Have you gotten an electric Smart Meter? Has your electric bill gone up?

[e2matrix]

Smart meters are coming to my area.   There are big protests in some states.  I've read up a lot on them.  Some people say their electric bills more than doubled after a smart meter was installed.   Beside the fact that they fit the legal definition of WIRE TAPPING they also have been shown to cause house fires not to mention the EMF generated by them. 


I've seen people who were excited to get them do a 180 when they got their electric bill and could not seem to get a good answer as to why by their electric company.   Apparently utility companies charger a higher rate when you are using electricity during prime hours in the daytime and with smart meters they know when you are using power.   


Opting out costs a lot more too but maybe not as much as having the smart meter so I'm asking if anyone here has experience in how much their bills went up after a smart meter install compared to a similar time of the year before they had the meter. 

[overcurrent]

Hi e2matrix
I was a bit worried about them after I heard an episode on coast to coast about them causing health hazards but I have seen no ill effects as of yet, It has been about a year now since they installed it and I haven't had any noticeable difference in my electric bills. I am not saying that these haven't caused health problems with some people because I don't know for sure but I haven't had any problems with it. I would say I wouldn't want my bed to be located right on the other side of the meter and be sleeping next to it every night. So not a very scientific opinion just my experience so far good luck.

[e2matrix]

Thanks for your input on that.   If I may ask what area or state do you live in?   It seems many stories I've read report anything from moderate increases in bills to more than double the amount in monthly bills.   Have you compared monthly bills to the same month in a previous year when you had a standard analog meter?   


It is my belief they would not be investing in much more expensive meter equipment unless it could make them more money.  I'm sure the smart meter push is all about money and corporate greed.


Just on of many web sites with info on this:   https://stopsmartmeters.org/

[e2matrix]

Some more info :



Some local Pacific Power customers who've studied the new technology say there's a downside to the new meters, and they are urging fellow customers to exercise an "opt out" option before the new meters are installed.


There is a concern, among other things, about a potential fire hazard. John Hill, a retired electrical engineer who recently moved to Dunsmuir, notes that the new meters lack the surge protection that the older, analog meters have. The older meters have small surge suppression tabs embedded in them which route power surges to grounding equipment and prevent the overheating of meters that can cause fires.


The fire-prevention tabs are not present in smart meters, according to a detailed report published recently by William Bathgate, an electrical engineer with 40 years' experience working with high-tech power systems. Home fires attributed to smart meters have been reported in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Nevada.


Cory Estlund is supervising installation of the new meters in our area. He acknowledges that there have been fires in the past associated with smart meters, but says those involved early, "first generation" devices and that the latest "fourth and fifth" generation smart meters won't have the problems associated with the older ones, that the new ones meet safety standards set by the Federal Communications Commission and Underwriter Laboratories, an independent testing facility.


There are also concerns about potential health impacts. Smart meters, like cell phones and microwave ovens, emit radio frequencies that are a form of radiation. A recent study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health has linked exposure to this type of radio emission with two forms of cancer. The emissions have also been linked to less serious disorders that include insomnia and headaches. Because of these health concerns, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine has called for a moratorium on the installation of smart meters.


Much has been published on this subject, both pro and con, in recent years. One industry-sponsored white paper assures smart meter customers that "actual Radio Frequency emissions from smart meters are significantly lower than commonly used devices such as cell phones, laptop computers, microwave ovens and baby monitors."


Pacific Power's Estlund says that exposure to radiation is minimized by pointing the meter's antenna away from buildings.


Customers who choose not to have smart meters installed will face a monthly charge for a manual reading of their analog meters. That fee will likely be $20 a month, according to a preliminary decision by an administrative law judge at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).


That decision is subject to the formal approval of the state utilities commission sometime this summer or fall. The judge also approved a one-time $75 opt-out fee for those who choose not to have smart meters, but, according to the commission's Ratepayer Advocate, Brian Goldman, customers opting out before the smart meter rollout begins will not have to pay that one-time fee. A final decision on the opt-out fees will also be made by the commission later this year.


Vicki Gold of Mount Shasta is another concerned utility customer who's studied numerous reports on the new meters.


"Look at all the products and technologies we were told were safe: tobacco, asbestos, nuclear power, DDT, until it was proved otherwise," she says. "We are hearing from many neuroscientists and physicians about the biological effects of wireless radiation. They are alarmed about the health impacts of that radiation."


Gold feels there are enough serious questions about the health impacts of radiation from smart meters to require, at least, a moratorium on their further installation.

[overcurrent]

Oh I agree completely and I would add to the list fluoride, GMO's, Pesticides, 5g and the list goes on  and it is all unintended consequences but why is this mot a major of study of what is happening to human body amongst all these technological advances and why it is bad for some people and not for others. I personally stay unplugged as much as I can because we just don't know all the effects yet.