Nadia Borysen of Redwood Valley brought her infant child, Bodhi, to the podium Tuesday to ask the Board of Supervisors to stop PG&E from replacing the county”s mechanical meters with “SmartMeter” devices. The board met at Fort Bragg Town Hall.
“We live in the countryside to be away from cell phones, from baby monitors and all the numerous devices that create radiation [everywhere in the city],” said Borysen.
Because of protests in other areas, Pacific Gas & Electric is doing more outreach in Mendocino County before starting universal installation of SmartMeters in January.
Jana Corey of PG&E gave an upbeat presentation to the supervisors. SmartMeters eliminate the need for meter readers, will enable customers to save on utility bills and will help build “smart grids,” she said. SmartMeters, which operate by WiFi, a wireless Internet connection, compose hourly reports of utility use and report that information to the utility three times per day through receivers mounted on utility poles.
“One of the things we are excited about … the radio has a last gasp capability, so when there is a power outage we can send our trucks to the right location,” said Corey.
“We are getting better billing information … The incidence of estimated bills are much lower with the new system,” she said.
Customers can learn ways to cut back on electricity during expensive peak hours, saving money and strengthening the grid, Corey said.
The mandatory conversion to SmartMeters (for anyone who wants to continue getting PG&E service) has created controversies in other areas.
Tuesday, more than a dozen people raised objections ranging from privacy to fires to electromagnetic radiation exposure. One speaker supported the new technology. Locals said the science is too new to justify mandatory installation of a technology whose effects are not yet known.
“I”m one of those mine canaries,” said Antonia Lamb, who is sensitive to radiation emitted by electronic devices, which of course were in use in abundance at the supervisors” meeting.
“Right now, I”m so sick, I”m going to have to leave pretty soon. My ears hurt, there is pressure in my head … I used to fly, now I can”t go to an airport without getting sick,” Lamb said.
“I live in a little fold of land in Little River, where there is no cell phone reception. I can”t go to Van Damme State Park anymore, it”s wireless. I can”t go to the library, it”s wireless,” she said.
Jeff Bruning of Fort Bragg liked the conservation and other benefits SmartMeters offer.
“I”m not so frightened by this, it sounds like a good idea … we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields all the time,” he said.
He cited PG&E”s statements that the energy from the SmartMeters is broadcast for a total of only a few minutes a day.
“When you hold your cell phone to your head, the transmitter is blasting through your brain,” he said, saying there was no reason to be so close to a SmartMeter.
He said sensitive people probably shouldn”t be using electricity at all.
“If you are worried, turn off your refrigerator,” Bruning said.
Retired school nurse Judy Filmer said she spent years finding a doctor who could help her with her electrical sensitivity.
“We need a refrigerator, if we don”t, we will have a problem with spoiled food. What we need to do is to find ways to limit exposure,” Filmer said.
Liz Helenchild said she was irked by PG&E”s slogan that SmartMeters give customers greater control.
“This is counter to reality and opposite and not helpful,” Helenchild said.
She asked the supervisors to do what they can to stop it.
“You should use whatever power you have, people don”t want it,” she said.
The item was informational on the agenda, but supervisors asked what PG&E planned to do about the concerns.
“The whole concept of consumer choice is critical here,” said Supervisor Kendall Smith. “People here do not accept decisions made from afar, this is not something that sits well with an informed citizenry.”
A Texas audit company hired by the California Public Utility Commission gave the meters themselves an “A-plus” but criticized PG&E communications, Corey said. The utility is working on that. Corey said with enough information, customer concerns are allayed.
Based on Tuesday”s largely negative reaction, Corey planned to review local communication plans, which had been to make a second presentation to the Fort Bragg City Council and to have answer centers set up in the local PG&E office.
“Sounds like we may need to do more than that, based on today,” said Corey.
Information is available online at www.pge.com and http://emfsafetynetwork.org.
