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.
Exactly. If a utility has a meter on your property, then the utility needs to have access to it. I don’t know how others work, but I would assume most wouldn’t show up un-announced (sheduled readings, meter changes, etc.), unless in an emergency situation.
Aren’t these meters optional? Our provider has them and thermostats, but they’re not mandatory (yet!).
We just received a letter from our utility company asking for permission to install a smart meter on our air conditioner unit(also our heater). I think as owners of the electrical supply the company does have a right to say how they will monitor and charge for the electricity. However, when the company starts telling me how I can use their (and there are questions about that) product to the extent of modifying my equipment their ‘service’ goes far beyond just supplying a product and service. My wife and I have decided to tell the company thanks ($50) but no go on some other dudes telling us how we use what we buy.
As someone that recently worked for a company that manufactured smart meters of all kinds (electric, gas and water), I can say that they have looked at ways to sell that information. A big one is possibly selling information to insurance companies which could be used to pattern behavior.
Imagine the insurance companies seeing an increase in electricity consumption every Saturday and Sunday morning at approximately 2:30am, which is about the time you get home from the bar. You come in turn on several lights, maybe whip up some early breakfast, etc.
Just another tool to let them pattern your behavior. There are some benefits to technology, but the negatives are even worse.
“Private Industry”? It’s a government enforced monopoly. When I can choose from a group of energy providers you will actually have a point.
| How about a two man pool? Rock falls through the roof in the first year: I give you 10K.
Anytime after that you give me 10K. Given your boast the rules are kinda skewed in your favor but I don't care. What do you say, punk? |
| Oops, I already must have rocks in my head. I called you a punk when I meant to call you an ignorant punk. |
i don’t think this is semantics but if she showed him a gun, say in her hand hanging at her side pointed to the ground, i think that is different than pulling a gun on him which i think means poiting it at him. but i work with technical writers and we have a need for precision in verbage.
“If he was on her property and she told him to leave, he was trespassing.”
I don’t know. Public utilities are granted easements by states to get to their property. I’ll be looking for a follow-up to the story.
Be careful, Tex. You messin’ with the baddest dude on the Internet. He’s got tattoos to prove it.
And most utilities post a notice a day or two before the work starts.
My sons elec bills have gone up 30% since last summer
since he had a smart meter installed...
also when I went to visit several months ago in 2 days I became to hurt so much and had terrible headaches and had trouble sleeping at night...
I am sensitive to cell phones and don’t use them...
I happened to look at his meter and noticed it was a smart meter..
I moved to the bedroom the most distance from the meter
and the problems were 90% reduced and 100% by the next night
I was happy to get back to the country where we don’t have smart meters
Around here the power company has all kinds of radio commercials with some idiot stating that the new smart meters will allow us to make “smart decisions” about how and when to use electricity.
I can do that now, thank you.
Always remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat besides sticking the cats head in a boot-jack & yanking on the tail.
Time is coming to start getting creative folks cause the politicians view you as a peasant who has a DUTY to kiss ass & suck d*ck & if you object to loudly they are not above using the police power of the state to give you a lesson in good manners.
Brother is sporting a new Mittens tattoo, last I heard. Damn shame.
This whole thing is a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT for Texas. First of all, pulling a gun on someone that is not breaking the law is simply WRONG and is very risky. What if he had his own gun, for example? This lady likely will get arrested and jailed, and should.
Having said that, like most others here, I LOVE HER!!! She will be taking the arrows for millions of us who don’t want a criminal record attached to our names. Believe me, I DEFINITELY do not want a “Smart Meter”, and when the guy came (and I was home) I asked if I had a choice - he said no - and that was as far as I went.
Now, what is the RIGHT answer. Well, in a PROPERLY FUNCTIONING state, the state government would have examined just what these meters are and what risks they pose (such as virtually telling anyone accessing their data when the homeowners are at work or are on vacation). Then, in a PROPERLY FUNCTIONING state, a means would have been created to allow concerned people to opt out. In other words, this lady would have paid, maybe $10 a month more for power, and would NOT have had to draw on the poor installer.
But we’re talking Texas here. We have a TOTAL LOSER as a governor, and the VERY LAST thing that he’s concerned about is the privacy of Texans (heck, he’s trying to impose a GPS vehicle tracking system on us, for tolling). So no hope there. In addition, he has his share of bitches in the state legislature, with Dewhurst just finding out now that his chances of making it to the US Senate basically died with his sucking up.
It is really sad that California, of all states, has done more to protect homeowner privacy than Texas. For in California, people can opt-out (and they don’t need a gun to do it), just by asking and paying a fee for the guy to come by and read the meter.
“...intruding on people’s property at the point of a gun to install something they believe will harm them...”
Talisker, I cannot believe you posted what I am reading...did you read tgusa’s post? Did you understand it? His nephew was a meter reader in a nasty neighborhood, and after being hassled/threatened on several occasions, he got a CCW for protection when making his rounds. He was not installing anything...he was reading meters. Got a problem with that? Got a problem with the nephew being ready to protect himself doing his job?
Where is the ‘ignorance’...
Yes, God bless her total ignorance. Those meters transmit at about 20 milliwatt at 2.4 Ghtz while the cell phone she holds to her ear transmits at 5 watts at 2.4 Ghtz.
Ignorance is bliss, and they vote.
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