by Katherine | 7 Mar, 2015 | Latest News
This is not a smart meter related documentary; it’s about health. Specifically it focuses on how corporations (including “Big Pharma” and “Big Agriculture”) influence government policies on healthcare and also food, thereby restricting consumer choice and in some cases substantially infringing on human rights.
If you are familiar with the issues surrounding smart meter roll outs, if you view Bought you may see some parallels between how governments in countries that are installing smart meters are putting the desires of the electricity industry ahead of public health.
For example, electricity companies see smart meters as a good way to reduce labour costs because there is less need to employ meter readers, for example. In NZ, as in many other countries, the government allows the installation of smart meters even though some smart meters on the NZ market expose people in the the nearby vicinity to intense pulses of radiofrequency radiation (RFR). This is because the RFR that smart meters produce falls below the standards that govern EMR emissions in NZ. (NZS2772.2:1999 is the standard that covers smart meters and other sources of RFR and this is designed to prevent only heating, shock and sudden death, not other potential effects.) Power companies tend to publicly discount the adverse health effects some people experience after smart meter installations (even though there is now peer reviewed research on this subject: see: www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz/uncategorized/peer-reviewed-journal-publishes-article-on-smart-meter-health-effects/ ) although people in the electricity industry may acknowledge health effects from smart meters in private emails. (See: http://www.takebackyourpower.net/news/2015/02/13/utility-commissioners-private-emails-reveal-conspiracy/
Bought shows how on how the pharmaceutical industry has a lot of nasty skeletons in its closet, including fraudulent research and how a revolving door between government and the Big Pharma facilitates dysfunction – if not frank corruption. It also describes how GE food is undermining people’s health.
Bought is a documentary that will challenge your ideas if you always thought that everything was just hunky dory with every aspect of modern medicine but it is a documentary that asks important questions – and the parallels with other important issues (such as smart meters, for example) will not be missed by thoughtful viewers.
It’s available free at this link for a short time:
http://www.boughtmovie.net/free-viewing/
by Katherine | 5 Mar, 2015 | Events, Uncategorized
The smart meter situation at present in NZ is not good.
Companies in the electricity industry are putting in smart meters as fast as they can. Not surprisingly, considering the fact that the pulses of RFR that smart meters produce can be intense, some people develop new symptoms after these devices have been installed at their own home or a nearby neighbour’s home and there is now peer reviewed research on adverse health effects associated with smart meters.
In NZ, electricity companies are often reluctant to remove smart meters even when people report health issues after installations.
I have also had reports of people who do not want smart meters being bullied by their electricity retailer to try to get them to accept a smart meter. (For an example of some bullying behaviour, please see this link: https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/company-tries-to-bully-chronically-ill-woman/)
There is no law or regulation that states that people in NZ have to accept a smart meter which gives some protection to consumers. However, it is legal to install smart meters (despite the health and privacy risks) and increasingly, NZ electricity retailers are using their supply contracts with consumers to try to enforce smart meter installations upon reluctant customers.
This contrasts with the situation in many parts of the USA where municipalities have acted to protect public health by banning the installation of smart meters in their local areas.
Such enlightened legislation/by-laws has yet to be passed in NZ (and has not even been drafted); however if the NZ government or local authorities were to take this step, the gains to public health could potentially be negated if the NZ government signs the so-called “Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement” (TPPA). (The TPPA is also known as the TPP.)
Unfortunately the NZ government has indicated that it plans to sign this agreement. The text of the TPPA is still secret. However, from the small amounts of information that have been leaked into the public domain, it is clear that the agreement would favour the interests of large corporations and is potentially a disaster for any country that signs it. The reason for this is that the agreement apparently would allow corporations to sue governments should a government pass a piece of legislation that could be deemed to impact adversely on corporate profits.
The TPPA is opposed in NZ by a diverse range of individuals and groups, including the Public Health Association, environmental groups and unions who are concerned about how the TPPA could adversely affect ordinary New Zealanders by putting the profits of big corporations ahead of the needs of people who live in New Zealand.
Nationwide protests against the TPPA have been organised for March 7, 2015.
You can find out more about this issue (including how to join local protests) at http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/ and here http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/events/
by Katherine | 26 Feb, 2015 | Government and Electricity Industry Positions, Latest News
Do you (or does someone you know) have a GloBug prepay power system?
Mercury Energy is busily marketing its “GloBug” prepay power system to low income families. This year GloBug is one of the sponsors of the annual Pasifika festival in Auckland and it has least one billboard advertisement in Auckland marketing the GloBug system. (The billboard features a very pretty little girl of Maori or Polynesian ethnicity.)
(Note to overseas readers: In New Zealand, statistically, Maori and Pasifika families are more likely to be impoverished than New Zealanders of Asian or European descent.)
Mercury is probably keen to improve the public profile of the GloBug system which has been the subject of quite a lot of coverage in the mainstream media, much of which is not complimentary.
For example a complaint was made to the popular consumer affairs TV show FairGo in 2010 – see http://tvnz.co.nz/fair-go/power-struggle-3736876 ) and a report by the NZ Herald’s health reporter Simon Collins about how families using prepay meters have been “shivering” from cold due to the expense of keeping the power on (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10839079)
Consumer NZ also expressed concerns about Mercury’s prepay power system in 2012. (See: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6595787/Pre-pay-power-plans-unfair)
There have also been reports of Mercury Energy bullying customers to accept the GloBug prepay system (see: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10744327) and NZ Herald columnist Brian Rudman also excoriated Mercury Energy after the company threatened to move him to the GloBug system after he did not pay a bill that he had no recollection of ever receiving. (See http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10744518)
(Note to overseas readers: The NZ postal service is not that efficient; bills get lost in the mail from time to time!)
What Mercury Energy keeps very quiet is that the GloBug system relies on smart metering technology. (See; http://www.epaynz.co.nz/product-range/prepaid-electricity) This technology, which allows remote disconnection when people’s prepaid credit gets too low, has transformed low income households (which were previously considered a financial liability by the company) into a “cash cow”.
Mercury Energy’s parent company, Mighty River Power, has boasted:
“It [the GloBug prepay power system] has also turned some accounts, traditionally regarded by the industry as the worst customers, into some of Mighty River’s most-valued customers.
(See: http://www.energyawards.co.nz/finalist/2012/innovation-in-electricity-award/mighty-river-power)
So, while Mercury Energy is being paid in advance for supplying electricity, the GloBug system relies on microwave radiation producing “smart” metering technology that may put its customer’s health at risk. And many of its customers will not even realise that opting for (or being forced to accept) a GloBug system means increased exposure to potentially carcinogenic microwave radiation.
The traditional analogue (Ferraris) meters installed in NZ when electricity was considered an essential public service (and was supplied by local authorities,rather than greedy corporations) do not produce any microwave radiation. Analogue (Ferraris meters) are still on the NZ market but many electricity retailers are trying to force their customers to accept smart meters.
NB: While Mercury Energy pioneered the use of GloBug in NZ, the company is not alone in using the GloBug system for prepay electricity; Meridian is also reportedly using this system.
A friend created a new logo for Mercury Energy to reflect the company’s reported bullying of its customers to try to get them to accept “smart” metering technology.
For a photo of a type of smart meter used in conjunction with a GloBug, please see this link: https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/latest-news/aerial-installed-inside-family-home-as-part-of-a-globug-set-up/
NB: If you are concerned about the financial, health or other risks of smart meters, please sign up to the free email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz Thank you.
by Katherine | 25 Feb, 2015 | Latest News
New Zealand has done it again.
In the same great tradition that has seen NZ “punching above its weight” and besting “overseas experts” a new paper from a group of researchers at the University of Auckland is being promoted as showing that there’s no connection between cell phones and brain tumours.
Somehow, this one study (which is based on statistics from the New Zealand National Cancer Registry) disproves many other international studies that definitely show a link between cell phones and brain tumours.
Never mind that the NZ researchers chose a cohort of people (those diagnosed with brain tumours between 1995 and 2010) who would have been very unlikely to have been using cell phones for long enough for an increased risk in cell-phone induced cancer to become apparent…
No, prior research and good sense be damned, the University of Auckland still boldly goes where no sensible university would dare to go and announces in its press release: “Mobile phones not causing an increase in brain tumours”.
To be fair, one of the study’s authors did state that “a study of this type cannot exclude a small risk, or one limited to a certain subtype of cancers, or a risk only arising after more than about 15 years of phone use.” [Emphasis added]
That’s honest, because his own paper admits that in 1995 only about 10% of the NZ population had a cell phone subscription and by 2000 only about 40% of New Zealanders had a cell phone subscription. By 2009, 85% of New Zealanders had a cellular phone. However, few New Zealanders who had used cell phones by 2010 (the cut off date for the study) would have been long-term cell phone users (fifteen years or more) by that time.
It is salutary to contrast the new study from the University of Auckland with a major study by Lennart Hardell and Michael Carlberg published in 2014, which showed a significant increase in glioma (a common type of brain tumour) for people who used both mobile and cordless phones.
The 2014 study (published in the journal Pathophysiology) showed that the brain tumour risk was highest after 25 years of mobile phone use and after 15-20 years of cordless phone use.
See: https://lennarthardellenglish.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/new-study-confirms-increased-risk-for-glioma-associated-with-use-of-mobile-phones-and-cordless-phones/
This is but one of many other studies showing a link between cell phone use and brain (and other) tumours.
Links to more studies are below:
http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2014/05/09/oemed-2013-101754
https://lennarthardellenglish.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/decreased-survival-in-patients-with-glioblastoma-multiforme-associated-with-use-of-mobile-and-cordless-phones/
https://lennarthardellenglish.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/new-ecological-study-on-the-penetration-of-cellular-telecommunications-subscriptions-shows-a-clear-association-with-the-higher-incidence-of-brain-and-nervous-system-tumours-2/
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/167/4/457.full
It is now indisputable that radiofrequency (RF) radiation in the microwave range such is produced by cordless and mobile phones, cordless phone bases and cell phone towers has been classified by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible carcinogen” (type 2B).
It would be foolish to rely upon the new study from the University of Auckland as assuring the safety of mobile and cellular phones when there is good quality research that shows a risk.
For ideas on how to minimise health risks when using cell phones and other modern technology, please see this link:
http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/childrens-health-and-development/how-to-reduce-your-exposure-to-emr/
NB: If you are concerned about wireless devices and health you may like to sign up to the free email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz
The University of Auckland press release may be read below:
| Mobile phones not causing increase in brain tumours |
| 25 February 2015Embargoed until 2am on 26 February 2015Mobile phones not causing increase in brain tumours
The risk of brain tumours has not changed significantly with increased mobile phone use, according to new research from the University of Auckland.In a paper just published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, on the trends in primary brain cancer incidence in New Zealand between 1995 and 2010, research led by cancer epidemiologist, Professor Mark Elwood, showed no general increase in brain tumours.Professor Elwood says there have been concerns about whether the use of mobile phones could lead to an increase in the frequency of brain tumours.“Several major international studies have suggested either no risk or a slightly increased risk in high users, while some others have suggested substantial risks,” he says.His team examined the frequency (yearly incidence) of brain cancers, both in total and in those sub-types highlighted in some other studies, in New Zealand from 1995 to 2010, using data from the New Zealand national cancer registry.“There has been no general increase,” says Professor Elwood. “In fact, for the wide age range 10 to 69 years, there has been a decrease of about one percent per year.”
“This adds to the evidence against there being a substantial increased risk in mobile phone users. This is consistent with most, but not all, similar studies done in other countries,” he says.Professor Elwood says these studies together suggest that previous reports of large increases in risk in mobile phone users are likely to be incorrect.“But a study of this type cannot exclude a small risk, or one limited to a certain subtype of cancers, or a risk only arising after more than about 15 years of phone use,” he says.“We have no explanation for the decrease in brain cancers in New Zealand,” says Professor Elwood. “In people aged over 70 years, there was an increase in some types of brain cancer. This has been seen in other countries and is likely to relate to improved diagnosis.”
The research team included research student, Stella Kim, research fellow Sally Ioannides and Professor Elwood who is a professor in the cancer epidemiology section of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland.
ENDS |
by Katherine | 22 Feb, 2015 | Latest News, Take Back Your Power
The website www.takebackyourpower.net is reporting how the family of a 74 year old South Dallas man blame the smart meter which had been recently installed at his home for the fire that led to his death. Mr James Humphrey, who had arthritis, was unable to escape from his home when it caught fire and the smoke and flames beat back neighbours who tried to rescue him.
You can read the full story (as well as some very interesting comments) at this link:
http://www.takebackyourpower.net/news/2015/02/03/smart-meter-fire-kills-74-year-old-man-dallas-tx/
The statistics kept by the NZ Fire Service do not allow smart meter related fires to be differentiated from fires that are caused by other types of meters or meter board faults. See this link for details: www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz/latest-news/are-smart-meters-causing-fires-in-new-zealand/
If you are aware of a smart meter related fire in NZ, please report it to Stop Smart Meters NZ through this link: www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz/contact-us/
Any reports will be treated in confidence. Thank you.
NB: To stay up-to-date with the smart meter situation in NZ, please join the free email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz
by Katherine | 21 Feb, 2015 | Government and Electricity Industry Positions, Latest News
It has been reported to www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz by many NZers that they have been told by representatives of their power company that there is a government deadline for electricity meter replacement by April 1 2015.
This is NOT true.
What the Electricity Authority (EA) regulations state is that meters need to have a current certification at that time.
If you live in a relatively new home (built during or after October 1999) your electricity meter may be certified up until and beyond April 1 2015. (See below for how you can check on when your meter’s certification expires.)
If you live in a home with an older meter (those installed prior to October 1999) as of this writing (February 2015) your meter will have “interim” certification that is due to lapse on April 1.
In the case of meters which have an interim certification which is due to expire, electricity companies can variously choose to either:
i) Re-certify those meters which currently have “interim certification”,
ii) OR get an exemption from the EA from having to recertify the meter by April 1, 2015
iii) OR replace the meter with a new meter.
NB: If a meter has reached the end of its useful life, The EA regulations do NOT specify the type of electricity meter that may be used to replace it; electricity companies can CHOOSE between smart meters, electronic meters that are not smart meters and traditional analogue (electromechanical Ferraris) meters. All of these types of meters are on the NZ market.
(NB: To see some of the alternatives to smart meters that are on the NZ market on the website of Legacy Metering Group, please click HERE to visit the appropriate page of the company’s website.)
There is NO government requirement for electricity companies to install smart meters in homes or small businesses.
If someone from your electricity company tells you that they have to install a smart meter because it is a “government requirement” or words to that effect, they are either misinformed or lying.
If you have an older meter (or do not know the age of your meter), there are two ways of finding this out.
- Call your electricity retailer and ask if they have a record of when your meter’s certification is due to expire. Electricity retailers have access this information and should give it to you.
OR
- If your electricity retailer has given you incorrect information in the past (so you do not trust the company to tell you the truth regarding your meter’s certification status), you can obtain the information by making a request under the Official Information Act (OIA) to the Electricity Authority for information relating to the meter at your address.
If you decide to make a request under the OIA, include the ICP number for the electricity the electricity service to your home (which will be on your bill) in the request. A simple statement to the effect that “under the Official Information Act” you require the information held by the EA about the meter at your address, including its certification status and when its certification expires “ should get the information easily.
EA contact details are at this link:
https://www.ea.govt.nz/about-us/contact-us/
You can email a request under Official Information Act; it is not necessary to send it by post.
The next steps…
Once you know whether or not your meter’s certification is going to be valid beyond April 2015, you can make a decision about what to do next. (You may well find you have a certified meter and do not need to make any decisions.)
However, if you electricity meter’s certification is due to lapse on April 1 and/or you are with an electricity retailer that is that is insisting that you accept a smart meter, if you do not want a smart meter, you may have to consider changing companies.
There is information at this link that you may find helpful if this is the case.
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/how-to-get-rid-of-a-smart-meter/
NB: If you are being offered a smart meter that has had its wireless transmission capacity disabled, please read this post so that you are aware the the issues with these types of meters before making your decision: https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/comparing-analogue-ferraris-meters-with-smart-meters-which-have-had-the-modem-removed/
Want to stay updated on the smart meter issue in NZ?
There is a free email list at www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz Please sign up to it and you will get email updates.
by Katherine | 21 Feb, 2015 | Uncategorized
Site editor’s report: Here is a report from a New Zealander that I received earlier this week.
Please note that reports of smart meter-related illness made to www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz (such as via https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/contact-us/) are treated in confidence and information not posted on this site unless permission is given in writing.)
I just wanted to report that a smart meter was installed in our house three years ago (in the garage under my bedroom). I suffered intermittent bout of irregular and fast heart beats, especially during the night, four cardiology reviews, treadmills echoes .. No answers…. The modem in the smart meter* was deactivated five months ago, and we hardwired our computers … No more heart problems !!
In my view the smart meter had everything to do with my symptoms.
[Full name supplied – Ed]
*Ed note: The smart meter was an EDMI Mk7C brand which has a modem that can be removed or disconnected. (The modem in a smart meter, also sometimes called a “network interface card” or “comms unit” is the part of the smart meter that produces the microwave radiation.) The family was initially with Mercury but Mercury refused to do anything to help so they changed to Contact which deactivated the modem.
by Katherine | 18 Feb, 2015 | Events, Latest News, Science, Uncategorized
An Environmental Sensitivities Symposium is coming up in 2015. The Symposium is designed to help people with a variety of illnesses, including those who have electromagnetic sensitivity (also known as electrosensitivity or electrohypersensitivity), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), food allergies and other conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Lyme disease.
The Symposium features international experts such as:
Michael Bevington is the chair of Trustees of the charity ElectroSensitivity UK (See
http://es-uk.info/)
and
Prof Olle Johansson, associate professor, head of the Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, is a world-leading authority in the field of EMF radiation and health effects.
Other speakers include:
Martin Pall, PhD, Dr Christabelle Yeoh and Lucinda Curran.
Basic access to the online Symposium is FREE while there are upgrades available for modest fees. (A book option is available for people who have severe electrosensitivity issues and cannot use a computer.)
The Symposium website is below:
NB: Please let colleagues, friends and family know about this event as public education about conditions such as electrosensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is badly needed to help improve the lives of people who have these conditions easier. (The current lack of knowledge among the general public about electrosensitivity, MCS etc. makes life harder than it should be for people who have developed these conditions as neighbours may inadvertently cause harm, by for example, allowing the installation of a smart meter close to the home of some who has electrosensitivity, or by using toxic garden chemicals etc. etc.)
by Katherine | 18 Feb, 2015 | Government and Electricity Industry Positions, Latest News
EMR Australia’s free quarterly newsletter is now available.
This issue is particularly good and features an interview with Melbourne physician Dr. Federica Lamech whose article on adverse health effects from smart meters was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The issue may be downloaded from this link:
htttp://emraustralia.com.au/EMR_and_health.html
The other topics for this issue are listed below:
- France’s new law to reduce exposure to wireless radiation;
- how mobile phones affect the brain and fertility;
- a recent Australian study on smart meters and how they’re affecting people;
- an interview with the study’s author, Dr Federica Lamech;
- the European Union’s new position on electromagnetic hypersensitivity;
- sleeping on spring coil mattresses – is it a good idea?
- chemical sensitivity;
- how digital technology affects sleep;
- a new Australian book on chemical and electromagnetic sensitivity by Diana Crumpler;
- the latest news and research and items of interest from around the world.
SOURCE: http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/news/free-emr-and-health-newsletter-new-edition-out-now/
by Katherine | 17 Feb, 2015 | Latest News, Privacy, Uncategorized
The website smartgridawareness.org, which features intelligent commentary on issues relating to “smart” meters and the “smart” grid has revealed a simple strategy that hackers could use to economically paralyse any country that is dependent on so called “smart” meters to measure electricity use at households and businesses.
As you can see at the link below, any person, organisation or country with hostile intent who has programming skills (or the money to hire the services of a programmer) could cause economic and social chaos in a targeted area through the following means:
1) Hack into the computer system controlling smart meters
2) Access the “remote disconnect” feature and switch off power to homes and businesses
As smartgridawareness.org reports:
In 2009, a researcher named Mike Davis developed a worm that was designed to do just this…
“The vendor scoffed at Davis’s simulation, … That’s when Davis delivered his final blow and told the vendor that his malicious software didn’t just turn the power off, it also deleted the firmware update on the meters so they couldn’t be updated again to restore power. …”
The full story is at this link: http://smartgridawareness.org/2015/02/16/smart-meters-not-secured/
The vulnerability of smart meters to cyber attacks is another good reason to keep your analogue (Ferraris) meter or to insist on a non-smart meter if your existing meter has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced. Smart meters are not compulsory in NZ.
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up to the free email list on www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz Thank you.
by Katherine | 14 Feb, 2015 | Latest News, Privacy
What impact could smart meters and the “Internet of Things” have on your privacy? This topic is explored on the link below:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/digital-electronic-internet-of-things-and-smart-grid-technologies-to-fully-eviscerate-privacy/5428595
In the meantime, if you want to retain control of the appliances in your home (rather than cede it to your electricity retailer and/or lines company) you may wish to consider doing the following:
1) Refuse to get a smart meter or getting an existing smart meter removed
2) Making sure that any appliances that you may purchase or already have in your home are not s0-called smart appliances.
Please see the link below for information on how a smart meter may allow your electricity company to take control over your heat pump or air conditioner – and how to choose a model that should not be vulnerable to this type of corporate hijacking:
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/smart-meters-heat-pumps-and-demand-response-functionality/
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up to the free email list on www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz Thank you.
by Katherine | 14 Feb, 2015 | Latest News, Take Back Your Power
The website of the award-winning smart meter documentary Take Back Your Power (www.takebackyourpower.net) has reported on how emails of the former president of the California Public Utilities Commission show that he was aware of adverse health effects from smart meters from as early as 2010 but chose not to do anything to protect public health. He was similarly aware of the problems with high bills after smart meter installations but did nothing to stop the smart meter roll out from going ahead.
You can read excerpts from key emails at this link:
http://www.takebackyourpower.net/news/2015/02/13/utility-commissioners-private-emails-reveal-conspiracy/
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up to the free email list on www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz Thank you.
by Katherine | 14 Feb, 2015 | Government and Electricity Industry Positions, Latest News, Privacy, Smart water meters
“Smart” water meters are currently being trialled in Tairua on the Coromandel and are being considered by the Waikato District Council (see links below for details).
The report at this link http://smartgridawareness.org/2015/02/13/how-smart-water-meters-invade-privacy/
outlines how smart water meters can infringe people’s privacy.
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up to the free email list on www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz Thank you.
Tairua smart water meter trial
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/uncategorized/tairua-smart-water-meter-update/
Waikato District Council plans for smart water meters
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/smart-water-meters-2/waikato-district-council-vote-on-water-meters-and-smart-water-meters/
General smart water meter information in NZ
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/latest-news/smart-water-meters-in-nz-the-situation-so-far/
by Katherine | 12 Feb, 2015 | Events, Latest News, Privacy, Take Back Your Power
Your chance to see the award winning smart meter documentary Take Back Your Power is coming up on February 24 in Auckland. (If you are not in Auckland, the film may be streamed or purchased from www.takebackyourpower.net.)
This highly recommended documentary covers health, privacy and other issues with smart meters.
Details of the screening are here: http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/news/a-chance-to-see-the-award-winning-documentary-take-back-your-power-for-free/
NB: If you are interested in the smart meter issue, please sign up to the free email list on www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz and you will receive updates on the situation in NZ.
by Katherine | 11 Feb, 2015 | Government and Electricity Industry Positions, Latest News, Privacy
This morning’s Dominion Post features an article by Ben Heather about how the Privacy Commissioner has received a number of complaints concerning how smart meters infringe on people’s privacy.
Smart meters pose a risk to privacy (and home security) because they collect data about electricity use in half hourly intervals 24/7 and transmit it back to the electricity company (and/or another party such as a lines company).
When this data is “deaggregated” by computers it is possible for power companies (or any other company or individual that has access to the data) to work out what appliances were in use when and thereby build up a profile of activities in a household or business. It is also easily possible to work out when people are home or not at home.
You can read the full story here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/66079055/smart-meters-power-companies-know-when-youre-home
Other links that you may find interesting if you are interested in privacy issues are here:
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/latest-news/the-latest-on-how-smart-meters-affect-your-privacy/
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/network-tasman-there-are-no-privacy-concerns-with-smart-meters-yeah-right/
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/uncategorized/smart-meters-and-your-privacy/
https://stopsmartmeters.org.nz/government-and-electricity-industry-positions/mike-mitcham-lecture-on-smart-meters-and-the-smart-grid/
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