One of the things that really appealed to me about Lewis County life when I moved here in 2011 was the repeated reassurance from our PUD that there were no plans to convert to “smart” meters. These reassurances (given as recently at 2020) proved hollow recently when it was revealed that a resolution was passed by the commissioners in 2021 to grant a $5 million contract to Honeywell Ind. to convert the entire system over to smart meters in the year of 2024. I just found out about this in August of ‘23. You probably did too. Remember that strange postcard you got? Needless to say, I was shocked by it and got on the phone right away to learn more. I have had several phone calls, emails and meetings to find out more.
What is a “smart” meter? It is a meter that monitors the electricity use in your home, just like the one you have always had. What makes it different, though, is that it is a computer that is connected digitally to a designated 4G cell phone tower and then to the PUD data offices. Data on hour-to-hour use will be transmitted, recorded, analyzed, billed, etc. They are nuts-happy about all the data this will provide and they think you will be, too!
What is wrong with that? Well, many things.
1. The meter itself emits a constant microwave frequency that is harmful to our health as well as the health of all living things within 300ft (pollinators and trees are especially sensitive). For an intentionally safe home like ours that has no wifi, cellphones, bluetooth, cordless phones, baby monitors, wireless devices of any sort – this will be a new and unwelcome form of pollution.
2. Not only that – the “small cell” tower (on Spooner Rd for our area) is a health hazard to all living things for similar reasons.
3. The data storage and analytics are enormous consumers of electricity themselves.
4. The data transmitting through the air and our bodies constantly combined with the increased volume of information constitutes a form of biological and psychological pollution – excess data IS pollution in many ways.
5. Additionally, the electricity can be turned on and off remotely, which opens up an abundance of totally new security, sovereignty and hacking concerns.
6. What about the waste of manufacturing all new meters and disposing of every old meter in the county?
7. What about the loss of meter-reader jobs? [The website of Environmental Health Trust has some very helpful factsheets.]
Now, there is nothing we can do to stop this roll-out (there might have been 3 years ago, but they pushed it through quietly during 2020/21 when no one was paying attention or going to public meetings....). But there are some Opt-Out options we have pushed for and gotten.
Sadly, Opting “out” of the AMI (as they are calling it) will NOT mean you get to keep your existing meter. THIS is really too bad! They intend to update every last one with these new “smart” meters, so that they will all be the same age and type throughout the service area.
So, opting out will mean that the “advanced” Honeywell digital meter will still be installed in place of your existing meter. It will just have its digital transceiver disabled and a meter reader will come out to gather the information from it monthly. This option was going to cost a prohibitive $50 per month, but after much public comment and attention, the commissioners and manager reduced the fee to $25 per month and simplified the opt-out paperwork.
$25 per month will still add up over time, so I am working with the PUD to come up with some other options for our area. We may be able to get it down to as low as $10 per month if I can get at least 30 residents in the valley to opt-out. This would be affordable and also mean that a whole area has just that much less radiation pollution and a bit more security. Another option is to get the PUD to put your new meter out at the road, rather than on your home. While this does not alleviate the security issues, or decrease the overall radiation, it does move it away from your home. You can call the PUD (748-9261) to get them to come out to your property to assess this. I highly recommend that you choose to opt out in some way or another. You can download the current opt-out form below, or find it buried in the FAQ on the PUD's AMI page.
If you plan to opt out, please email me - galilee71@yahoo.com - so I can take the list of people interested to the PUD to bargain for reduced rates. Also feel free to email me for more info!!!
Comments