Page 13 - the NOISE September 2013

Such a conscious decision to allow further installations and not exercise precaution only adds to my suspicion of ACC motives. Additionally, the study seems devised to buy APS time to complete “smart” meter in- stallations throughout Arizona.
There was conversation amongst the ACC Commissioners at the August 5 meeting as to whether installations should continue during the study. Amazingly, all of them agreed that installations should proceed cit- ing the faulty reasoning that anyone could refuse a “smart” meter who wanted to. I am left wondering if the commissioners already know the DHS will reach an outcome favor- able to the utilities’“smart” meter agenda.
But let’s suppose the DHS finds that “smart” meters cannot be proven safe:
Who pays for all the “smart” meters in- stalled in the meantime that will have to be removed?
Who pays for the medical bills of people injured by “smart” meters while the DHS studies?
Does the DHS therefore have an interest in maintaining the status quo?
Who pays for the inevitable lawsuits against the ACC and the utilities for negli- gently installing before determining proven safety in spite of being given ample evi- dence that “smart” meters in fact cannot be proven safe?
How does refusing a “smart” meter stop people from being negatively affected by the “smart” meters of others?
What good does refusal do if, as part of the “smart” grid network, the utility installs a pole-mounted collector or router with a transmitting range of 125 miles outside your bedroom window?
What good does refusal do if there are 48 “smart” meters transmitting on the other side of your apartment wall?
What good does refusal do for the hom- eowner whose neighbor’s “smart” meter is closer to his house than his own meter is?
What good does refusal do for the ho- meowner who has five neighbors’ “smart” meters aimed right at him/her and pulsing 24/7/365?
Indeed, there is testimony at the ACC’s “smart” meter docket from a Paulden woman made homeless not just by the microwave radiation of her “smart” meter but by the radiation of her neighbors’ “smart” meters as well. Fortunately, her neighbors all got
together and had their “smart” meters re- moved so she could stop sleeping in her car in the middle of nowhere.
What if her neighbors had not agreed? What good does right of refusal do when most people do not even know what “smart” meters are or what they do? How do people refuse something they do not know they have? How many Arizonans are suffering from the effects of “smart” meters without even knowing they have one or why they suffering?
Informed consent has not been possible for the vast majority of Arizonans and these questions remained unanswered.
APS “OPTS OUT”
Speaking of informed consent, APS is now refusing to meet and discuss “smart” me- ters with the public in open meetings. Just this month, APS backed out of a meeting scheduled in September with citizens at the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council which represents the 27 Home Owner Asso- ciations in the Village of Oak Creek. APS had
initially agreed to do a presentation and be available for Q & A but then balked.
In a letter to the Big Park Council, APS gave two very bizarre excuses for being a no-show. The first was that they had a fee request pending before the ACC for cus- tomers who refuse “smart” meters. One can only speculate what that excuse has to do with avoiding a public discussion. Perhaps the fee being punitive and extortionate and the request being a multitude of lies have something to do with it.
APS’ second bizarre excuse for being a no-show was that the ACC recently voted to request the DHS do a study on “smart” me- ters. Again, one can only wonder what that has to do with discussing a technology APS has been defending for years and is about to unhesitatingly inflict upon the Village of Oak Creek and other Verde Valley communities.
APS finished their “opt out” letter to Big Park with a cheery hymn of praise to “smart” meters and a recommendation to visit their website for more propaganda — I mean,
“additional information.”
If “smart” meters are so great then why
won’t APS say so at a public meeting? Are they afraid of the public they are supposed to serve?
I think it is safe to assume that APS did not want a repeat of their poor showing at the June 19 Sedona City Council meeting where citizens, including myself, success- fully discredited APS’ paid PR people on every point. APS was unable to answer the simplest of direct questions put to them by council members.
The meeting resulted in the Sedona City Council writing the ACC a letter requesting a no-fee, community-wide right of “smart” meter refusal. The video minutes of the meeting are available for viewing at the city’s website, sedonaaz.gov.
PIERCE APPAllS
The ill-conceived decision reached by the ACC at the August 5 meeting was bad enough, but I was appalled to hear Com- missioner Gary Pierce say that privacy concerns regarding “smart” meters could be remedied through legislation. Is he kid- ding? Where has he been throughout the recent domestic spying scandal? Neither state laws nor the Constitution have stopped government agencies from spying on every single American!
Does anyone except Mr. Pierce think some law passed by the Arizona legislature will stop government from obtaining the data revealed by “smart” meters? What a joke — on us! I think everyone except Mr. Pierce knows the only way to protect per- sonal data is not to give it away or let it be taken in the first place.
Additionally, APS admitted at a March 23, 2012 meeting with the ACC that it does not know the source codes for their “smart” me- ters. So APS does not really know who can access the data or even what exactly is be- ing collected.
In sum, it appears that in two years, the ACC has learned little and thought through even less. I find their recent decision to be recklessly negligent, putting Arizonans at continued risk of harm, some of which is potentially irreversible.
One may refuse a “smart” meter now by calling APS at 800 253 9405.
| Warren Woodward enjoys fresh cow milk with his ruminations. w6345789@yahoo.com
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