Taking Back Their Power from Smart Meters in Pennsylvania

by Catherine J. Frompovich, Activist Post.com: 

In 2008 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Legislative body passed, and then-Governor Ed Rendell signed into Pennsylvania Law – PA HB2200, which became Act 129 of 2008. That unethical and vested-interest law mandated AMI Smart Meters (SMs) replace perfectly safe analog meters on all residences with utility companies servicing 100,000 customers.

However, that bill/law is flawed legally insofar as it does not provide an Opt-out from Smart Meters, which are fire hazards [1, 2, 3] as confirmed by numerous house fires caused by SMs around the USA. For those who doubt SMs cause house fires, here’s a link to more SM house fire photographs than you may want to see or know about. In reference 3 above, a man in Texas was killed by a SM-started house fire!

Plus, SMs are hazardous to human health from the radiofrequency (RF) non-ionizing radiation they emit into each household, in effect creating what some consider a ‘microwave oven like’ environment to live in creating adverse health effects.

Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs are serviced by PECO, an Exelon Company, who now is sending out shut off notices to homeowners who refuse/decline/deny access to replacing the analog meters with SMs. The irony of all the shut off notices is that those customers receiving them have no unpaid electric bills! They feel it’s time for pushback.

However, numerous members of both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature apparently recognized the inequities of Act 129 and have introduced various bills to amend it so that there are opt-out provisions and people will not have to suffer RF health problems or live in fear of their houses going up in flames from SM-ignited fires.

One very stubborn opposition to the democratic process of redress is that PA State Representative Robert W Godshall, who chairs the committee where past and current opt-out bills were/are lodged for a vote, decided to sit on those bills; never calls them for a vote; and allowed former bills to become “sine die” at the end of the last legislative session.

It seems that Pennsylvanians who have contacted me are getting pretty upset and pushback will begin in more ways than before. Today I received a Press Release from PASMA, which is self-explanatory. Pennsylvanians must have opt-outs from Smart Meters, as is provided—and the law—in other states.

Contact: Tom McCarey
Telephone: 610-687-7607
Email: tom_mccarey@runbox.com

PA State Rep Robert W Godshall, of the 53rd legislative district, Hatfield, PA, chairs the PA House Consumer Affairs Committee where, currently, another round of 4 bills reside that will correct the inequities and real-time health problems created by PA HB 2200 signed into law as Act 129 of 2008, which required new technology meters, aka Smart Meters (SMs), to be installed on all dwellings in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where utilities service 100,000 customers or more by the year 2023.

Act 129 is an illegal act insofar as it creates fire hazards on buildings due to SMs, which can explode, catch fire, and/or smolder, as documented by numerous local fire companies. Furthermore, Act 129 does not provide for warning or safety devices to forewarn customers of impending SM fire, as smoke alarms do inside houses, thereby leaving residents living in constant fear of SMs.

Additionally and equally frightening, is the fact that SMs emit RF non-ionizing radiation into buildings and dwellings, which are causing numerous documented real-time health problems, especially for PECO customers in the metropolitan Philadelphia area.

PASMA has heard from numerous Pennsylvanians, who also experience strange health problems since SMs were mandatorily installed replacing their former analog meters.

Since Act 129 originally was written with NO opt-out provisions, Pennsylvania state legislators introduced several bills in previous legislative sessions to provide “opt-outs” that utility customers in other states have, and which Pennsylvanians desperately need. In the legislative session that ended November 30, 2014, 3 bills to provide corrective measures to Act 129 deliberately were sat on and allowed to go “sine die” because Consumer Affairs Committee Chair Godshall would not release those bills for a vote! That cannot be allowed to happen in the current legislative session, as Pennsylvanians have the right of redress regarding SM problems, and their legislative representatives need to participate in voting on those bills in committee!

Pennsylvania Smart Meter Awareness demands Rep Godsahll call the current SM bills Nos. HB393, HB394, HB395 and HB396 for a vote by June 1, 2015, or RESIGN. Rep Godshall’s previous stalling of Act 129 corrective bills is indicative of his “strong arm” governance tactics, possible collusion with utility lobbyists, and a definite indication that he has not been working to ensure consumer protection, consumers’ rights to be informed, or safe in their lives and homes.

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If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with a member of PASMA, please call Tom McCarey at 610-687-7607 or email Tom attom_mccarey@runbox.com .

Notes:

[1] http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/smart-meter-fires-and-explosions/
[2] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/16/fire-chiefs-call-for-smart-meter-probe-after-blazes/15751373/
[3] http://www.takebackyourpower.net/news/2015/02/03/smart-meter-fire-kills-74-year-old-man-dallas-tx/

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