
(C) IMPOSE ANY DISINCENTIVE ON A RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMER FOR NOT REQUESTING OR ACCEPTING
THE INSTALLATION OF AN ADVANCED METER OR USE
OF AN ADVANCED METER FUNCTION.

(D) CONDUCT A COMMUNITY INSTALLATION PROGRAM

DURING A MORATORIUM ON A COMMUNITY
INSTALLATION PROGRAM ADOPTED BY RESOLUTION
OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE LOCAL UNIT OF
GOVERNMENT.

(E) INSTALL AN ADVANCED METER AT A RESIDENCE

UNLESS THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER HAS
EXPRESSLY REQUESTED AN ADVANCED METER OR, AT
LEAST 30 DAYS BEFORE THE INSTALLATION, THE
UTILITY NOTIFIED THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER OF
THE UTILITY'S INTENTION TO INSTALL AN ADVANCED
METER AND THE CUSTOMER HAS NOT OPTED OUT.
Michigan State Rep Tom McMillin,
representing the Rochester area,
introduced this bill with 7 Republican co-
sponsors in January. The bill has been
assigned to the House Energy and
Technology Committee, chaired by Rep
Nesbitt.
We would like this House Committee to
agree to take up this bill for consideration,
so that hearings will take place where
evidence may be offered in support. So far
no date has been set when the bill might be
considered. A similar bill languished in this
committee all of 2012 with no action.
We now need to make this happen!
END
The End