OG&E smart meter

[lake hefner breeze]

The OG&E Smart Meter is currently being installed throughout OKC after initial testing in Norman. It has come to my attention that there are many issues about these meters that are causing deep concern in other states. This includes health problems, fire hazards, privacy rights, price increases, inadequate security and more. Personally, I am concerned about the microwave radiation that they broadcast and the negative impact it can have on my family, friends, and pets. I have researched this and believe it can be detrimental.

Most people will be more interested in the price increases you are going to experience through "peak hour usage" as you are "monitored" by the smartgrid. But since it's all under the guise of a green initiative you won't mind paying more, right? Not that it matters what you think because as it stands now OG&E says this is mandatory with no "opt out" available. After all, this is a nationwide multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded program, so you're getting it whether you like it or not. I don't. And surely neither do all the soon to be laid off meter readers, but who cares about them, right, there's plenty of work out there.

I do realize we are all bathed in wireless RF constantly from wi-fi, cell towers, radio, tv, etc. However, I choose to limit my exposure by not having wi-fi, using a landline phone not cordless, only using a cell phone occasionally, and not having any other wireless devices apart from a tv remote. I don't say this to sound superior, it's just what works for me. That said, I am not a Luddite, I really do enjoy new technology, when it's proven safe and truly beneficial.

Go ahead and break out the tinfoil hat jokes...if you must.

Here is a link to the one page OG&E has devoted to the meters:
http://www.oge.com/residential-custo...rt%20Grid.aspx

Once you read that here's some stuff that you to might find valuable:

http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/

MIT graduate explains the dark side of smart meters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLeCTaSG2-U

Skyrocketing Utility Bills after smart meter installation (3 minutes, 19 seconds)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/6...html?tab=video

Insurance Companies Won't Insure Wireless Device Health Risks (3 minutes, 13 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382

Microwave radiation dangers in our home (6 minutes, 20 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAnrmJ3un1g

Truth about Smart Meters - Dr. Karl Maret, MD, Biomedical Engineer
(Dr. Maret's presentation begins at 23:40 on the video telecast).
http://www.communitytv.org/programs/...t-smart-meters

Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE

Wounded by Wireless Smart Meters (14 minutes, 19 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=8403.

Top Wireless Radiation scientists in the world reporting at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Nov 18, 2010: cell damage, DNA breaks, blood/brain barrier breaches.
http://electromagnetichealth.org/ele...blog/cc-video/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle

[OkieDave]

There are dozens of different kinds of smart meters. What kind of smart meters are really having real problems? Is OGE using those? I appreciate seeing daily use to help reduce my costs I am already saving money since mine was installed. If you have one of the new ones you can go to www.myogepower.com put in your account number and email and start seeing you daily use. Kinda cool.

[lake hefner breeze]

There are dozens of different kinds of smart meters. What kind of smart meters are really having real problems? Is OGE using those? I appreciate seeing daily use to help reduce my costs I am already saving money since mine was installed. If you have one of the new ones you can go to www.myogepower.com put in your account number and email and start seeing you daily use. Kinda cool.

Just to be clear, in my original post I was referring specifically to smart meters for electricity not gas. As far as I know OG&E is using the same meters as the energy companies in California and Texas, where most of the information about problems is coming from.

Dozens of different kinds? Really? Could you please post pictures or more info about these other meters?

You seem enthusiastic about your savings, but I'm not so sure the process is realistic for everyone. The only way to actually reduce your bill with the smart meter is to change the times in which you use electricity the most, i.e. away from peak usage hours. So you better hope you don't have to do something drastic like turn on the heat during these times because you will be forced to pay a premium rate. Maybe just put on a sweater instead! I guess it really is a smart meter, training a human that way.

For the reasons I stated before, I will refuse to allow this meter to be placed on my home.

Texans shocked by high electric bills due to "smart meters".
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/commu...bills-3609.ece

[venture]

The only thing that I've noticed during the test in Norman, was last summer when they declared "critical usage" days on weird days. It would be like a Sunday with temps in the low 70s. However, declaring critical usage (or whatever the exact term was) allows them to bill you 4 times the regular rate for that time period. Definitely was one of those WTF moments when I saw those alerts. All in all though, it did show me save some money over what I normally would have paid...but for all we know, the numbers could be skewed to show an advantage regardless of the situation.

[rcjunkie]

Just to be clear, in my original post I was referring specifically to smart meters for electricity not gas. As far as I know OG&E is using the same meters as the energy companies in California and Texas, where most of the information about problems is coming from.

Dozens of different kinds? Really? Could you please post pictures or more info about these other meters?

You seem enthusiastic about your savings, but I'm not so sure the process is realistic for everyone. The only way to actually reduce your bill with the smart meter is to change the times in which you use electricity the most, i.e. away from peak usage hours. So you better hope you don't have to do something drastic like turn on the heat during these times because you will be forced to pay a premium rate. Maybe just put on a sweater instead! I guess it really is a smart meter, training a human that way.

For the reasons I stated before, I will refuse to allow this meter to be placed on my home.Texans shocked by high electric bills due to "smart meters".
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/commu...bills-3609.ece

Do you really think you can stop them, eventually every house serviced by OG&E will have the new smart meter. If you don't want one, I suggest you start looking at wind power, solar, gasoline generator or move.

[BBatesokc]

I'm on flat rate billing, so, I'll probably never notice.

[drum4no1]

Im on flat rate billing and on my last renew mybill went down 2 dollars with the new meters

[Double Edge]

I believe OG&E is using Silver Spring's meters.

http://www.silverspringnet.com/

Other issues not withstanding, it will be good if OG&E gives customers the kind of access to their usage these systems are capable of showing. I don't have a smart meter yet unless they snuck one in on me. I do have The Energy Detective 5000 installed on my service. http://www.theenergydetective.com/home

[brownb01]

The OG&E Smart Meter is currently being installed throughout OKC after initial testing in Norman. It has come to my attention that there are many issues about these meters that are causing deep concern in other states. This includes health problems, fire hazards, privacy rights, price increases, inadequate security and more. Personally, I am concerned about the microwave radiation that they broadcast and the negative impact it can have on my family, friends, and pets. I have researched this and believe it can be detrimental.

Most people will be more interested in the price increases you are going to experience through "peak hour usage" as you are "monitored" by the smartgrid. But since it's all under the guise of a green initiative you won't mind paying more, right? Not that it matters what you think because as it stands now OG&E says this is mandatory with no "opt out" available. After all, this is a nationwide multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded program, so you're getting it whether you like it or not. I don't. And surely neither do all the soon to be laid off meter readers, but who cares about them, right, there's plenty of work out there.

I do realize we are all bathed in wireless RF constantly from wi-fi, cell towers, radio, tv, etc. However, I choose to limit my exposure by not having wi-fi, using a landline phone not cordless, only using a cell phone occasionally, and not having any other wireless devices apart from a tv remote. I don't say this to sound superior, it's just what works for me. That said, I am not a Luddite, I really do enjoy new technology, when it's proven safe and truly beneficial.

Go ahead and break out the tinfoil hat jokes...if you must.

Here is a link to the one page OG&E has devoted to the meters:
http://www.oge.com/residential-custo...rt%20Grid.aspx

Once you read that here's some stuff that you to might find valuable:

http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/

MIT graduate explains the dark side of smart meters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLeCTaSG2-U

Skyrocketing Utility Bills after smart meter installation (3 minutes, 19 seconds)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/6...html?tab=video

Insurance Companies Won't Insure Wireless Device Health Risks (3 minutes, 13 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382

Microwave radiation dangers in our home (6 minutes, 20 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAnrmJ3un1g

Truth about Smart Meters - Dr. Karl Maret, MD, Biomedical Engineer
(Dr. Maret's presentation begins at 23:40 on the video telecast).
http://www.communitytv.org/programs/...t-smart-meters

Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE

Wounded by Wireless Smart Meters (14 minutes, 19 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=8403.

Top Wireless Radiation scientists in the world reporting at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Nov 18, 2010: cell damage, DNA breaks, blood/brain barrier breaches.
http://electromagnetichealth.org/ele...blog/cc-video/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle

Dont care. I still be happy to have one.

[Thunder]

I suggest installing metal/iron bars on the house around the meter with several toughest locks on it. That way OGE can never get around to replacing it. Stand up and protest against them. In no way shall they force this on us. New buildings, fine, but older meters already in place, no. Customers should have the option to select for new replacement.

[brownb01]

I suggest installing metal/iron bars on the house around the meter with several toughest locks on it. That way OGE can never get around to replacing it. Stand up and protest against them. In no way shall they force this on us. New buildings, fine, but older meters already in place, no. Customers should have the option to select for new replacement.

You have to be kidding me? They own the meter! They can do whatever they want.

You have an option too...if you don't like, don't get electricty!

[lake hefner breeze]

Do you really think you can stop them, eventually every house serviced by OG&E will have the new smart meter. If you don't want one, I suggest you start looking at wind power, solar, gasoline generator or move.

I'm going to try. That you are incredulous to even the possibility is simply disturbing.
I understand why people feel this way, but we should ask ourselves why we ascribe such invincibility to corporations like OGE.

Dont care. I still be happy to have one.

Apathy is not a good argument. I bet you didn't have a problem with asbestos either.

I suggest installing metal/iron bars on the house around the meter with several toughest locks on it. That way OGE can never get around to replacing it. Stand up and protest against them. In no way shall they force this on us. New buildings, fine, but older meters already in place, no. Customers should have the option to select for new replacement.

People all over the country are locking down their meters and securing their backyards. OGE has contracted a company called Corix to do the installs. They drive small white trucks and are not licensed electricians.

I guess you are probably kidding? If not, you should know that you don't own that meter. You have no right to it nor should you. That would be like brining your own gas pump to the gas station. Cities do it all the time. Replace out old meters with new ones. Right now there is a lot of energy (pun intended) behind wireless meters and "smart" meters. It is just a matter of time before they are all replaced.

No, sidburgess, Thunder is not kidding. Despite what you say we do have a right to not have unsafe products forced upon our homes and families.

These "smart" meters aren't even UL listed !

Reference to UL listing here:http://stopsmartmeters.org/?p=564

You have to be kidding me? They own the meter! They can do whatever they want.
You have an option too...if you don't like, don't get electricty!

Can they? So we should all just lie down prostrate before our power providing Overlords? No thanks. To me that's Un-American. And I will continue using electricity, as long as it is delivered in a safe and responsible manner.

OGE desperately wants to keep the rollout of these smart meters as quiet as possible in light of the worldwide outrage and problems associated with them. They know that once this is put in place it will be very hard to go back. Even if you experience higher bills or health problems from it. They don't care. Because they've already cashed the check and spent billions of dollars of your tax money on this dangerous and flawed technology, so in their eyes this is going to happen, regardless of good sense.

In the Netherlands they were forced to offer freedom of choice:http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/a..._be_compulsory

OGE should respect their customers wishes to opt out.

[jn1780]

Their not using "meter guys" anymore in neighborhoods with smart meters so they will just make sure and overestimate how much electricity you use. There is really no way you can win unless you can remove yourself from the grid.

[Double Edge]

I'm going to try. That you are incredulous to even the possibility is simply disturbing.
I understand why people feel this way, but we should ask ourselves why we ascribe such invincibility to corporations like OGE. Apathy is not a good argument. I bet you didn't have a problem with asbestos either.

People all over the country are locking down their meters and securing their backyards. OGE has contracted a company called Corix to do the installs. They drive small white trucks and are not licensed electricians.

The Electrical Licensing Act does not apply to utilities. There is no reason for any utility to have people licensed under laws that do not apply. I'd bet most of the employees of all the utilities and their subcontractors in the state are not licensed electricians.

No, sidburgess, Thunder is not kidding. Despite what you say we do have a right to not have unsafe products forced upon our homes and families.

These "smart" meters aren't even UL listed !

Reference to UL listing here:http://stopsmartmeters.org/?p=564

Can they? So we should all just lie down prostrate before our power providing Overlords? No thanks. To me that's Un-American. And I will continue using electricity, as long as it is delivered in a safe and responsible manner.

OGE desperately wants to keep the rollout of these smart meters as quiet as possible in light of the worldwide outrage and problems associated with them.

They have press releases about the program on their own website and have their partnerships outlined on the internet on SilverSprings website. Also have answered to news reporters and had this heard at the Corporation Commission.

They know that once this is put in place it will be very hard to go back. Even if you experience higher bills or health problems from it. They don't care. Because they've already cashed the check and spent billions of dollars of your tax money on this dangerous and flawed technology, so in their eyes this is going to happen, regardless of good sense.

In the Netherlands they were forced to offer freedom of choice:http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/a..._be_compulsory

OGE should respect their customers wishes to opt out.

You know the Corporation Commission has approved every step of this program? Been to any hearings on it? Have you voiced your opinion to them? You are coming to the party pretty late if not.

[Double Edge]

You made me look. I don't have a smart meter yet.

Best I can tell the old GE I-70-S that's been in there for a few decades isn't UL listed either. There's no label on the front and it's not noted on any of the literature I can find online.

However, both of them, my current meter (punny!) and the smart meter on Silver Springs site, say they meet ANSI standards for electrical meters. Again, the utilities frequently are governed by and operate with a different set of rules and this area may be one of them.

[windowphobe]

I have one. So far as I can tell, the effect has been exactly this: once a week, OG&E sends me a Web link to the current meter data. Doesn't affect anything else in the house, including the cordless phones, the Wi-Fi, or any of the other Major Risk Factors that will guarantee I will die.

What? I'm going to die anyway? Well, the heck with that, then.

[Kerry]

I am not a fan of the smart meters either, but not because I am afraid of microwave radiation. I just don't like the electric company having that much info about me and then billing me extra for certain hourse of the day. They sure don't give me a discount for low demand hours. To me it is no different then having to tell the guy at the gas station what time of day I drive and then having him adjust the price accordingly.

As for getting off the grid - Toshiba has a system that will allow an entire subdivision to do just that. It is called the 4s but we will see if it ever makes it to the US marketplace. Perhaps it could be used to power the OKC Streetcar.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1594671/b...toshiba-tie-up

Toshiba has been working on its own mini nuclear reactors with a 30-year shelf life, making it the perfect partner for the software magnate-turned-philanthropist. Its 4S model (Super-Safe, Small and Simple) is expected to get U.S. approval this year, and Toshiba is hoping to start production by 2014.

[Double Edge]

Demand billing isn't going to happen for residential customers without approval from the Corporation Commission. Maybe that will happen and maybe it won't. AFAIK, they haven't asked for it.

I'm all for making people more informed of their use and for the ones who drive the costs of increasing production paying for it, including those who just want to be blindly ignorant and consume at will.

[Roadhawg]

So far I like my smart meter but it seems some folks in Atlanta don't think much about their water smart meeters.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...ls.cnn?hpt=Mid

[blangtang]

I looked at myoge.com and it says my rate is something like 10 cents/kwh, but it never changes, everytime i look!! I thought the whole point of having the "smart" meter was to inform the end user of times of low cost electricity and for end users to change behavior accordingly. I musta been wrong!

[ljbab728]

I looked at myoge.com and it says my rate is something like 10 cents/kwh, but it never changes, everytime i look!! I thought the whole point of having the "smart" meter was to inform the end user of times of low cost electricity and for end users to change behavior accordingly. I musta been wrong!

Maybe I'm not understanding. Are you saying that the rate changes depending on when you use electricity? I've never heard that before.

[blangtang]

the rate changes depending on when you use electricity?

That was my impression of a "smart meter". I mustave been wrong!

[ljbab728]

I haven't followed this closely but my understanding is that it just gives us better and more accurated information about our personal energy consumption which enables us to make better choices about how we use it. I have just recently started receiving a weekly email from OG&E telling me what my costs were for that week and how I compare to norms and ideals. It really seems useful.

[ChevyMan]

My main concern is the lack of privacy that is associated with the smart meter. The meter has the ability to record and report my electrical usage every 15 minutes. This means OGE can tell when I'm in town and when I'm out of town. The can also tell when I wake up and turn on the oven, TV and coffee pot in the morning. When I turn off the lights and go to bed OGE will know. It only bothers me only a little that OGE will know all of this. My concern is who they will share the information with down the road. Will hackers be able to tell what days I work out of town? Will lawyers be able to subpoena my OGE records to see when I'm in my house?

All of the privacy concerns that we have about internet will now apply to all of the information that the OGE gathers about our electrical usage. Think of it as "electricity cookies" that are just like internet cookies.

I do like to see what my daily kilowatt usage is, but overall I'm not a fan of the smartmeter.

[BBatesokc]

I find it insane that adults even need a smart meter to tell them not to run the air conditioner all day, turn off unused lights, if its plugged in its drawing electricity, etc.