Letters for Friday, January 24, 2014
• Support ban on smart meters • Kauai should seek energy independence • KIUC not heeding desires of members • Revelation about smart meters • It’s a question of who should pay • Science behind fear of smart meters
Support ban on smart meters
Aunty Pono has lived with blocks of smart meters as well. My research and personal experience is that one smart meter is seriously damaging to the human physiology.
More than one is devastating, causing immediate symptoms, as well as progressive detrimental effects. We have concluded that a smart meter creates new illness and may activate dormant illness. It effects our cellular structure and we are not created to withstand this constant frequency of microwave energy.
In September, 51 percent of our village asked KIUC to remove them, which they did. The rest need to be removed, but KIUC has confused and scared people. We are constantly raising awareness and anxiously looking forward to the removal of the rest.
Our community has experienced many of the negative effects of smart meters.
Doctors need to be made aware, as many people are already visiting their doctors and clinics on Kauai with symptoms the doctors have no clues about. Support the ban of smart meters on Kauai.
Choose life, health and wellness. And improve your breathing to raise oxygen levels in your body.
Janee Marie Taylor, Koloa
Kauai should seek energy independence
In response to Luke Evslin’s article in The Garden Island on Jan. 5:
Yes: “It’s time for us to strive for energy independence.”
The technology and the money ($150 million) are just a phone call away and will cost taxpayers only a shared portion of the tipping fee at the landfill with the CoK ending up owning the facility possibly within 10 years or less.
No: It’s not about shedding the stranglehold on oil but on garbage/solid waste. G/SW is an asset, not a liability. Garbage can be vaporized into clean syngas, along with tires, medical waste, plastics, asbestos, etc., guaranteed, with no negative emissions.
Yes: “It’s about using the resources that we have (sun, wind, and water) to power our island” and now G/SW; but it is being ignored. Why? Simple: Politics. With a “common sense mentality” hundreds of jobs can be created almost instantly and fossil fuel needs will diminish quickly and greatly.
For the skeptics: All funds are provided to build the facility without taxpayer funds. If it works, imagine the money saved. If it fails, investors lose their money, not taxpayers hard earned dollars, guaranteed. Plus the CoK will own the facility after “investors” recover their investment projections; possibly prior to 10 years. Then CoK, the taxpayers, get to keep the income from that continuing facility to generated dollars for governing. Lower taxes? It can even reclaim our existing, full, landfill if so desired by the CoK. Where’s the risk, the common sense phone call?
John Hoff, Lawai
KIUC not heeding desires of members
At December KIUC meetings, more than 50 members let the management and board know that charging $10.27 monthly is unfair with absolutely no reason for an additional fee for those who chose to keep existing safe meters.
Speaking members complained, KIUC did not consult them before staff and board made decisions to apply for the federal grant of $11 million worth of smart meters. We are a co-op with members to be included in decision making, according to co-op principle #2.
The facts: CEO Hee only briefly announced to the board in February 2009 that “stimulus funding,” with no mention of smart meters, was available, but there was no action by the board to approve the already existing application for a demonstration project of smart meters until 19 months later in Sept 2010, with no notice to KIUC members. It was already a done deal.
With a hastily 24-hour notice special meeting called for Oct. 1, 2013, with no members present, the board approved a $10.27 fee for “opt outers” and “cost causers” with board members claiming that they did not anticipate “opt outers,” therefore had not budgeted for them.
Since I attend most board meetings, I trusted CEO Bissell and Chair Tacbian when I asked “When will members have a chance to discuss the fee issue?” “Not to worry” they said “All members will have a chance.”
Of course, that did not happen.
Obviously, KIUC does not respect members with the multi-thousand dollars they are spending to advance their yes vote to cover their tracks with absolutely no permission from members to spend our co-op money.
Can more than 125 letters to the editor within two years expressing well-researched health and safety concerns about smart meters be the “cost causers?” No, we are not the “cost causers.” Check out the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Have members checked your latest bills? The regular meter reader cost has always been imbedded in the rate structure, but it is still billed plus the additional $10.27. This is double dipping.
Just vote no.
Marj Dente, Kapaa
Revelation about smart meters
It finally dawned on me why KIUC wants these new smart meters. These new meters will give moment-by-moment measurements of power consumed by the customers: 24/7. There will be measurements as to how much power is being used, minute-by-minute each hour of the day and night. The data will go straight to KIUC computerized billing. The billing computer knows how much the power costs vary during each hour of the day and night. The billing charges will vary, depending on what time a customer uses electricity.
So, say that “Family A” works all day, does laundry drying, dishwasher, hair dryer plus electric water heater demand for showers at night. Family A will use very little power during the day, away at work all day.
“Family B” is retired, or works out of a home office. Family B will find out that it is less costly to use power during the day when KIUC power costs are the lowest. Thus, minimum power usage at night.
So the benefit to smart meter users is that KIUC will monitor their daily/hourly use of power and advise them not to use so much power at night. Smart meter folks will score big time. It’s not just about reading meters remotely. It’s about people knowing how they can use smart times of days to minimize power cost. Then they can or will adjust their lifestyles and save money.
Solar power is also a factor. Since there is so much new solar voltaic addition to the island, KIUC needs to factor in the variations in voltaic sun power during the day.
Alan Faye, Princeville
It’s a question of who should pay
Letter after letter after letter to the editor with all kinds statements about smart meters being scary, KIUC being evil, whether smart meters save money or not, whether KIUC should do this or that.
All of that doesn’t matter with this ballot vote. The vote is about who should pay for reading nonstandard meters — those who chose them (10 percent), or those who chose the standard meters (90 percent).
Vote no if you want your bill to go up. Vote yes if you don’t. Everything else is just meant to confuse you.
Chuck Lasker, Kalaheo
Science behind fear of smart meters
KIUC wants us to believe that members who opt out of wireless smart meters are irrational and fearful. People who opt out are not acting out of fear. They are acting on sound science and legitimate issues on privacy and other areas.
Doctors, scientists and governments the world over warn us to limit our exposure to Class 2B possibly carcinogenic microwave radiation emitted by our wireless devices. The FCC exposure guidelines are based on outdated science and only account for a thermal effect.
The smart grid can be modernized without the use of smart meters — do we really need a device that tells us to turn out the lights when we leave a room? P
eople who want to monitor at that level could purchase their own meter. KIUC can install energy monitors throughout the grid with wired communications, which would not be able to invade any one member’s privacy and would not increase the overall radiation levels on the island. Smart meters do not save energy. They use more energy than analog meters do. It is overkill to place them on every home and business.
And this is about fairness. I am paying for smart meters and all of the infrastructure, data storage and analysis. If KIUC is to charge me for opting out they should not make me pay for others use of wasteful and harmful technology.
Angela Flynn, Kilauea
