by Katherine | 21 Jul, 2015 | Latest News
Heat pumps are becoming more popular in NZ. People are beginning to appreciate that heat pumps can keep homes much warmer than many other heating options.
However, what many people don’t realise when they decide to install a heat pump, is that if their home also has a smart meter, they may be risking an unpleasant surprise sometime down the track…
Why?
Because some of the smart meters installed in NZ have ZigBee chips – and these ZigBee chips can potentially communicate with heat pumps that also contain ZigBees.
And the result of these interactions?
An electricity retailer and/or lines company can potentially use the smart meter to take control of the heat pump and turn it down to its lowest setting.
Not a very comforting thought on a cold night…
(Of course, refusing the installation of a smart meter should mean that you (not your electricity company) remain in control of your heat pump.)
However, if you already have a smart meter and/or a heat pump, the good news is that not all smart meters and heat pumps contain ZigBee chips…
To find out if the smart meter at your home and any heat pump you may already have (or be considering purchasing) contains a ZigBee chip, please read the post below:
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/smart-meters-heat-pumps-and-demand-response-functionality/
by Katherine | 21 Jul, 2015 | Latest News
This website has previously discussed the smart meter situation and how the “Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement” (TPPA) could adversely affected New Zealand by making it more difficult to pass legislation to protect New Zealanders from smart meters, which pose health and privacy risks. (See: https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/uncategorized/could-the-tppa-make-the-smart-meter-situation-in-nz-worse/)
In addition, there are members of the medical profession who are opposed to the TPPA (for example, see this link http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/news/doctor-speaks-out-on-how-tppa-could-affect-new-zealanders-health/) and there are many other New Zealanders opposed to the TPPA for various reasons. TPPA opponents include advocates for safe food and anti-smoking campaigners and environmental groups.
The text of the TPPA has not been made public, however, text that has been leaked shows that the TPPA makes provision for “Investor-State Dispute Settlements” which are essentially a mechanism by which corporations can sue governments if laws made by governments interfere with the corporation’s ability to make money. (If a corporation won its case, taxpayers would have to cough up the funds for damages awarded to the corporations.)
(You can read more about the “Investor-State Dispute Settlement” issue here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kill-the-dispute-settlement-language-in-the-trans-pacific-partnership/2015/02/25/ec7705a2-bd1e-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html)
Unfortunately, the NZ government has signaled its intention to sign the TPPA.
A large number of initiative are underway to try to persuade the government against signing the TPPA. The week of August 8 to August 15 2015 has been designated as a week of action against the TPPA
(There is an email list to which you can sign up for information.)
There is also a Facebook page that will include various anti-TPPA actions coming up in Auckland, beginning this week:
https://www.facebook.com/events/856470661055271/permalink/856505651051772/
by Katherine | 15 Jul, 2015 | Government and Electricity Industry Positions, Latest News
In an exclusive article for The Daily Blog, Rachael Goldsmith expresses her dismay that NZ’s government owned rental housing provider, Housing New Zealand (or HNZ for short), which has a large number of low-income tenants, has included a promo for Mercury Energy’s “Glo Bug” in its latest newsletter. The “Glo Bug” is smart-meter facilitated prepay electricity system. The “Glo Bug” has received substantial prior adverse publicity, mainly due to the fact that the device enables the company to cut off people’s electricity remotely with very little notice and because this pre-pay power system is more expensive for some customers than other electricity plans.
You can read about the GloBug at this link: https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/do-you-have-a-globug-prepay-power-system/
You can read Rachael Goldsmith’s article here:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/15/exclusive-hnz-globug-combine-to-take-advantage-of-people-in-poverty/
The comments at this link are also interesting:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/15/exclusive-hnz-globug-combine-to-take-advantage-of-people-in-poverty/#comments
by Katherine | 9 Jul, 2015 | Latest News
This website has covered recent reports of smart meters failing in a spectacular manner overseas.
Now there has been a similar incident in NZ in which high voltage lines (33,000 volts) accidentally touched lower voltage (11,000 volts) lines causing a power surge that adversely affected around 400 homes in the area, causing smart meters to “blow apart”. In addition, residents had various other electronic equipment such as TVs, washings machines, firdges and other smaller appliances damaged.
Electrician Kevin Byers was quoted as saying:
“One little village we went to [in Waikanae], they had about 10 of their smart meters were all blown apart. We had to go through and bypass all of those, under Electra’s instruction, so they could have power back on.”
You can read the full story here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/kapiti-observer/70075991/waikanae-power-surge-causes-damage-to-400-homes
NB: If you were affected by the power surge you can email www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz if you would like to share what happened to your electricity meter (whether it is a smart meter or an electromechanical meter) you can reach us through the Contact Form.
by Katherine | 12 Jun, 2015 | Latest News
An exploding smart meter recently exploded into a “ball of fire” at a home in Ontario, Canada. Fortunately the smart meter concerned was mounted on the exterior wall of a brick home so the house did not catch fire.
All the details are at this link:
http://smartgridawareness.org/2015/06/10/update-on-last-weeks-ontario-smart-meter-fire/
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up for the email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz This will allow you to get emails that give updates on the smart meter situation with a focus on NZ smart meter news.
by Katherine | 12 Jun, 2015 | Latest News
Not that long ago I had an email from a correspondent who told me that a friend had told him how he had recently received a much higher bill than usual. The friend had a smart meter installed at his home and speculated that an electrical storm in the area (prior to the anomalous bill) may have adversely affected the electronic smart meter.
Has anyone else experienced some sort of billing anomaly following an electrical storm?
If you have, please email through the Contact Form. (NB: Any reports received will be treated in confidence. The policy of www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz is to post information on this site only when permission has been given for this to be done.)
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up for the email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz This will allow you to get emails that give updates on the smart meter situation with a focus on NZ smart meter news.
by Katherine | 4 Jun, 2015 | Latest News
After thousands of smart meters recently exploded in the USA, there have been more exploding smart meters in California.
See this link for details: http://takebackyourpower.net/news/2015/05/28/another-100-smart-meters-explode-simultaneously-this-time-in-capitola-ca/
In related news, another company in North America is making sure that smart meters are placed at least three metres away from gas cylinders, presumably to reduce explosion risk…
http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2015/05/15/hydro-quebec-making-sure-your-house-doesnt-blow-up
By contrast, here in NZ we have a major smart meter company touting “smart” gas meters. (See: https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/uncategorized/stopping-a-smart-gas-meter-installation-an-australian-shows-the-way/)
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up for the email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz This will allow you to get emails that give updates on the smart meter situation with a focus on NZ smart meter news.
by Katherine | 4 Jun, 2015 | Events, Latest News, Take Back Your Power
A special community screening of the award-winning smart meter documentary Take Back Your Power has been organised by a volunteer in Dunedin.
The details for the screening are as follows:
DATE: Saturday June 20th
TIME: 5pm
VENUE: The Pioneer Hall, 45 George St, Port Chalmers, Dunedin.
The screening is free however, if you would like to bring a donation that can be passed along to the producer of Take Back Your Power this would be appreciated.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions about smart meters after the screening.
Please let friends and family in Dunedin know about the screening (such as by sharing this link on your Facebook page, if you have one) so that they can plan to attend. Thank you.
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up for the email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz This will allow you to get emails that give updates on the smart meter situation with a focus on NZ smart meter news.
by Katherine | 2 Jun, 2015 | Events, Latest News, Take Back Your Power
The Peasant Film Club is running a special (free or koha) community screening ( of the award winning smart meter documentary Take Back Your Power in West Auckland on June 11.
The address is the WEST offices, 9 Henderson Valley Road, Henderson. Click map for more details. Limited off-street parking, front and back.
The film starts at 7.30 PM.
More details about the Peasant Film Club may be found here: http://localwatch.net.nz/peasants/
Please let friends and family know about this screening.
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up for the email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz This will allow you to get emails that give updates on the smart meter situation with a focus on NZ smart meter news.
by Katherine | 20 May, 2015 | Latest News, Privacy
K.T. Weaver wrote on May 19 on www.smartgridawareness.org/
“Last week at a conference, Dr. Stephen Pratt, Chief Technical Officer for CenterPoint Energy, stated the following during an interview:
‘We have an entire organization that’s gotten behind data as an asset …
‘We get a lot of data. We do 221,000,000 meter reads a day …
‘We can do nothing with that data, or we can mine that data and use what we find from mining that data …
‘That is very exciting to me today.'”
Read the full story (and see the associated videos) here:
http://smartgridawareness.org/2015/05/19/utilities-excited-about-mining-smart-meter-data/
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up for the email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz This will allow you to get emails that give updates on the smart meter situation with a focus on NZ smart meter news.
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