HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-03-10 Rebecca Melendez More Details on Smart GridFrom:Rebecca Melendez
To:LPCtestimony; WPCtestimony; cdp@hawaii.gov; Planning General Plan; Villegas, Rebecca; Kimball, Heather; Kagiwada,Jennifer; Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; Galimba, Michelle M.; Inaba, Holeka; Hustace, James
Subject:More Details on the Smart Grid and Broadband the General Plan Wants to Install
Date:Monday, March 10, 2025 5:08:08 PM
Aloha,
Please OPPOSE the General Plans Smart Grid and Broadband Plan:
Page 149
Objective 30 Advance policies, programs, and initiatives for public and/or private investment in broadbandand telecommunications infrastructure.
30.12 Plan for broadband infrastructure to support smart grid development
Smart Meters Electrical Bills Increase by Double or More:
https://stopsmartmeters.org/frequently-asked-questions/faq-billing-issues/:
"Many people have experienced hikes in their utility bill after a “smart” meter was installed. A recentsurvey published on EMFSafetyNetwork.org documented how many people have received higher bills—over
one third of those surveyed."
https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/zoxj09/thanks_national_grid_just_got_my_900_electric/?
rdt=46201:
"Thanks National grid! just got my $900 electric bill in! Guess we are going to have to learn to live without
electricity cuz this is bullshit! My bill never higher than $300! Definitely can't afford this! How can they do
this?! It's so wrong!"
https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/no-way-this-could-be-right-nyseg-customers-remain-
baffled-by-high-bills
"'No way this could be right': NYSEG customers remain baffled by high bills"
https://smartmeterscience.substack.com/
"Report: Insidious Causes for Outrageous Utility Bills: “Smart” Meter Flaws, Funding, and Folly"
I sent you earlier:
"What is a smart grid?
A smart grid is an advanced and digitally enhanced electricity distribution network that uses technologyand two-way communication to efficiently manage energy supply and demand. While traditional grids relyon one-way electricity flow and limited monitoring, smart grids employ sensors and automation to gatherreal-time data on energy usage and grid conditions."
https://www.prysmian.com/en/insight/sustainability/what-is-a-smart-grid-and-how-does-it-work:
https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Smart-Grid.html:
"Drawbacks or disadvantages of Smart Grid
Following are the drawbacks or disadvantages of Smart Grid:
Continuous communication network should be available.
During emergency situation, network congestion or performance are big challenges in smart grid system.
Cellular network providers do not provide guaranteed service in abnormal situations such as wind storm,
heavy rain and lightening conditions.
Some smart meters can be hacked which can be used to increase or decrease the demand for power.
It is expensive to install smart meter compare to traditional old electricity meter".
https://www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/what-are-smart-sensors:
A smart grid uses sensors that have to be placed on electrical wires. "Smart sensors are devices that take
information from a physical environment and use embedded microprocessors and wireless
communication to monitor, examine, and maintain various systems."
https://blushield.com/blogs/education/the-health-safety-and-privacy-concerns-of-smart-meters:
"Of course, just like 5G, smart meters are advertised to mainly benefit the end user, but the truth is that theuser is ultimately put at risk in several ways, and the biggest benefits are reaped by the power companiesand the government."
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-wi-fi-and-broadband/#
"What is broadband
Broadband data transmission is represented by a large bandwidth. Consider the internet as a channel fordata transfer between two devices. In this case, the passway that the data is traveling over is broadband.Broadband connections come in a variety of forms: ASL, DSL, Cable, Fiber, etc. The goal of all these
technologies is to provide customers with high-speed internet. For example, the greatest technology
available to users is fiber optic lines, which provide high bandwidth and symmetrical speeds."
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/broadband.asp
"What Is Broadband?
Broadband refers to various high-capacity transmission technologies that transmit data, voice, and video
across long distances and at high speeds. Common mediums of transmission include coaxial cables, fiber
optic cables, and radio waves."
https://www.howtogeek.com/865706/what-is-wi-fi/
"The widespread adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) and smart home technology has internet service
providers (ISPs) and integrators on the hunt for the most effective methods of broadband delivery for manyscenarios.
The cable will be closer to the surface and more vulnerable to damage. In this case, a more expensive cablethat can withstand contact will be required. Cables buried in clay will also need to be of higher qualitybecause the clay can hold stones and push them against the cable. In clay, the trench will also need to bemuch deeper.
In developed areas, the existing infrastructure can be problematic. Digging through concrete sidewalks and
roads is costly and disruptive."
From what I have read, Hawai'i Planning's 2045 General Plan doesn't explain broadband or a smart grid, andit doesn't include information on any health risk research.
Links explaining smart grids, smart meters, and broadband health risks because they emit RFR (RadioFrequency Radiation) waves. It's not WiFi, it's a whole other kind of network.
https://ehtrust.org/educate-yourself/health-risks-posed-by-smartmeters/:
“There is no doubt that smart and digital meters create pulsed RF emissions and these emissions, from the
smart meters’ antennas and the RF created by the SMPS, both enter the house’s electric system. The result
is that the entire house is transformed into a radiating RF antenna.”
https://stopsmartmeters.org/frequently-asked-questions/radio-frequency-radiation-issues/:
"Q: My utility says “smart” meters emit less than my cell phone or WiFi. Is this true?
In some cases this is true, and in some cases not true. The figures for RF exposure given by utilities are
time-averaged numbers which hide the peak power of the “smart” meter, and disguise the fairly continuous
nature of the pulses. “Smart” meters are unlike cell phones or WiFi in their bizarre pattern of sharp spikes
of RF.
Both of those consumer devices (cell phones and WiFi) can be strong RF emitters. But people are becoming
increasingly aware of the potential harm done by chronic exposure to RF radiation-emitting devices and aretaking steps to change how they use them. Growing public awareness of RF exposure has led people tochoose a wired internet connection or use a wired phone at home. But most people are not offered a wired“smart” meter. And you can’t turn it off once it’s installed."
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/environmental-toxins/smart-meters-not-so-smart/#gsc.tab=0:
"Electric “smart” meters were installed in Cindy deBac’s Scottsdale, Arizona, neighborhood in 2012. Sherecalls the day a new meter was mounted on her home as a sort of digital Pearl Harbor attack. “I’ve neverbeen so sick in my life,” she says. “Nausea, a crushing migraine headache, and painful heart palpitations
laid me low right away.”
https://smartmeterscience.substack.com/p/expert-letter-on-risks-of-smart-meters:
· “The Federal Communication Commission’s safety standards do not apply to low intensity RFR.
· There is no safe level of exposure established for RFR.
· People around the world are suffering from low intensity RFR exposure, being at increased risk of
developing both cancer and EHS.”
https://www.emfanalysis.com/smart-meter-health-effects/:
"In nearly every community where wireless smart meters have been installed, a percentage of residents
complain of health effects that started after installation. The residents often did not know that smart meters
had been installed. The most common symptoms are:"
https://www.safespaceprotection.com/news-and-info/health-warnings-on-smart-meters/:
"Groups such as, The AmericanAcademy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), an international organizationrepresenting physicians who specialize in Environmental Medicine issued the following recommendationslisted below in their 2012 position paper, “Electromagnetic and Radiofrequency Field Effect on HumanHealth.
The AAEM calls for:
• Immediate caution on smart meter installation due to potentially harmful RF exposure• Accommodation for health considerations regarding EMF and RF exposure, including exposure to
wireless smart meter technology
• Independent studies to further understand the health effects from EMF and RF exposure
• Use of safer technology, including for smart meters, such as hard-wiring, fiber optics, or other non-
harmful methods of data transmission
• Recognition that electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a growing problem worldwide
• Understanding and control of this electrical environmental bombardment for the protection of society
• Consideration and independent research regarding the quantum effects of EMF and RF on human health"
https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/many-are-claiming-health-problems-caused-smart-meters:
"The concepts sound good to many people, but serious flaws are becoming apparent as utilities rapidlyinstall smart meters across the country, according to a rising chorus of critics. They are concerned aboutprivacy (since they say utilities can interpolate many behavioral aspects of building occupants via thedetailed reporting of utility use), security (since any utility's system could be hacked), and accuracy (withreports of very inaccurate readings from a small percentage of meters). Each of these issues warrantsinvestigation and coverage.
Another major issue is possible human health impacts from smart meters. That is the focus of theremainder of this Tip.
SMART METER HEALTH IMPACTS?"
Please vote UNFAVORABLE to their Smart Grid and Broadband and HELP Protect Big Island.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Rebecca Melendez