PG&E will be installing smart meters throughout Santa Cruz County starting at the end of June. The wireless meters, used to measure electricity consumption, are the subject of some controversy, and critics are vowing civil disobedience to prevent the installation.
The installation of the new meters is scheduled to begin in Scotts Valley, Watsonville and Soquel. The city of Santa Cruz will get SmartMeters in July, and Capitola and additional installations in Soquel will take place in April. Clients concerned about transmissions from the meters can have their installation delayed until policies regarding non-transmitting smart meters are finalized.
The alleged transmission bursts are the most frequently mentioned complaint about the meters, gaining even more acceptance after the World Health Organization announced that cell phone transmissions can cause cancer. PG&E rejects that argument, saying that SmartMeters’ transmission levels are less than those of cell phones. For a SmartMeter transmission to equal one month of cell phone use, it would have to transmit for 1,000 years, says PG&E. The company also rejects the claim that the meters are inaccurate, saying that in fact they are more accurate than analog meters.
None of this is enough for Josh Hart of Scotts Valley. Hart, who helped found the local group Stop Smart Meters!, has padlocked his analog meter to prevent its replacement.
It is probably too late though. About 80 percent of PG&E’s customers throughout California already have SmartMeters installed, with Santa Cruz County being one of the last holdouts. By the end of the summer that too shall pass. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
