STOCKTON, CA [March 30]— According to CBS 13 in Stockton, California, more than 8,000 customers were left without power when their SMART meters exploded after a truck crashed into a utility pole.
Leigh Martinez reported that residents of South Stockton:
…described it as a large pop, a bomb going off, and strong enough to shake a house.
She said that more than 100 PG&E workers were working to restore power. The amount of time to restore power to a home depended on how bad the meters were damaged.
SMART meter caused fires have been suspected for some time, but utility companies are obviously reticent to reveal just how many. The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed an opt-out plan for customers who do not want the wireless technology. It would require the customer to pay additional charges.
Utility companies are allowed to sell the personal information they gain from SMART meter technology to other companies without your permission. SMART meters collect data on how you use electricity including what appliances and how you use the Internet.
SEE ALSO: Wireless Smart Meters and Potential for Electrical Fires (PDF)
Residents in Sedona fought their City Council to prevent a $75 dollar fee and an additional $30 a month to opt out of the program. The State of California requires an opt out program for their utility companies. Texas is considering legislation banning the use of the technology altogether because of privacy concerns violating the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
According to the minutes of the meeting, Mayor John Moore, “…expressed concern for the control of individuals’ power service.”
The minutes record that Joe Carter answered that the when an individual comes in to pay their bill, staff will update the system, and services would be restored as soon as payment is made; all of this would be done by the push of a button.
Brenda Hazlett of APS added, “This process is actually faster than if they were to dispatch a meter reader to go out and turn service back on.”
This assessment did not bear out the morning of Tuesday, July 23rd for residents at 118 W. Route 66 in downtown Williams. Glen Davis, a resident of the apartments, returned home about 10:45 to find his electricity out. He confronted APS and was told that the electricity was out due to non-payment.
The owner, Lea Bowden, checked with APS at about 11:32 and found that the payment made, but applied to a wrong account. Electrical power was not restored until approximately 12:15—43 minutes after the error was reported to APS. Power had been out for approximately two-hours.
Davis complained that while he knew of the power outage to replace meters, he was never informed of the actual date of the outage and never received one of the promised notification slips. He claims he has lost two DVD recorders on his computer and his computer has been acting up since they switched out the meters without his knowledge.
WILLIAMS—At the May 23rd meeting of the city council, the Williams City Council voted to allow APS to install “automatic meters,” also called “smart meters,” in place of traditional electric meters.
According to the minutes of the meeting [PDF] on the city web site, none of the council members addressed the Fourth Amendment concerns that have been raised throughout the country concerning these smart meters. Recently there have been concerns raised about illnesses from these meters because of the electromagnetic radiation they emit.
Joe Carter of APS noted in the meeting that the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has become industry standard and that APS began installing these meters throughout their service area in 2006. Installing the meters would “bring Williams up to date.”
Installation of these meters will take three- to four-weeks after the approval by the council. Customers would be notified by mail and door hangers and the meters would be installed up to three-days later.
Carter responded to a question on reading the meters from Councilman Heimenz by explaining that it is done by radio and cell phone technology. Heimenz did not ask, nor did Carter explain, concerns about hacking into these meters by others with cell phone technology. In England, where people pay for the meters and television, this is a growing concern.
These meters can be used to determine what appliances you have and how they are used. Even what types of DVDs and CDs you watch or listen to according to some sources. This information has been sold by some utility companies. Hacking the meters can tell a potential criminal the times that you are away from your home.
A 2012 article by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, smart meters can be used as part of a data retention program.
Smart Meter Hacking for Privacy
On day four of the 28th Annual Chaos Communication Congress, Smart Hacking for Privacy explored the privacy-intrusive potential of smart meter technology. EFF has articulated the privacy concerns around smart meters – including how this technology can be used to monitor what appliances a consumer uses in the home and exactly when she uses them. According to Network World, Smart Hacking for Privacy went a step further and showed that under certain circumstances, researchers could use smart meters to “determine devices like how many PCs or LCD TVs [were] in a home, what TV program was being watched, and if a DVD movie being played had copyright-protected material.” This builds off of research (PDF) by a team at the University of Washington on the electromagnetic interference (EMI) signatures produced by televisions. Smart Hacking for Privacy also demonstrated how smart meters could be hacked so that the readings were incorrect. The entire presentation is available on YouTube.
We sent an email to the Arizona Corporation Commission on smart meter technology and are waiting a response. They may not have had time to formulate a response to the questions we asked because we only sent the email last night.
Texas has a bill in the Senate to ban the use of these meters.
Smart meters are not a concern only in the United States. On the other side of the world groups in Australia are fighting against this technology. A group called the East Gippsland Action Group [Facebook page] offers a sign to be posted by the owners of property warning electric companies not to install the meters.
Their web site complains that these meters allow electric companies to control your airconditioner, heaters and other appliances in your home.
