Posted on 07/19/2012 3:41:33 PM PDT by Rennes Templar
A woman in Texas says she tried to be polite when she told the man from the power company that she didn't want to have her old electric meter replaced with a new "smart" meter. But when he refused to listen to her, she grabbed her gun.
The woman tells Houston's KHOU that she placed herself between the installer and her old meter but, "He just kept pushing me away."
That's when she showed him her handgun.
"He saw it, and went back the other way," she tells KHOU.
The homeowner says she is not comfortable with the amount of information smart meters transmit back to the power company.
"Our constitution allows us not to have that kind of intrusion on our personal privacy," she explains. "They’ll be able to tell if you are running your computer, air conditioner, whatever it is."
The woman still has her old meter and she and her husband have posted warning signs declaring "No Smart Meters Are to Be Installed On This Property," but CenterPoint, the power company that attempted to install the meter says it will persist in its efforts.
"We are deeply troubled by anyone who would pull a gun on another person performing their job," reads a statement from the company. "CenterPoint will be taking additional steps – including court actions – because what happened is dangerous, illegal and unwarranted."
KHOU reports that CenterPoint Energy already installed around 2 million smart meters in the area, but the local Public Utilities Commission is now weighing the possibility of allowing homeowners to have the new meters removed.
A grounded single phase hookup is still AC.
But even if it was DC, she could still power an inverter off that DC and supply her own AC.
The tax collection function they perform on your utility bill.
The way they collude with the PUC to pump the rate base with everything from tree trimming to line maintenance.
The carbon "market" as a tool for redistribution of income (and if you think the utility companies in California didn't want that, I give you John Bryson).
Reporting people without a warrant for odd electrical usage patterns as indication of a drug operation.
Need more?
Still, you are under no obligation to purchase anything from them.
The smart meter has a signal generator feeding RF signal to the line itself. This particular technology is as old as the railway telegraph (the original radio) ~ the concept was demonstrated as early as 1832.
If you are having difficulties with that device's signal, have a dentist check your fillings.
You're right, it would be hard to tell. Not impossible, there are characteristics of an air-conditioner load (a spike when the motor starts up, etc) that can be looked for. They would probably guess right 95+% of the time.
Look for new AC units (and other high power appliances) to have government mandated electronics to interface with smart meters (probably through signals sent through the power line) once smart meters become ubiquitous.
The 2nd Amendment might be the best way to remove the meter. Target practice.
This issue is being fought in Nevada legislature in next session.
More importantly, though, is can she run her extra large super duper has water and juice faucets and ice cube maker with the freezer big enough for an elk?
That is exactly what I was thinking
Modern LED lights allow you to fool the erratic power usage traces. Plus they are cool enough you don’t need to run an AC just for your grow rooms!
You have no worries: just use your fearsome HTML skills to make a nice, safe <TABLE> box around it for protection...
Depends on how much DC.
Xantrex has a 5,000 watt inverter listed.
Will them smart meters run backwards if you plug them in upside down, like the old meters?
It would take way too much bandwidth, RF or over the power lines, to report instantaneous power consumption from hundreds of thousands of consumers in the area. Per the official statement the meter reports the data every 15 minutes.
I can understand that in some instances it could be revealing too much - it can show the difference between a drug growing operation (24/7 constant load) vs. someone who likes to bathe in hot water and then sit in front of electric fireplace all night long.
But for majority of customers and loads the readings are too coarse to be of any use. I personally installed a power meter in my house, and it reports several channels every second. (It reports to me, not to anyone else.) This resolution in time is sufficient for me to tell one load from another, especially because I can calibrate the surge shape and then recognize it later. My water heater, for example, is a single 4.5 kW load with double the spike on startup. But that's only because I know what it is. Nobody can tell if I turn a TV on, or a computer, or a floor lamp, or most other loads that I have around. Some of those loads are automatically controlled, so you can't even know if someone is at home or not.
Many people are afraid of smart meters, but truth be told they are not the worst thing that can happen. Electric companies cannot afford the old style meters anymore - they are not accurate enough and they require human readers. The new meters are DSP-based, fast enough to digitize all the harmonics worth measuring, and the power factor for them is a piece of cake. They can also be utilized on time-of-use rate plans. Not every FR reader has solar panels on the roof or a Volt in the garage, but electric companies are not FR readers. They only are in it for profit; if they think that there is profit in catering to EV or solar then here you are. Meters are their property, and for all moral reasons they should be able to install them. The same moral reasons allow you to either cancel the service or to mislead the people in black helicopters by moving the load around as it pleases you.
Contractually, maybe, but practically, no. Given the codes, just try living within the limits of any city and installing any other source of power.
That's assault, on her property. He's lucky to be alive. I don't brandish and I don't fight fair. She should file charges.
“If he was on her property and she told him to leave, he was trespassing”
Not to mention he pushed her out of the way two times so that would be assault.
Lordy, you are indeed an ignorant putz.
Try reading and understanding a FReeper's post before opening yer yap next time.
These smartmeters have really caused problems for some people. The power they actually transmit at has been found to be much higher than claimed by power companies, and also a lot more often than stated -every 6 seconds instead of once a minute, as checked by an em rf meter.
On some older houses it’s started fires due to older wiring and some have actually melted shortly within a day or two of installation. Some people have experienced problems with the transmit frequencies.
Since when do power companies have the right to set up transmission modules on our property. These people don’t mind regular metering, they didn’t give per mission to set up a microwave transmitter.
Anything else in my house that transmits, I can either change to cable transmission, or decide I don’t want it in my home. ‘That’s a big difference’between the government sanctioned monopolostic power company forcing this on people and it’s either this or no power.
Who are they selling the data to?
Do the police get to see the data, to see if someone’s home?
They already use the data to “shame” you if you use more energy than your neighbors. Now you’ll have to justify why to them. Personally I have pets that require certain temperatures, but the hell if I will explain it to them. I pay the effing bill.
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