Michigan Bipartisan Legislation Would Give Consumers a Choice on Smart Meters

Posted on September 29, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions

Rep. Gary Glenn in Michigan PhotoUtility customers in Michigan would have the option of choosing between a new “smart” meter and existing traditional equipment to measure their home energy usage under legislation introduced last Thursday by Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Midland, and Rep. Rose Mary Robinson, D-Detroit.

The bill would put into force an opinion by Attorney General Bill Schuette that the utility companies lack the authority to charge fees to customers that opt out of an advanced metering program, which was dismissed this past week by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

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Consumer Reports Issues ‘Common-Sense Precautions’ for Cell Phone Use

Posted on September 27, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions

CR Cell Phone ImageConsumer Reports (CR) has just issued what it calls “common-sense precautions when using your cell phone” which include the following:

“Specifically, CR recommends these steps:

  • Try to keep the phone away from your head and body. That is particularly important when the cellular signal is weak — when your phone has only one bar, for example — because phones may increase their power then to compensate.
  • Text or video call when possible.
  • When speaking, use the speaker phone on your device or a hands-free headset.
  • Don’t stow your phone in your pants or shirt pocket.  Instead, carry it in a bag or use a belt clip.”

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Elected Official Speaks of ‘Unfounded Worries’ over Smart Meters and Dismisses Concerned Consumers as ‘Charlatans’

Posted on September 26, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

Kerth and Charlatans of our EraOn August 20, 2015, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) held a Board meeting presided over by President Rob Kerth.

Others have already pointed out how President Kerth attempted to stifle any discussion of smart meter public safety issues at the August 20th SMUD Board meeting.  What I would like to highlight is his statement made at the end of the SMUD Board meeting.

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Smart Meter Surveillance versus ‘Very Granular Insights’

Posted on September 22, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

24-Hour Smart Meter SurveillanceUtilities dispute that smart meters are surveillance devices.  For example, one well-known utility company clearly states in its so-called Privacy ‘Fact Sheet’ that,

“Just like standard meters, smart meters will measure the amount of electricity you use – not how you use it.  They are not surveillance devices.”

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Smart Meters ‘Wide Open’ to Cyber Attacks That Can Cause ‘Havoc’ Says Hacking Expert

Posted on September 21, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions

Cyber Attacks AheadSmart Grid Today conducted an interview last week with Cris Thomas, a strategist at Tenable Network Security and a founding member of the L0pht Hacker Collective.  L0pht was a hacker “think tank” active from 1992 to 2000, and Thomas (aka Space Rogue) and other founders of the group testified at the US Senate in 1998 about the risks of the internet, the Washington Post reported in June of this year.

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Smart meters giving Victorian consumers ‘no benefit’ on electricity bills, auditor-general says

Posted on September 16, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

Smart Meter DunceIn 2006, the Victorian Government in Australia mandated the rollout of electricity smart meters to all households and small businesses across Victoria under the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program.

Victorians have paid more than $2 billion for the deployment of the smart meters, but there has been “no overall benefit to consumers,” an auditor-general’s report has found.

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Congressional Hearing: Smart Meters Present Vulnerabilities to the Grid Due to “Smart Technology” and “Lots of Access Points”

Posted on September 11, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

Congressional Hearing on Power Supply VulnerabilitiesThe U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Oversight and the Subcommittee on Energy held a joint hearing titled Examining Vulnerabilities of America’s Power Supply on September 10, 2015. The purpose of the hearing was to “discuss various threats to the national electric grid, including:  severe weather or other natural events; cyber, physical, or coordinated attacks; space weather; and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks.”

From the Hearing Charter:

“As the electric grid continues to be modernized and become more interconnected, the threat of a potential cybersecurity breach significantly increases.”

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Consumers and Environment Unlikely to Benefit from Smart Meters, Confirms Latest Research

Posted on September 11, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

Kellogg Smart Meter Graphic with CreditThe smart grid industry has continued to spend billions and billions of dollars to deploy smart meters into the population despite the mounting evidence that they are of no value to consumers and actually introduce significant privacy, safety, and security risks.

Recent research at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago Booth School provides additional confirmation that smart meters are unlikely to benefit either the consumer or the environment.

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Customers are ‘deemed to have consented’ to smart meter privacy invasions due to continued usage of electricity says Federal Judge

Posted on September 1, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

Court GavelIn July I reported on the ruling by a Federal Judge for the Naperville, Illinois smart meter lawsuit.  In my article I stated that the Judge “denied an unreasonable search and invasion of privacy claim in the case of the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness (NSMA) v. City of Naperville, thereby condoning Fourth Amendment violations of the U. S. Constitution.”

In his ruling, the Judge acknowledged that “smart meters are capable of capturing discrete details of behavior” but stated that since “NSMA has failed to allege that the City is actually collecting and using the data … to analyze the private lives of its residents, there is no cognizable claim upon which relief can be granted.”

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President Obama Touts ‘Smart Meters’ at Clean Energy Summit

Posted on August 25, 2015 by SkyVision Solutions
by K.T. Weaver, SkyVision Solutions 

President Obama 24 Aug 2015While primarily speaking about solar energy yesterday evening at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, President Obama also naively touted the purported benefits of utility smart meters.

I prepared a two-minute video clip of the President’s remarks at the Clean Energy Summit (below), but the principal statements mentioned regarding smart meters are as follows:

“Six years ago smart meters were pretty rare.  Today 60 million consumers have access to detailed information about how much energy we use, how we use it, when we use it.  So we can use that information to change our habits.  Use energy more efficiently.  Save more money without a whole lot of sacrifice.”

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