Smart Meters - Public Service Commission

JO says:
January 22, 2012 at 9:55 am
I have many physical symptoms I have never had before the Smart meter was
installed, such as being dizzy, tingling in arms&legs, feel way off balance when walking,
pressure in my head, agitated, feel like I am in a fog, do no sleep well, etc.
Jo Greg says:
January 28, 2012 at 10:31 am
I set out on my own private war against the power company. Nothing illegal, but how to best hurt them in my own way was to
hit them in the wallet. So with a smaller (18 cu. ft. energy star) very low useage refrigerator, a 50 watt 23 inch flatscreen TV
($250), a 10 watt DVD player ($50) (which is what the TV is only used for watching a movie), and some 7 watt L.E.D.
standard screw in light bulbs ($11) used sparingly, I end up using less than a kilowatt a day. The water heater (propane),
freestanding fireplace (propane) heats this smaller house (1300 square feet), and a propane (only) kitchen range do not tap
into the electricity. We are down to less that 60 KwH per month. (60 KwH X .122 cents per KwH = $7.32 monthly electric
bills) I have a small solar panel ($50) and a 12 V deep cycle boat battery that I use to recharge this laptop. The sewing
machine was converted to treadle 45 years ago, the coffee pot is French press ($40) using only boiling water from the
propane range. The floors are wood so I use a dust mop. I have monitored our electric useage daily for the last 2 years since
the SM was installed. We use an Amish type of hand clothes washer and a clothes line to dry the wash. There are many things
we have learned to “do without” and have managed just fine. Anything with a plug on the end of a cord (other than the items
mentioned above) was donated or given away. The air conditioner was turned off at the circuit breaker and I had PG&E come
get their little computer off of it. In the summer here in the Central valley of CA we super insulated the attic (39 R) of the
house and garage, do the “window thing” – open in early morning and close before it warms up and close the drapes on the
sunny sides of the house, and use the ceiling fan in whatever room we are in. I have a Coleman camping stovetop oven ($39)
that sits on a burner and bake in it rather than fire up the large oven. So here is a list of what we get along just fine without:
vacuum cleaner, electric coffee pot, hair dryer, clothes dryer, electric washer, freezer in the garage – gave it away, giant TV –
that went too, small kitchen appliances, and anything else that plugs in. The work shop is mostly non-electric tools, hand saws,
hand drill, brace and bit, breast drill – a large hand drill, and the usual squares, planes, levels, hammers, pullers, etc. Most of
our hand tools were found at yard sales or cast offs from others who no longer use hand tools.
Just to show that we have gotten PG&E’s attention we have received 3 letters from them charting our electric useage and
asking if “they are comparing us correnctly.” The next step now that our electric useage is minimal was to go offgrid solar.
Well it is up and running and we have an appointment next week for them to come and collecct the SM!
Even without going off grid, it felt great just to cut the useage down to the absolute minimun. I installed some foil behind a
large picture and hung it over the inside wall where the SM was hung on the outside of the house and cut down the radiation
into the house. It can be tested inexpensively (without a testing type of meter) with a battery powered portable radio. Just
listen to the interference static and for a real eyeopener try running the radio outside the SM! Yikes! Hope this helps.
admin says:
January 28, 2012 at 10:53 am
Thanks so much for sharing your story- very inspiring. We also reduced our electric usage several years ago, and keep most
of the circuit breakers off to the home, to reduce the EMF from indoor wiring. I also have lived without electricity for months
and know its very doable. If you have resources, for alternative appliances, like the Amish clothes washer, please post!
Jo Greg says:
January 28, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Sources: I didn’t know if I could name businesses, so here goes…
50 watt TV – Costco
10 watt DVD player – Costco
French press coffee maker – Starbucks
Amish washer (and many other non-electric items) Lehman’s hardware http://www.lehmans.com
7 watt L.E.D. screw in light bulbs – Lowes
energy star refrigerators – just read the labels
small solar panels – northern tools http://www.northerntools.com
emfsafetynetwork.org/?page_id=1223
18/20