Last night at the Community Center, well over 100 people showed up for an informational meeting on how the community of Felton (CA) and Ojai (CA) wrestled control of their water service from private companies (in the case of Ojai, it was Golden State Water Co.) and STILL ended up saving money -- tons of money, especially when factoring in projected comparative rates over the length of the buy-out loan. [Updated note: With people coming in late, by meeting's end, a good guestimate of attendance was reported to be closer to 200 people.]
Which was surprising since, at first glance, it seemed an impossibility that if your water rates were already gougingly too high that you could pay top dollar for the company and still come out ahead. Unless, of course, the water company you're buying out ran on the principle of neglecting infrastructure on one end while gouging customers on the other end in order to keep profits rolling in at an investor-pleasing high rate. With that kind of business model, then, yeah, a buy out deal makes sense.
And, since the PUC runs on the Insane Mad Hatter bureaucratic model -- if water law is Byzantine to the max, the prices set for various water rates truly heads down the rabbit hole. As some of the citizens of Los Osos have found out, they're paying a whole lot more for their water than their neighbor is. Literally, their neighbor. Same water. Same aquifer. Different price. That's the PUC for you.
So 100++ people listened to a handful of very smart, nice speakers (who were key players in their communities' efforts) from Felton and Ojai outlined the hideous, years-long battle they underwent to de-privitize their water -- from careful feasibility studies, to public education, to a nasty election (outspent by Golden State) to tax themselves to pay for the buyout, (both groups won) to now (in the case of Ojai) facing post-election lawsuits from Golden State Water Company which refuses to go gentle into that good night even though a HUGE majority of its customers clearly voted to get them to go away!
The nice people from Felton and Ojai were enthusiastic, vowed to help our own Golden West customers in any way they could, and exhorted them to work seriously to make that change. But I had to wonder if the nice people from Felton and Ojai were aware of how traumatized and exhausted this whole community is from our own 30 years-old Hideous Sewer Wars. And how, if Golden West's customers who move forward think they'll get anything but lip service from all the CSD Water Customers, they'll be in for a rude shock. While the CSD customers may well sympathize with them, I can't imagine any of them joining in the heavy lift needed to make a buy-out possible. And if the plans somehow do progress, Golden West customers will have to convince another "publicly owned / municipal" water district to become their provider and that will be . . .? the CSD. . . ??? . . . which is already up to its ears in lawsuits and wrangling, facing a small coterie of foes wishing to destroy it altogether, and looking at water rate raises of its own to pay for long-neglected infrastructure repairs.
So, here we sit. Half our town gouged by their water purveyor while the other half gets "cheaper" water from an entity being stabbed to death.
So, good luck to the good citizens of Golden State Water Company. I wish them well. And while all this shakes out, my recommendation is to start retrofitting everything in the house. Oh, and get out the shovels and get busy xerescaping everything in sight with California natives. It's gonna be a long, long, long, long hot summer, fall, winter, spring, summer . . . .
Showing posts with label PUC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PUC. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Light US Up?
The following email was sent along by Judy Vick, who's heading up a local campaign to get the BOS to at least send a letter to the PUC to stop the mandatory installation of "smart meters" until some issues can be ironed out. Here's my letter to the Sups:
"Dear Sirs: I would urge you to sign the letter asking the PUC to wait on the mandatory installation of "smart meters" until several troubling issues can be resolved at the state level: aparently these (mandatory) devices have no UL certification? (is that some kind of sick joke?), lack of a hack-proof security system, lack of a hard-wire option , etc.) The LAST thing this county needs is somebody suing you guys if this sytem goes ker-flooey because you were aware of the unresolved issues yet did nothing to protect the citizens from this "mandatory" installation.
The PUC is the unelected body that needs to step up to deal with these (soon to be) statewide issues. Ditto the state legislature. Get them resolved first, then proceed. Right now, it's clear the cart is driving the horse an the horse may well be heading off a cliff. (Awww, Gaaawwwddd, Why is THAT scenario so hauntingly familair?)
Sincerely,"
While some folks are having a snicker over the issue of having a cow over micro-bursts from smart meters while daily getting bombarded with brain-cell-altering cell phones, satellite transmissions, Wi-Fi's all over the place, nonetheless there's likely enough other screwey things left unresolved in this system to give one pause. What I see here is just more horses and carts and I suspect Ralph Nader's right: This is more about corporate bottom lines than about "smart" energy use. And when it comes to corporate bottom lines, the public better pay particular attention to their behinds, because Corporate sure ain't gonna.
So, if you hear wagon wheels screeching and the thunder of hoofbeats and spy a cliff ahead, drop an email to your Sup and let him know what you think about this matter.
Vick's email:
Enough county citizen complaints about smart meters (health, accuracy, loss of privacy, security, risk of fire and damage to in-home electrical appliances) have caused the County Board of Supervisors to consider sending a resolution to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to suspend installation of smartmeters until the CA legislature acts on current legislation AB37. The county will be joining 31 other California governments (counties and cities including Morro Bay) who have sent similar resolutions. Seven have gone as far as outlawing the installations and/or suing PG&E.
BUT ALL SUPERVISORS AREN'T CONVINCED! AND ONLY 4 WILL BE PRESENT (Frank Mecham out for surgery) FOR THE VOTE.
YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED!
Please attend the Board of Supervisors meeting, 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2011 in the Board Chambers on the corner of Santa Rosa and Monterey (1055 Monterey) in SLO. This is a Consent Item that is near the top of the list. If you want to speak as well as attend, there are speaker slips to fill out at the back of the room that can be handed to the secretary.
Please see attached Agenda, letter, and resolution.
AT THE LEAST: Write your supervisor, or all of them, before next Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
• District 1 Frank Mecham fmeacham@co.slo.ca.us
• District 2 Bruce Gibson http://www.blogger.com/goog_423829226
• District 3 Adam Hill ahill@co.slo.ca.us
• District 4 Paul Teixeira pteixeira@co.slo.ca.us
• District 5 James Patterson jpatterson@co.slo.ca.us
NEED MORE INFORMATION YOURSELF? Read a summary of reasons below and links to more information.
Capitola- During a meeting last week in which they joined six other local governments* who have passed laws criminalizing the installation of wireless ‘smart’ meters, the Capitola City Council discovered that the wireless ‘smart’ meters that CA utilities are trying to install are in fact not certified by Underwriters Laboratory, a certification that is required under the state electrical code for all electrical appliances and equipment within the home.
The lack of certification was confirmed by Karl Moeller, a senior engineer with UL earlier today:
Product certifications can be verified by going to www.UL.com then scroll down to the bottom and click on “on-line certifications directory”. You can search for active certifications at the On-line Certifications Directory.
In summary, I am unable to confirm these devices as being UL certified.
Not just CA--unqualified installers reported in Atlanta, Georgia (CNN-TV, March 1, 2011) and Victoria, Australia, challenging safety.
Public Citizen (Ralph Nader’s consumer advocate organization) leads a national coalition raising alarms about smart meters. “Smart meter installations have thus far prioritized utility budget efficiency – not household budget efficiency. Poring through utility dockets, utilities make it clear that the vast majority of projected savings from smart meters is from laying off utility workers – and not from consumers’ lowering their energy use and bills. Utilities highlight savings from remote disconnection--mainly for nonpayment. This raises serious consumer safety and health issues.”
http://www.citizen.org/documents/EnergyInvestmentForumPres.pdf
Public Citizen, AARP, Consumers Union, National Consumer Law Center and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates released a sweeping overview of needed improvements for smart meters to better serve the needs of working families (August 2010). www.nclc.org/images/pdf/energy_utility_telecom/additi
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), an independent consumer advocacy division of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and the California Small Business Association (CSBA), a non-profit small business advocacy group, have requested that the CPUC revisit its decision to direct Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to place 500,000 small business customers on a dynamic pricing program beginning in November 2011. That program will likely lead to disruption and higher costs to small businesses. http://yubanet.com/california/DRA-and-CSBA-Request-Relief-from-New-Electric-Pricing-Scheme-That-Will-Cause-Disruption-to-500-000-PG-E-Small-Business-Customers.php
Bloomberg Business Week states, "Duke Energy's proposal to install 800,000 (such meters) in Indiana was rejected by regulators because the cost of the project would outweigh potential benefits to consumers." http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_39/b4196044842103.htm
The Government Accountability Office (the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress) warns that smart-grid systems are being deployed without built-in security features. Certain smart meters have not been designed with a strong security architecture and lack important security features like event logging and forensics capabilities used to detect and analyze cyberattacks, while smart-grid home area networks that manage electricity usage of appliances also lack adequate built-in security. "Without securely designed smart-grid systems, utilities will be at risk of not having the capacity to detect and analyze attacks, which increases the risk that attacks will succeed and utilities will be unable to prevent them from recurring," said the report. The report also took aim at the self-regulatory nature of the industry, saying utilities are focusing on complying with minimum regulatory requirements rather than having adequate security to prevent cyberattacks. http://ncwatch.typepad.com/media/2011/01/smartmeter-security-is-a-growing-concern.html
29 California local governments have formally demanded a halt or a moratorium on smart meters. Seven have gone further and legislated against installation, enacting ordinances, the strongest action a local government can take.
San Francisco Chapter of the Sierra Club voted unanimously (2/15/11) to call for an immediate ordinance to ban smart meters in the city http://stopsmartmeters.org/
Assembly Bill 37, introduced by Assemblymember Huffman, directs the California Public Utilities Commission to determine alternatives for customers who do not wish to have a smart meter installed. The legislation also directs utilities to disclose important information about the smart meters to consumers, including the timing, magnitude, frequency and duration of radio frequency emissions so that individual consumers can make informed decisions.Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) represents the 6th Assembly District which encompasses southern Sonoma County and all of Marin County.
For more information: emfsafetynetwork.org stopsmartmeters.org turn.org
Nina Beety, Monterey County, spent $4100 on a newspaper ad to protest Smart Meters.
http://www.ksbw.com/video/26880746/detail.html
A motion detector light is activated - goes on and off - when you put a smart meter with RF bursts near it. It malfunctions.The nervous system is activated - by bursts of RF - all day and all night - just like the light bulb. Your nervous system malfunctions. The body 'sees' EMF as 'light-at-night; interfering with the melatonin cycle, and interfering with sleep. Whether you are trying to sleep near a power line with high EMF levels, or a constantly transmitting RF device, it interrupts normal neurological functioning.
Melatonin production is high at night, and low during the day. Interfere with that cycle, which is one ofthe drivers for your circadian rhythms, and you have interfered with one of the most potent free-radical scavengers in the body (a cancer surveillance and mop-up system), you have interfered with sleep (essential to memory, learning and health maintenance). Someone reported recently that PG&E had 'replaced' a smart meter that caused a resident's motion detector light to go on and off continuously. Wonder when they'll figure out how to replace a malfunctioning human nervous system. And what it will cost you.
Cindy Sage
Environmental Consultant
Sage Associates
Co-Editor, BioInitiative Report
Research Fellow, Department of Oncology, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden
Sage EMF Design is owned by Cindy Sage. Mrs Sage has been involved in EMF issues as an environmental consultant and public policy researcher since 1982. She has provided professional consulting services to cities, counties, various states and a national EMF policy group on the issue of EMF policy and prudent avoidance.
http://www.sageassociates.net/cindysage.html
http://sagereports.com/smart-meter-rf/
"Dear Sirs: I would urge you to sign the letter asking the PUC to wait on the mandatory installation of "smart meters" until several troubling issues can be resolved at the state level: aparently these (mandatory) devices have no UL certification? (is that some kind of sick joke?), lack of a hack-proof security system, lack of a hard-wire option , etc.) The LAST thing this county needs is somebody suing you guys if this sytem goes ker-flooey because you were aware of the unresolved issues yet did nothing to protect the citizens from this "mandatory" installation.
The PUC is the unelected body that needs to step up to deal with these (soon to be) statewide issues. Ditto the state legislature. Get them resolved first, then proceed. Right now, it's clear the cart is driving the horse an the horse may well be heading off a cliff. (Awww, Gaaawwwddd, Why is THAT scenario so hauntingly familair?)
Sincerely,"
While some folks are having a snicker over the issue of having a cow over micro-bursts from smart meters while daily getting bombarded with brain-cell-altering cell phones, satellite transmissions, Wi-Fi's all over the place, nonetheless there's likely enough other screwey things left unresolved in this system to give one pause. What I see here is just more horses and carts and I suspect Ralph Nader's right: This is more about corporate bottom lines than about "smart" energy use. And when it comes to corporate bottom lines, the public better pay particular attention to their behinds, because Corporate sure ain't gonna.
So, if you hear wagon wheels screeching and the thunder of hoofbeats and spy a cliff ahead, drop an email to your Sup and let him know what you think about this matter.
Vick's email:
Enough county citizen complaints about smart meters (health, accuracy, loss of privacy, security, risk of fire and damage to in-home electrical appliances) have caused the County Board of Supervisors to consider sending a resolution to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to suspend installation of smartmeters until the CA legislature acts on current legislation AB37. The county will be joining 31 other California governments (counties and cities including Morro Bay) who have sent similar resolutions. Seven have gone as far as outlawing the installations and/or suing PG&E.
BUT ALL SUPERVISORS AREN'T CONVINCED! AND ONLY 4 WILL BE PRESENT (Frank Mecham out for surgery) FOR THE VOTE.
YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED!
Please attend the Board of Supervisors meeting, 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2011 in the Board Chambers on the corner of Santa Rosa and Monterey (1055 Monterey) in SLO. This is a Consent Item that is near the top of the list. If you want to speak as well as attend, there are speaker slips to fill out at the back of the room that can be handed to the secretary.
Please see attached Agenda, letter, and resolution.
AT THE LEAST: Write your supervisor, or all of them, before next Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
• District 1 Frank Mecham fmeacham@co.slo.ca.us
• District 2 Bruce Gibson http://www.blogger.com/goog_423829226
• District 3 Adam Hill ahill@co.slo.ca.us
• District 4 Paul Teixeira pteixeira@co.slo.ca.us
• District 5 James Patterson jpatterson@co.slo.ca.us
NEED MORE INFORMATION YOURSELF? Read a summary of reasons below and links to more information.
Capitola- During a meeting last week in which they joined six other local governments* who have passed laws criminalizing the installation of wireless ‘smart’ meters, the Capitola City Council discovered that the wireless ‘smart’ meters that CA utilities are trying to install are in fact not certified by Underwriters Laboratory, a certification that is required under the state electrical code for all electrical appliances and equipment within the home.
The lack of certification was confirmed by Karl Moeller, a senior engineer with UL earlier today:
Product certifications can be verified by going to www.UL.com then scroll down to the bottom and click on “on-line certifications directory”. You can search for active certifications at the On-line Certifications Directory.
In summary, I am unable to confirm these devices as being UL certified.
Not just CA--unqualified installers reported in Atlanta, Georgia (CNN-TV, March 1, 2011) and Victoria, Australia, challenging safety.
Public Citizen (Ralph Nader’s consumer advocate organization) leads a national coalition raising alarms about smart meters. “Smart meter installations have thus far prioritized utility budget efficiency – not household budget efficiency. Poring through utility dockets, utilities make it clear that the vast majority of projected savings from smart meters is from laying off utility workers – and not from consumers’ lowering their energy use and bills. Utilities highlight savings from remote disconnection--mainly for nonpayment. This raises serious consumer safety and health issues.”
http://www.citizen.org/documents/EnergyInvestmentForumPres.pdf
Public Citizen, AARP, Consumers Union, National Consumer Law Center and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates released a sweeping overview of needed improvements for smart meters to better serve the needs of working families (August 2010). www.nclc.org/images/pdf/energy_utility_telecom/additi
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), an independent consumer advocacy division of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and the California Small Business Association (CSBA), a non-profit small business advocacy group, have requested that the CPUC revisit its decision to direct Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to place 500,000 small business customers on a dynamic pricing program beginning in November 2011. That program will likely lead to disruption and higher costs to small businesses. http://yubanet.com/california/DRA-and-CSBA-Request-Relief-from-New-Electric-Pricing-Scheme-That-Will-Cause-Disruption-to-500-000-PG-E-Small-Business-Customers.php
Bloomberg Business Week states, "Duke Energy's proposal to install 800,000 (such meters) in Indiana was rejected by regulators because the cost of the project would outweigh potential benefits to consumers." http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_39/b4196044842103.htm
The Government Accountability Office (the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress) warns that smart-grid systems are being deployed without built-in security features. Certain smart meters have not been designed with a strong security architecture and lack important security features like event logging and forensics capabilities used to detect and analyze cyberattacks, while smart-grid home area networks that manage electricity usage of appliances also lack adequate built-in security. "Without securely designed smart-grid systems, utilities will be at risk of not having the capacity to detect and analyze attacks, which increases the risk that attacks will succeed and utilities will be unable to prevent them from recurring," said the report. The report also took aim at the self-regulatory nature of the industry, saying utilities are focusing on complying with minimum regulatory requirements rather than having adequate security to prevent cyberattacks. http://ncwatch.typepad.com/media/2011/01/smartmeter-security-is-a-growing-concern.html
29 California local governments have formally demanded a halt or a moratorium on smart meters. Seven have gone further and legislated against installation, enacting ordinances, the strongest action a local government can take.
San Francisco Chapter of the Sierra Club voted unanimously (2/15/11) to call for an immediate ordinance to ban smart meters in the city http://stopsmartmeters.org/
Assembly Bill 37, introduced by Assemblymember Huffman, directs the California Public Utilities Commission to determine alternatives for customers who do not wish to have a smart meter installed. The legislation also directs utilities to disclose important information about the smart meters to consumers, including the timing, magnitude, frequency and duration of radio frequency emissions so that individual consumers can make informed decisions.Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) represents the 6th Assembly District which encompasses southern Sonoma County and all of Marin County.
For more information: emfsafetynetwork.org stopsmartmeters.org turn.org
Nina Beety, Monterey County, spent $4100 on a newspaper ad to protest Smart Meters.
http://www.ksbw.com/video/26880746/detail.html
A motion detector light is activated - goes on and off - when you put a smart meter with RF bursts near it. It malfunctions.The nervous system is activated - by bursts of RF - all day and all night - just like the light bulb. Your nervous system malfunctions. The body 'sees' EMF as 'light-at-night; interfering with the melatonin cycle, and interfering with sleep. Whether you are trying to sleep near a power line with high EMF levels, or a constantly transmitting RF device, it interrupts normal neurological functioning.
Melatonin production is high at night, and low during the day. Interfere with that cycle, which is one ofthe drivers for your circadian rhythms, and you have interfered with one of the most potent free-radical scavengers in the body (a cancer surveillance and mop-up system), you have interfered with sleep (essential to memory, learning and health maintenance). Someone reported recently that PG&E had 'replaced' a smart meter that caused a resident's motion detector light to go on and off continuously. Wonder when they'll figure out how to replace a malfunctioning human nervous system. And what it will cost you.
Cindy Sage
Environmental Consultant
Sage Associates
Co-Editor, BioInitiative Report
Research Fellow, Department of Oncology, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden
Sage EMF Design is owned by Cindy Sage. Mrs Sage has been involved in EMF issues as an environmental consultant and public policy researcher since 1982. She has provided professional consulting services to cities, counties, various states and a national EMF policy group on the issue of EMF policy and prudent avoidance.
http://www.sageassociates.net/cindysage.html
http://sagereports.com/smart-meter-rf/
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