We demand an immediate halt to Longmont’s “smart” meter rollout
The Longmont Power Company, in Boulder County, Colorado is a city-owned municipal power company, beholden to We the People of Longmont.
For three years we’ve brought experts and evidence to our city officials of the problems with “smart meters” and microwave-emitting wireless tech. The City and Longmont Power Company have chosen to move ahead despite the cautionary voices of its people. We believe the opinions of area residents, alongside independent, expert testimonies on recognized smart meter downsides, risks, and dangers have gone largely unheeded by our officials.
We, therefore, demand an immediate HALT to the 2023 city-wide rollout of this presumed unsafe wireless technology, until such time as the city will make available to We the People, independent, certifiable scientific proof, in writing, that the technology the City of Longmont will place on our homes and businesses while taking away our trusty analog electric meters, is safe. Safe from fire, security breaches, and hacking, safe from health hazards in adults and children, safe for flora and fauna, and safe for our pollinators AND soil microorganisms. We also demand proof of liability from the City, showing us who will take care of us, should any people or dwellings suffer illness or damage from the installation of digital “smart” and/or “opt-out” meters.
There are many different reasons for saying “no” to these meters which include, but are not limited to:
SAFETY: Digital “smart” and “opt-out” “non-smart” (as opposed to our existing analog meters) meters are fire hazards, responsible for thousands of fires, explosions, and other serious safety problems. Smart meter fires cannot be safely fought until the power to the premises is turned off; if an unlucky, uninformed individual tries to fight a smart meter fire with a hose before the power is turned off, they may face electrocution.
PRIVACY: “Smart” meters are, in essence, surveillance devices. Surveillance devices, involuntarily administered (unless you consent, I do NOT) violate our 4th Amendment right to privacy in our home, guaranteed under the United States Constitution.
SUSTAINABILITY: Are smart meters really green? Will they get Longmont to 100% renewable energy? You might be surprised to learn the answer. Independent experts in this arena say no, they will not. Why then are we going to the rate-payer expense ($14 million) to bring in this wireless surveillance system?
FIRES: There are literally hundreds if not thousands of cases of smart meter caused house fires. At least some of the meters already installed in Longmont showed code violations that could lead to fires, and that under OSHA guidelines make the homeowner in any dwelling with a smart meter caused fire liable for that damage.
HEALTH: The W.H.O. considers RF (radio frequency) radiation to be a Class 2B carcinogen. Exposure to ubiquitous EMF/RF is cumulative, and common symptoms include neurological dysfunction, sleep disruptions, tinnitus, headaches, burning skin and skin rashes, anxiety/hypertension, eye problems, brain fog, inability to think, fibromyalgia, and heart arrhythmias or palpitations, among others. Many people already have health-related symptoms due to the vast array of RF- emitting devices that have inundated our lives. Whether or not they put those symptoms together with wireless devices….is anybody’s guess.
Did your city government give you:
1) Full education on this important issue?
2) A chance to vote for whether you wanted this project in our city, especially given its risks and possible dangers?
IMPORTANT: At the very least, each resident receiving a meter should be required to sign
A) A fully informed consent form stating they wish to OPT-IN to the smart meter program.
B) A declaration on the above form stating they have given their consent to:
1) Being surveilled with their personal data (energy habits, comings, and goings) captured by the city as well as by hackers
2) They consent to any potential adverse health effects arising from meters on homes and businesses.
3) A liability waiver to hold harmless the City of Longmont and LPC for any damages incurred.
ACCURACY: Smart meters may inaccurately represent electricity usage in comparison to reliable, accurate analog meters, resulting, at times, in exorbitantly and unrealistically higher electric bills.
SECURITY: “Smart meters” and the “smart grid” risk national security and reliability of the electricity supply by opening a new portal to hackers and criminals.
LIABILITY: Who will pay for the damage to your dwelling in the event of a smart meter fire? Not the utility!!! Maybe not your property insurer, better check! You may be left with the damage and the bill.
Customers of LPC are “allowed” to OPT OUT of smart meters. In the place of our trusty analogs, which have been on our homes for nearly three decades, LPC will install an electronic, non-rf-broadcasting digital “opt-out” meter which may relieve you of rf, but still creates dirty electricity/transients/noise on the wiring of your residence. People who opt out will be charged up front AND monthly opt out fees that, in some places might be seen as a protection racket and are perceived by many as a form of extortion: Pay for Protection! Even if you opt out, are you really protected? We say NO.
Listed below are some of the egregious issues with this wireless (microwave emitting) technology that also creates problematic electrical transients, aka conducted emissions, aka “noise,” aka “dirty electricity” into our homes. We, the Many Concerned People of Longmont have brought to the attention of our City Council, Sustainability Board, and power company, all, so far, to no avail.
Homeowners and business owners should have the right to decide what technology is installed in their city and on their property, and in this case, we say YES, TO A SMART METER MORATORIUM, AND NO TO SMART METERS!!!!
We are therefore demanding an IMMEDIATE HALT to all plans and implementation of this project, until such time as everyone’s concerns are given appropriate, independent, expert scrutiny and verifiable evidence is presented, sufficient to convince a majority in this city that the wireless smart/digital meter technology is completely benign and safe for all the residents of Longmont, including the tiniest (soil microorganisms) and smallest (dogs, cats, babies, and kids).
We contend that this additional layer of electrosmog (including the transients aka “dirty electricity” introduced into all our homes with these digital meters) to all the existing invisible microwave networks that we are all living and suffocating through (wireless routers, cellular phones, and towers, baby monitors, wireless computers and tablets, the list goes on…) adds yet one more nail in the collective coffin of us all….
The health aspect for some residents with EMS or EHS (electromagnetic sensitivity or electro-hypersensitivity) is critical, people falling into the category of “EMS Disabled” under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) make this moratorium a high priority! Besides those with ADA status, there are hundreds and potentially thousands more who fall into the category of electro-sensitive, some without even knowing it. The Longmont Power Company and Longmont City Council work on behalf of Longmont residents, we believe our voice in calling for a moratorium needs to be heard and respected, and the rollout halted until such time as independent science can establish whether smart meters, in all respects, are benign or harmful.
