Are Smart Meters a smart idea?

GUEST POST by Brian Thiesen

By now you will have heard that BC Hydro is installing Smart Meters on homes to monitor electrical consumption in Kamloops. The City of Kamloops is also installing Smart Meters to monitor water consumption, but for an extra $100 a year, customers concerned about the safety of the water Smart Meters can choose an Analogue Meter. There are a multitude of concerns about Smart Meters ranging from health, safety, financial, privacy, and choice issues. More about Smart Meters.

There is a movement to stop the installation of the Smart Meters on our homes. If you do not want a Smart Meter installed on your home, here is what you can do:

  1. Post a sign on your Analogue Meter stating you do not want a Smart Meter. Here is a PDF sign: Private Property ? No Trespassing.
  2. Physically secure your Analogue Meter with a lock. Most installers will respect the sign, but if it is really important to you use a lock.
  3. Have a talk with your friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers about Smart Meters. Many people are not aware of the health, safety, financial or privacy issues.

To help reduce exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) in your own home, please read The Little-Known Dangers of EMFs and How To Protect Your Family. The problem with the prevalence of these devices in our lives is that it is becoming harder and harder to avoid chronic exposure. Smart Meters take away our choice and the choice of our neighbors to avoid chronic exposure. For some people their homes will become unsafe and they will have no choice but to move.

You may also want to learn about how Wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) in schools will affect some children and their teachers. If you use Wi-Fi in your home this video will help you understand the risk. We might not be able to change what the schools do but we can hard-wire our computers at home to protect our families.

I will be giving a free lecture on Smart Meters at Desert Gardens, 540 Seymour St, Kamloops, BC on May 23, 2012 at 7:00pm. You will learn a lot about Radio Frequency (RF) and Electromagnetic Fields and what can be done to reduce their effects. I will discuss how the government and industry have determined the “safety” of Smart Meters. I will cover issues such as billing increases, blown appliances, the Smart Grid and Smart Appliances. I will cover issues that you will want to be aware of moving forward in order to know exactly what this program will mean to you and your family. There is a lot we are not being told. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.

Feel free to contact me at nobcsmartmeters@gmail.com if you would like more information on what you can do to keep a Smart Meter off your home, reduce exposure from other devices in your home, or any other general inquiries. Visit our website at nobcsmartmeters.

Updated December 13, 2012: I had another visit from BC Hydro’s contractor Corix. No, I still don’t want a smart meter installed on my home. I am wondering how long it will be before I will be given the choice of getting the new smart meter installed or having my power cut. I must admit I am a bit anxious about that day, but mostly I am irritated. Ironically, these smart meters has taken a “passing fancy” of mine to live off-the-grid, and transformed it into a full blow “need”. Regardless of what happens, BC Hydro is going to lose a good, long-term customer very soon. Mercola.com has just put out a very long post and series of videos called Smart Grid Funding Misspent on Obsolete Technologies. Smart Meters are starting to look pretty dumb, and dangerous.