During the Obama administration, the United States and other countries had an opportunity to respond to the early warnings regarding so-called clean energy and wireless technologies.
We didn’t.
But now we can, and we should. Right now.
Late Lessons from Early Warnings
The European Environment Agency has compiled several volumes of case studies of early warnings “covering a diverse range of chemical and technological innovations and highlighting a number of systemic problems. The ‘Late Lessons Project’ illustrates how damaging and costly the misuse or neglect of the precautionary principle can be, using case studies and a synthesis of the lessons to be learned and applied to maximizing innovations whilst minimizing harms.”
Several of the recommendations are pertinent to the opportunity that exists now, to re-evaluate smart metering and other wireless technologies, especially as they pertain to “sustainability:”
Acknowledge and respond to ignorance, as well as uncertainty and risk, in technology appraisal and public policy-making.
Provide adequate long-term environmental and health monitoring and research into early warnings.
Identify and work to reduce ‘blind spots’ and gaps in scientific knowledge.
Ensure that real world conditions are adequately accounted for in regulatory appraisal.
Systematically scrutinize the claimed justifications and benefits alongside the potential risks.
Maintain the regulatory independence of interested parties while retaining an inclusive approach to information and opinion gathering.
The Smart Meter Storm
In case readers were not following the story, Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, impacting the entire Eastern seaboard. The storm was one factor that fueled the narrative about ‘smart’ meters and a ‘smart’ grid.
Disaster capitalism created a story that investing in a two-way wirelessly connected electric grid would result in a more ‘robust’ and reliable electricity supply and help defend against ‘climate change.’
The narrative simultaneously did two things, – it pointed the public towards technology and engineering as a ‘solution,’ and to ‘climate’ as a perpetrator to be feared, fostering alienation and separation from the ecosystem of which we are a part.
“Reliable” vs. “Resilient“
It wasn’t the case that the meters made electricity more ‘reliable,’ as repeatedly demonstrated in Maine. For example, see “October Windstorm Took Down CMP’s $200M Smart Meter Network.” Yet the narrative of Man-over-Nature via Tech endures.
The industry eventually replaced the reliability claim. Instead, smart meters made the grid “more resilient.”
Solar Wars
The environmental community bought into and promoted the idea that the ‘smart’ meters were necessary in order to integrate solar and other renewables into the grid.
Solar wars followed whereby the utilities enacted policies that opposed solar, after the meters were installed. As Bill Ellard of the American Solar Energy Society explained, “The three battles are net metering, tariff reform, and grid defection.”
Time-of-Use Billing
Many consumers are not aware of the implications of net metering and time-of-use billing — enabled by “smart” meters. With net metering, utilities could compensate a solar-producing-household at very low rate, and then charge the customer an exorbitant rate when they needed to draw electricity from the grid.
With time-of-use billing, smart meters enable penalizing customers for using electricity at certain times of day (discriminating against third shift workers or stay-at-home individuals.)
Demand Charges
Another industry tactic is imposing demand charges like those that were authorized in Massachusetts for solar customers. Bill Ellart noted, “Typically, demand charges are applied to commercial and industrial customers only. This charge is based on the highest 15-minute interval of electricity use during the month’s billing period. These charges can be up to 70% of a customer bill.”
A customer’s bill for the month can be based upon the 15-minute period when they consume the most electricity, for example, running the dishwasher, laundry, and vacuum at the same time.
The scenario unfolds in the homes of countless low-income seniors and disabled individuals served by a home health aide, every week, in every state.
Read More: How the Body Reacts to EMFs and Smart Meters
