FIRES: This is from California, but know that many areas of California use ITRON meters. Also, all smeters are basically the same. Some engineers have found that when they took several brands of meters apart they were identical. Only the faceplates varied. It appears that all are made in the same Chinese factory, and shipped to the US to have the faceplate put on. If anyone has had any similar experiences, please let us know. Put “Fire” in the subject line. We are preparing a report to submit to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, an agency investigating fires in the US. No agency in BC or in Canada, as far as we know, is doing any tracking or investigating of events like those in the article below. Fire captain finds hazardous power surges follow Smart Meter installations - EMF Safety Network - November 27, 2012: - emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=9013 Fire captain finds hazardous power surges follow Smart Meter installations EMF Safety Network - November 27, 2012 Matt Beckett is a fire captain who lives in Cameron Park, CA. He sent the following account of serious electrical problems that occurred after Smart Meters were installed on his house: “My family moved into a 1982 built house approximately nine years ago and remodeled almost everything (including ALL electrical fixtures: lights, fans, switches, sockets, etc). Our home had what I believe to be it’s original analog meter at the panel. Two years ago PG&E replaced that meter with a “Smart Meter”. Immediately following we noticed power surges in the form of our refrigerator motor intermittently speeding up simultaneously with our lights becoming brighter. As a seventeen year veteran and current Fire Captain this caused me to become very concerned. We notified PG&E and called a licensed electrician to come out and assess. Both arrived at our house within one hour. The electrician checked “our side” and PG&E theirs. Nothing was found to be wrong or faulty, but PG&E decided to change out the connections at the power pole just in case. He also pulled the smart meter and replaced it with an analog. Two years have come and gone without any electrical problems. However, on 11/5/12 our analog was replaced with another smart meter. Within one week of this we noticed power surges once again in the form of lights becoming brighter, refrigerator motor becoming louder, motion light activating by itself in no wind conditions, and while vacuuming the motor increasing speed much like the refrigerator. This culminated on 11/25/12 with my wife noticing a plastic like burning smell coming from our office. Upon further inspection we noticed our computer, phone, and shredder were not working. They were plugged into a Belkin brand surge protector that fortunately did it’s job. This caused the carpet to become hot and melted underneath in a dime sized spot and burned up (inside) the surge protector. Immediately, we called PG&E and another electrician as in the past. Both were at our house within an hour and the same result was found. “Our side” checked out fine and PG&E did not notice anything wrong or faulty. The connections at our roof top power drop were changed by PG&E just in case (even though he thought they were fine). However, the smart meter was replaced with another smart meter. Later that evening our family room TV and components were working fine. However, the next morning they had no power. When I inspected the surge protector that they were plugged into, the same condition was found as in our office.” emfsafetynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/photo-224x300.jpg Some homes just dont work well with Smart Meters? Matt spent four hours on the phone with PG&E, dealing with this problem and notifying them of his concerns. He demanded a rush on switching back to an analog meter. He says, “I’ve been met with multiple attitudes and accusations that I’ve not done everything I can do to make sure it’s not my house causing the problem.” According to Matt, the only time there were electrical problems was when PG&E changed from the analog to the Smart Meter. Although PG&E tells Matt he can file a claim for the damaged surge protectors, they say he now has to pay $75 plus $10 a month to keep an analog meter on his home. Matt’s story is similar to the East Bay fire captain who reported electrical problems and a too hot to touch Smart Meter. Arcing Meter Hazards. Evidence is piling up against Smart Meter installations connected to burnt out appliances, fires and explosions. Sandi Maurer, director of the EMF Safety Network has been compiling Smart Meter related fires stories since 2010. She says, “It is unthinkable that PG&E, other utilities, and regulators in California have neither publicly admitted to, nor squarely addressed this serious safety hazard related to Smart Meter installations. They are failing their statutory obligation to ensure safe and reliable utility service. ” (18) Comments: Julie Ostoich says: November 27, 2012 at 10:21 pm This is stunning. Our house which was built in the 50′s is experiencing similar things. I’ve noticed our new energy star refrigerator has been running oddly – the motor speeding up and slowing down intermittently. Our lights are also dimming and brightening. We do not have a ‘smart meter’ exactly. I refused installation of one, however, recently found out that SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) had swapped out our analog meter in 2007 without our permission. They gave us a ‘digital itron meter’. Come to find out, this is a pre-smart meter. It was originally pinged by a drive by truck to be read, but I just found out via a public information request to SMUD, that it is sending out RF signals (emissions) every 30 seconds! Aha! It’s not as bad as the 13,000 and up emissions from smart meters, but still significant. No wonder I’ve suffered so many symptoms and believe my family is also experiencing health issues related to this dirty electricity and RF/EMF pollution. SMUD refuses to allow us to retain or regain our analog meters, unlike PG&E who is granting this to customers making this request. SMUD’s original opt out fee was $127 with a $39.40 per month thereafter charge. They also insist on installing a ‘radio free, non-communicating’ digital meter instead of allowing customers who have opted out to keep or return to analogs. I don’t trust them. Like PG& E, they originally said that their smart meters only sent out emission every 4 hrs. or 6 times/day. We knew that was a lie and got the SMUD board to admit the truth. Their smart meters send out RF blasts 13,000 to 240,000 times per day. SMUD has not informed all of their customers about their opt out. They told the 3,000 plus who originally refused smart meters that they had no choice. Of those that still said no, many were violated when meters were installed in spite of their requests not to have them. One of my friends intercepted the installers and stopped them. They came back later when she wasn’t home and did it anyway. This happened to others as well who had officially called and written letters stating they did not grant permission for installation of a smart meter. After the 3,000 who refused smart meters were informed of SMUD’s prohibitory opt-out charges, most capitulated and accepted smart meters. About 350 did not and defended their analog meters. Since the number of opt outs is now so low, SMUD has ‘benevolently’ lowered the monthly opt out fee to $14/month, but is still charging the $127 one time fee and has retroactively charged others who refused SM installations the $39.40/month. SMUD has still not informed ALL of their customers that there is an opt out. We are fighting SMUD on this and continue to push for our right to have an analog meter. I want my analog meter back. This is criminal. SMUD needs to be held accountable for such reckless and dishonest behavior. 1. LAW OFFICES OF DAVID KYLE says: November 30, 2012 at 5:42 pm I am presently involved in wrongful death litigation on a similar matter. 2. 3. admin says: November 30, 2012 at 9:02 pm Hi David- I am aware of this case which started with a burned out computer- humming noises in the home- and a fire that started in a swamp cooler that killed the occupant- all after a smart meter installation. Can you please keep us informed about this case? Thanks, Sandi 4. 5. Alex Wise says: December 12, 2012 at 8:55 am Yes, David, there will be people around the world who are interested in that case – thank you in advance for keeping us updated! 6. 7. Rita Bowling says: February 6, 2013 at 3:24 pm I’ve VERY INTERESTED in this! We just lost 8 major appliances and a surge protector, 2 light fixtures, and 2 wall outlets (one of them made us think our washer had burned up also). On two of these occasions we had to call the fire department! We have owned this house since it was built! It’s been remodeled over and over and kept up through the years. We only had to call the fire department once in all those years and it was because an older refrigerator was shorting out and smoking. These last two calls were just 2-3 months apart! And our house was on fire inside the walls because of power surges sent through our outlets. All of these other things occurred just after they installed the “smart meters!” We were not given a choice. They just knocked on our front door and said they were installing new meters for the electric department and if we had any computers on that we should cut them off till they got finished. We were not even told that they were a different kind of meter! And now after I realized that no one has the kind of “Bad Luck” that we’ve been having, I remembered them installing the new meters. Then I heard about the “smart meters” on WNOX Radio Station. It was a talk show and they had one of the mothers that was arrested over the “smart meters.” 8. 9. DANIEL SANCHEZ says: April 18, 2013 at 2:58 pm On about 4/1/2013 I went to use my microwave and my power started acting up. Lights were flickering and microwave sounded like it was starving for power. I remember thinking it had to do with the smart meter that NV Energy in Las Vegas installed on my house which I adamently told the installer I didnt want on my house. They went in my yard anyway while I was at work and put it on. This happened several days in a row. On 4/5/2013 I came home from work at just about sundown. When I turned my lights on they were working kinda strange going from bright to dim and fluxuating. Then I turned on my swamp cooler and it was like a big draw on my power, I turned it back off and got suspicious enough to get on the internet and search smart meters. As I was opening an interesting page titled Secrets about Smart Meters, the lights above me started flickering then going very very bright. It got so bright they were like hologen lights and it scared me enough to turn them off fast. I knew there was something wrong so I opened my back door and was shocked to see my work shop with billowing black puffy clouds of smoke. Having once been a firefighter in the past I knew that was a sign that it was very very hot and that this was going to be a devastating fire. After the fire was out I was sitting in my house with my two dogs digesting the fact that my shop was totaled along with about 20K worth of my tools, and I have no insurance, when the power went out. I knew the fire was out so I figured they were working on it for what ever reason. Then they called me outside for a guy from NV Energy to explain to me that they turned my power out to check the lines that were above my shop. The guy said the lines were fine but that one of the clips that the meter plugs into was broke and for him to turn my power on I have to get the thing fixed call for an inspection then he can turn my power back on. How did it get broken? They broke it and now I have to fix it.. Now two weeks later I am still without power, I have to apply for a permit to repair my electrical and its still costing me money. The Arson Investigater told me that they could not determine the cause of this fire. I told him about my power surges prior to the fire and this man did not even look at the meter. In the meantime NV Energy took the meter and sent my my final bill. These people are responsible for my 30 to 40K loss and Im afraid I can not hold them accountable. 10. 11. admin says: April 18, 2013 at 4:31 pm We have stories from two fire captains that smart meters are a fire hazard. A wrongful death suit was settled by PG&E in CA, that was smart meter related- Find an attorney who can help you recover your losses. They need to be held responsible for this. Document everything in writing. Sandi 12. 13. Pingback: COMPLAINT: Nova Scotia Power Incorporated, an Emera Corporation via @NovaScotiaRasta #Bullying #UARB #NSP | Rasta Rants 14. 15. May 29, 2013 at 6:22 am I too am a victim of a smart meter in Pennsylvania. The day my new smart meter was installed I was home and experienced a power surge like I’ve never seen before! There was literally electricity in the air, it had a sound and light bulbs exploded, fixtures were smoking, arcing occurred in the service panel, surge protectors burnt, appliances failed and even wire nuts in outlets, switches and junction boxes melted! To this date the electric company and it’s subcontractor have denied any responsibility for their product or their actions. I have had to file a homeowners insurance claim and estimated damage is in the several thousands and they are trying to settle for less than the amount of damage! I’ve also had to hire and attorney. I am looking to get into contact with other victims…WE all need our voices heard! Admin can you help? 16. 17. 1.gravatar/avatar/d32339f2624130678a16c5d1220384c1?s=40&d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D40&r=GK says: May 29, 2013 at 12:09 pm So this is interesting. At my last rental, they put in Smart Meters about a year or two after I moved in. I coincidentally blew a large number of surge protectors during the later years I lived there, so I bought power conditioning UPS’ and they kicked in several times a day. I hired an independent electrician to come check everything out, and he found 0 problems. Without understanding more about the inner workings of a Smart Meter, I can’t agree with the findings yet, but I find it interesting fire chiefs have noticed this as well. 18. 19. May 29, 2013 at 4:57 pm I’ll send an email off the website. Sandi 20. 21. Chuck says: July 9, 2013 at 1:25 pm I am wondering if anyone has connected a ScopeMeter to the power supply to look at and capture, if wanted, the waveforms and voltage sags and swells that may be occurring in the homes? We have captured some very interesting data but have not been able to determine if the automatic meter reader (ARM) may be the cause of this. Does anyone have expert knowledge of the different ARM’s and Smart Meters and is willing to share information to help us all understand them better? 22. 23. Eric Windheim says: July 9, 2013 at 2:23 pm Chuck, What type of data have you captured? I have scope shots of the SMPS transients that the SM puts on the wiring. Where are you located? How can we collaborate? Please advise. 24. 25. Chuck says: July 9, 2013 at 6:57 pm Hi Eric, I have Fluke ScopeMeter 4 channel data from cow contact testing, if you have Fluke 5.1 software, I can send it to you. I am in Minnesota and wondering if the cows are telling us just exactly how sensitive they truly are. I have an email in to Rob States as well. We are simply looking for answers on how to mitigate this if the captures we have are truly from AMR (automatic meter readers). I must say the answers I have received from the AMR company and the utility make me far more curious and perhaps therefore more in need of good information. Thank you so very much for responding! Please let me know if you are interested in the data or how we could visit if you would be so kind. 26. 27. Eric Windheim says: July 10, 2013 at 8:00 pm Chuck, Sounds really interesting. I don’t have that software. Perhaps there is another way to get the images to me. Rob States is nearby and I know him but is is always very busy. Have you checked with Dave Stetzer? Call me at 916-395-7336 PT Sacramento. Here is a video I made about DE & HFVT. https://dropbox/s/1xz9r2je2kftia3/00012.MTS Check this link to see what I have been doing with the local utility. stopsmartmeters.org/2013/05/13/sacramento-smart-meter-awareness-finally-wins-the-official-right-to-an-analog-after-much-blood-sweat-and-tears/ Hope to hear from you soon! Eric 28. 29. 0.gravatar/avatar/0cdf4d1fce390847b5029d9a3d1c368f?s=40&d=http%3A%2F%2F0.gravatar%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D40&r=G_Jim says: July 27, 2013 at 2:04 pm Okay, I haven’t experienced any damage to equipment or PCs, but, I have now had two (2) unexplainable “drop outs” on clear, low wind days … going on the 2nd year with a Smart Meter in the ONCOR system in the DFW (Dallas) area … just for the record I thought I would post this. Further info: A front (rare for that to happen in July for us!) moved through last evening, and today skies are clear, temps are moderate (90 deg F at the moment) at about 3:45 PM CST in the afternoon with light to negligible winds. When this ‘drop out’ occurs, it is only for an instance, and then ‘things’ power back up. I think the last time this happened either the TV or the PC didn’t shutdown/reset so didn’t require a reboot when power came back. That event was also on a clear, low to no wind day. PS. I’m an engineer with wireless, embedded micro/firmware and some power electronics experience as was as being a longtime ‘ham’ radio operator. The event prior to today’s I also had a LW (about 250 kHz) receiver on and didn’t detect any arcing or ‘static’ (lightning) discharges taking place … I have noted ‘arcs’ or nearby lightning strikes when power has been lost in the past (storms, cars hitting power poles on this distribution circuit etc.) … One might say these ‘events’ were well-observed by myself when they took place. _Jim 30. 31. Tony says: August 24, 2013 at 5:08 pm Wow!, very interesting to bump into this website. I am with a Smart Meter in the ONCOR system in the DFW (Dallas) area and have lived in my home for almost 13yrs with no electrical problems with the analog meter. Problem with voltage in the house, surges in the form of our lights getting too bright when we turn on our kitchen compactor or microwave and breakers tripping off, my computer power supply replaced also replaced 2 Belkin surge protectors because of problem with voltage. I have independent certified electrician come over to check for problems and he found no problems with the wiring in the house. This is what the Master Electrician found: **When there is a LOAD added to any leg, the voltage drops to 89 on one leg and 138 on the other leg. Neutral and Ground tested and are correct**. My problems started shortly after the new digital smart meter was installed and did not realize it till now that I have the master electrician confirm it. I have replaced many electronics in my house, including my outside A/C unit compressor that cost me $1500 to replace and I am afraid it will go out again with the voltage in my house going up and down or worst yet my house may catch fire when no body home. My problem is with the smart meter and the electric company is responsible for my damages. I am considering hiring a lawyer. I need some advice please. 32. 33. admin says: August 24, 2013 at 7:58 pm This attorney already won at least one case against a smart meter fire: Contact Brad Leigh at the Leigh Law Firm (281) 419-3476.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:29:07 +0000
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