Recent Smart Meter Media Coverage and a few other stories

Ohio, Alabama, New York, Massachusetts meters, and Sacramento's EFF Surveillance Lawsuit: When Smart Meters Turn Into Spy Tools

“This is 90th meeting that I have been at in 44 months.” - Eric Windheim

Four Recent Smart Meter News Items

SMART METERS OHIO: Smart Meters Coming to Your Neighborhood Have you heard about “smart meters”? The Ohio group SW Ohio for Responsible Technology (SWORT) provides an alert about “smart meters”. These meters eliminate the need for the utility companies to physically read your meter so they can send your a bill for your usage of electric, gas and water. Their profits increase and they maintain the ability to curtail your utility usage based on their standards, or demands by their commercial customers. Update from SWORT: The opt-out fees are not the same throughout Ohio. Some customers are paying more than $30 per month. (more at link)

SMART METERS: NY National Grid continues rollout of 'smart' meters at homes [] Customers who don't want the new meters can opt out — for an added monthly fee 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. is the off-peak period when electric rates are generally lower. This is the time when owners of electric cars and smart meters can save money. Those who want to do their laundry or run their dishwashers during this period can also save money. However, there is a monthly charge of $3.36 to upgrade a home’s smart meter with the software needed to utilize the time-of-rate program, and you have to contact National Grid to set the system up. Perhaps the most helpful thing the new meters can do for the average National Grid customer is give the company the ability to shut off service remotely for customers during emergencies, like fires. That feature was not available in the past. (more at link)

SMART METERS ALABAMA: Utilities Already Control the Meter. Lawmakers in Another State Now Want the Thermostat. Could Alabama Be Next? A proposed Ohio law to allow utilities to remotely adjust resident’s thermostats has implications for Huntsville and Alabama When pressed on the safety of smart meters, Huntsville Utilities (HU) repeatedly points to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and IEEE guidelines—as if that settles it. But here’s the truth: Those guidelines were drafted in 1992 and adopted in 1996. They focus on thermal heating and ignore modern science on non-thermal biological effects, cumulative exposure, and long-term risks. In 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled the FCC’s refusal to update these limits “arbitrary and capricious,” ordering the agency to revisit them (Children’s Health Defense & Environmental Health Trust v. FCC). Nearly 30 years later, the FCC still hasn’t modernized those rules—and local utilities keep hiding behind them. (more at link)

SMART METERS MA: New smart meter couldn’t read Mass. man’s electricity use "Everything was hunky dory until I got my next bill, and that bill came in at zero, and it showed a credit of about $50," he said. He called National Grid, and the explanation he got didn't exactly shed light on the problem. "I said, 'Something's wrong with the meter.' And they said, 'No, nothing's wrong with the meter.' I said, 'Well, I used electricity and you're showing a credit.' And they said, 'Well, you got solar," he said he was told. That news was a shock to Brian. There are no solar panels anywhere on his roof, and his neighborhood doesn't allow them. Still, National Grid agreed to replace his meter again. But his credit only kept climbing month after month. Finally, after speaking to a supervisor, Brian says National Grid promised him they'd call him back to set up a time to install another new meter. But he never got that call. He's worried about a surprise bill suddenly showing up for all his back charges, which could be more than $1,000. [] National Grid is in the process of swapping out all traditional electric meters with smart meters, which can connect to Wi-Fi, allowing customers to see their energy usage in real time. Customers can opt out, but keeping an older-style meter will come with added costs, including a $26 per month fee for a meter read. While changing millions of meters, mistakes are inevitable, but Brian is frustrated he has to work so hard to correct one that's not of his making. After NewsCenter 5 got involved, National Grid finally figured out the problem. The company says there appears to be a reverse wiring issue in Brian's house that wasn't a problem for his old, conventional meter. However, National Grid says reverse wiring can cause smart meters to run backward. (more at link)

“National Grid says reverse wiring can cause smart meters to run backward.”

The debacle faced by the Massachusetts ratepayer with his non-working meter is an example of one issue with the meter deployment - the household wiring isn’t necessary perfect or even to code. Building biologist Eric Windheim of CA has found issues in one out of 4 houses.

Here are three examples, courtesy California’s Eric Windheim of Windheim EMF Solutions and on youtube here.

Electric Code Violation: Sharing Neutral Wires of Three Circuits Creates Hazardous Magnetic Field

Another Code Violation: Bonding Screw left in Sub Panel

And another: Building Inspector missed these Neutral to Ground Connections

Eric was very involved in efforts to address smart meter deployment in Sacramento.

Here is a video of a hearing in Sacramento, from 2016, featuring Mark Graham, Marlene Depinto, Charlie Cartwright, Eric Windheim, Smart Meter Awareness (at 8:32) Susan Mason, Kim Glazard. “This is 90th meeting that I have been at in 44 months.”

Note that the building biology field exploded following deployment of smart meters, when residents were no longer safe in their homes.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District SMUD is now facing a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO Hearing Date: October 10, 2025 Time: 10:00 a.m. Place: Department 21 720 9th Street Sacramento, CA 95814. Judge: Hon. Shelleyanne W.

October 10th Hearing, When Smart Meters Turn Into Spy Tools; Sacramento’s electric utility turned energy data into a blunt-force tool for unchecked home surveillance

California’s robust privacy protections are facing a critical test as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and community advocates press forward with a lawsuit to dismantle what they describe as an illegal and biased surveillance operation run by Sacramento’s public electric utility.

In a legal filing submitted last week, the EFF laid out evidence that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), which serves more than 650,000 customers, has spent over a decade monitoring detailed home electricity data and funneling it to police without a warrant. The organization calls this an unconstitutional “dragnet surveillance” program that unlawfully invades household privacy on a massive scale.

We obtained a copy of the filing for you here.

“This case is about Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s…dragnet surveillance of SMUD customers’ homes using sensitive and confidential energy usage information,” the brief begins. “The decade-long surveillance violates the California Constitution and a state privacy statute.” - https://reclaimthenet.org/when-smart-meters-turn-into-spy-tools

Read more EMF/RF news here: September 16 Safe Tech International News and Notes a big pileup of news

Includes:

HEALTH: THE POWER COUPLE Why tracking our fitness isn't healthy Sundials to Smart watches: Competitive roots of timekeeping Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:

1. How did the Romans tell time?

2. How did watches evolve to what they are now?

3. Why digital fitness devices make us less healthy

4. What a chiropractor has discovered about smart watches 5. How to measure radiation from an Apple watch

HEALTH: PAUL HARDING Wearables: RF While You Sleep! Guaranteed to show that you have a problem.

EVENTS

Hope-filled toxin documentary - viewing begins September 15th, Nick Pineault shares his powerful new documentary: Body Burden: Hope For Deeper Healing.

Action Update: Seeking EMR Syndrome Stories - Deadline extended with new prompts for contributions; at: September 16 Safe Tech International News and Notes