The Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group is joining numerous organizations throughout the world to protest the utilities forced installation of “smart” meters on homes and businesses. Dozens of groups throughout the country are rallying to “Take Back Your Power” from municipalities such as Naperville.
Town after town, and state after state are listening and acting to support citizens concerns about the dangers of smart meters. Naperville is not one of those towns. The Naperville city council and officials continue to deny reality. City councils and officials throughout the country are listening to their constituencies and either stopping or reversing the “Smart” meter fiasco. The Naperville city council is not one of those city councils, and Naperville city manager Doug Krieger is not one of those officials.
Kim Bendis, President of the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group made the following announcement:
Take Back Your Power: Freedom Rocks
“Do you believe you have the right to say what goes on your property? Do you believe you have the right to choose what risks you and your family assume? Do you believe you have a right to vote on how your tax dollars are spent?
Then join Naperville Smart Meter Awareness on Thursday October 4th from 11:30-1:00 at the corner of Washington and Chicago Avenue in downtown Naperville for a rally to Take Back Your Power! We are joining dozens of organizations from around the country and abroad to protest the utility’s forced installation of “smart” meters on all our homes and buildings.
Instead of being the next big “it” gadget to have, the utility’s roll-out of “smart” meters is proving to be a complete waste of money and failing to live up to its marketed taglines. The promise of creating a grid system where “smart” meters will pave the way for electric vehicles is flopping. According to SmartGridNews.com Toyota is admitting that batteries are too expensive and have a limited range. Reuter’s reported that Toyota misread the market and is scrapping plans for a widespread rollout of its new all-electric battery-powered minicar, the eQ. GM had already decided to suspend production if its Chevy Volt plug-in-hybrid because of the lack of return on investment.
Who needs a “smart” meter when the control is literally in our fingertips? Just turn up your thermostat in the summer and turn off more lights. If you want real time data to further inform you of which appliance is your biggest power hog, go on Amazon and pay $85 bucks for a home energy monitor by Black & Decker. The smart move would be to keep our current electrical meter that is safe, secure, 99.95% efficient and reliable for free rather than throwing money at a product that is failing in the test markets. In a 2009 pilot program involving 10,000 Connecticut consumers, results showed no beneficial impact on energy usage and the Attorney General scrapped the program. Bottom line, no quantifiable consumer benefits.
Shouldn’t we be able to say, “No” to a product that is a known fire hazard and risk to our well-being? Utilities across the country are having to admit that fires, explosions and power surges involving wireless digital meters are causing $1,000’s of dollars worth of home and business damage. ComEd has recently admitted to “smart” meter related Chicago area fires. Over 100 fire related incidences have been documented around the country. The WHO, CA Health Department, 2,000+ studies, scientists, MD’s nationally and internationally are all warning that the consequence of living in a high tech society that depends upon a network system that communicates using frequencies in the microwave radiation spectrum will wreak havoc long term. Especially our children. You may be at greater risk for cancer, neurological disease and reproductive and developmental impairments according to scientific peer-reviewed research.
As if that’s not enough, “smart” meters can be used as a surveillance device on our home, which is a violation of our privacy. They can track details about your private home life patterns and habits such as at what time you used an appliance and for how long and what time-frame your home might be vacant. In an incredibly ironic piece of news, KrebsOnSecurity reported that Telvent, the company behind a control system designed to be used in concert with the so-called “smart grid,” recently announced that their network had been breached by hackers who “accessed project files related to a control system used in portions of the electrical grid.” The network wasn’t only breached; the hackers also were able to install malicious software on the company’s network.
True sustainability is in the preservation and protection of people and future generations. Needlessly replacing our current electric meters that are efficient, safe and secure with an untested and poorly vetted utility product that is failing in the test markets is counter to the core principals of sustainable living. It’s a complete waste of resources.
We are joining dozens of organizations nationally and internationally including CA, Las Vegas, HI, DC, NY and Canada to advocate for people over profits. We are asking for a moratorium on future installations and a total recall of already installed “smart” meters until the utility can demonstrate that the meters are safe, secure and worth the money.
Let’s be clear, this is about choice. Those who want one get one and those who don’t have the freedom to say, “No.” It’s that simple. This national endeavor coincides with Grid Week that is occurring in Washington, DC.
Join us as we Take Back Our Power and defend the right to say what goes on our homes by saying, “Yes” to protecting our property rights and civil liberties. Learn more at www.napervillesmartmeterawareness.org. Jam the Scam on Thursday October 4, 2012 from 11:30-1:00 downtown Naperville.”
Kim Bendis MSN, FNP-C
President, Naperville Smart Meter Awareness
Breaking News Naperville just announced their city computer system was hacked into with malware contaminating it resulting in total to partial shutdown for the balance of the week.
What will happen when someone does this to our money wasting, crony capitalistic, smart meter boondoggle? Are they going to shut off our electricity for a week to repair our smart meters which have been damaged not to mention the computers of citizens who need to watch their electrical usage real time via their new monitoring system?
The beat goes on!