RONNIE COHEN
›› UPFRONT
PG&E on hot seat in Fairfax Utility says folks have their wires crossed over SmartMeter concerns... by Ronnie Co he n
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airfax wants to be known as the little town that stood up to the giant utility. Residents and officials of this environmentally conscious community appear united against Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s plans to save energy by replacing analog gas and electric meters with digital so-called SmartMeters. After the Town Council called for a one-year moratorium on the installation of the wireless meters in Fairfax, citizens and council members spent two hours last week voicing questions and concerns about how the devices could invade their privacy and harm their health. Sarah Reilly, a 40-year-old nutritionist, could be the poster child for a growing chorus of people who report electrical hypersensitivity and are leading the charge against SmartMeters. She said she began to suffer from headaches and could feel herself burning after sleeping with her head next to an electrical meter and near a transformer in her parents’ home in a Las Vegas neighborhood awash in cell-phone towers. Two years ago, Reilly said she chose to move to Fairfax in large part because of its designation as a pesticide-free and cell-phonetower-free zone. And, like the estimated 45 people who turned out for last week’s meeting, she intends to keep SmartMeters and the electromagnetic radiation they emit out of her town of 7,500. “This community is not saturated in electro-smog,” said Reilly, a healthy-looking woman who feels sick if she as much as watches television or listens to a radio. “Stop installing the meters until a proper health report is performed,” she told two PG&E representatives. The two men sat alone at a table facing a podium from which citizens shot questions and a steady stream of complaints and anger. “These signals may be invisible, but they have impact.” PG&E insists the digital electric and gas meters it has been installing throughout California in an effort to modernize the energy grid and give customers tools to control energy consumption are safe. The utility says radio frequencies emitted by SmartMeters fall within Federal Communications Commissions guidelines. But critics say the guidelines are obsolete and fail to consider the cumulative effects of what they describe as an increasingly heavy blanket of electro-smog. Some Fairfax residents compared electro-smog to secondhand smoke and likened PG&E and SmartMeters to the tobacco
industry and cigarettes. “It’s amazing how uninformed industry is about the health effects,” said Mary Beth Brangan, of Bolinas. “They are emitting constantly these bursts of radiation. The numbers of people who are electro-sensitive are growing. Everyone has their limit. Nobody is impervious.” In 1998—before cell phones and wireless networks became ubiquitous—a California Department of Health Services survey found 120,000 Californians could not work because of electromagnetic pollution. Many of the 18 people who spoke last week against the automatic meter-reading devices
Sarah Reilly, left, moved to Fairfax partly because it was a cell-phone-tower-free zone; Councilwoman Pam HarwellHerrero wants to see evidence that SmartMeters reduce power use.
An acupuncturist who lives in Fairfax and works in San Anselmo, where the Town Council also plans to try to stop PG&E from installing the wireless meters, raised questions about how the utility would treat families whose children have leukemia—a cancer some believe is linked to electromagnetic radiation. “Numerous studies have linked RF [radio frequency] exposure to childhood leukemia,” said Joseph Odom, his gray hair braided down his back. “Every year, California has about 1,100 new cases of childhood leukemia. When this event occurs in a home equipped with a SmartMeter, and the parents or hematologist requests, because of prudent avoidance, removal of the meter, would PG&E remove a SmartMeter?” Lynn Corwin said 90 percent of the nation’s wild bees have died and noted that some blame electromagnetic radiation for colony-collapse disorder. “Wouldn’t it be smart to know what is causing the bee collapse before we put more EMFs into the MEETING atmosphere?” she asked. The Fairfax Town The Town Council Council will hear PG&E’s reserved last week’s answers to questions meeting for the public about SmartMeters on to ask questions while Sept. 29 from 7pm until PG&E listened. Repre9pm in the Women’s Club, sentatives of the utility 46 Park Road, Fairfax. are scheduled to return A CPUC-commissioned study has given to Fairfax with written the thumbs up to SmartMeter accuracy; answers on Sept. 29. but it is the health and privacy concerns that rankle Fairfax residents. Unlike other communities where concerns focused on the accuracy of the devices, Fairfax residents and officials focused on privacy and asked PG&E to clarify inconsistent reports health issues. At the beginning of the meetabout how often SmartMeters transmit data from the homes and businesses they monitor. ing, James Morante, a PG&E public affairs manager, said a recent independent report PG&E claims the digital meters check energy commissioned by the California Public Utiliusage every four hours, and they emit weaker ties Commission found the wireless meters radio frequencies than everyday devices such met acceptable standards of accuracy. He did as wireless networks and cell phones. But independent consultants report that the devices admit that the report blamed the utility for failing to foresee the anxiety and outrage the pulse more frequently and more intensely. SmartMeter rollout would provoke. “Frankly And several of the Fairfax residents speaking, the company saw it as another lines who spoke last week said that because of and wires project,” he said. health concerns they choose not to own Smiling, Morante said he did not know cell phones or to have wireless networks in what to make of the black cat that greeted their homes. “I don’t have a cell phone; I him at the door of the Women’s Club, where don’t use any wireless,” said Tony Yudice, a the council meets. The friendly cat stationed Fairfax man wearing his hair in a ponytail. in the club’s entryway the other night looked With regard to SmartMeters, he added: “I less like a bad omen and more like a symbol don’t have any choice here.” of the hippie outpost that prides itself on
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being the most laid back and progressive of Marin’s cities. Council members stressed that concerns about the wireless meters cut across political lines. Hannah Doress of Fairfax sees the SmartMeter battle as a property-rights issue. “It’s painful to me that other people want to come into my home and do things close to my child’s bedroom,” she said. “Now that PG&E is a profit-making entity, it’s really hard for me to accept its right to be on my property. “This is a community that really does not want this to happen. I think we’re going to be a huge pain for you guys, and I’d like to save you the trouble.” Mary Beth Brangan called the installation of SmartMeters a “toxic trespass,” predicted PG&E would sell the information it gathers from the devices to third parties and government agencies and wondered if residents could opt out of allowing their personal information to be sold. Councilmember Larry Bragman, a lawyer, said PG&E would have “unprecedented” access to mine data it gleaned from SmartMeters. “What about our rights to privacy?” he asked. “What’s going to happen with all the data that’s collected? Every time it’s been collected, it’s been abused,” Bragman said, and the audience applauded. The Public Utilities Commission has given PG&E permission to install SmartMeters throughout the state. The utility touts the wireless meters—which eliminate the need for human meter readers—as the first step in creating a smart and energy-efficient grid. The new meters allow individuals and businesses to measure their own energy consumption in real time, potentially leading to reduced usage during peak hours. But Fairfax residents and officials questioned whether installing the wireless devices at a ratepayer-funded cost of $2.2 billion would prove economical from an energy or financial perspective. “I haven’t seen any evidence of reduced electric use,” Councilmember Pam HartwellHerrero said. “Let’s look at how much bang for your buck you’re getting. My understanding is you get a heck of a lot more bang for your buck with insulation.” ✹ Contact Ronnie Cohen at ronniecohen@comcast.net