I'm not here to attack EPB. I've been more than satisfied with their services over the years. However, I'd like to address one area of the Smart Meters' argument some citizens may not be aware of. As it is with all things with good intentions, there's usually always the underlying potential for abuse attached.
Recently, in a crime round-up my address was wrongly or mistakenly listed alongside an arrested. Less than a week later a contractor for EPB came out to my home, without my knowledge or consent, and replaced my old meter with a Smart Meter. I called EPB and the woman, a very nice woman, stated I should have received a letter from EPB prior to the contractor coming out to install the meter. I never received any such letter.
Curiosity led me to do a little research on other ways Smart Meters are being used. Not surprisingly, as I think an arrest for marijuana growing in North Chattanooga a year or so ago was due in great part to a Smart Meter attached to the house and recording power consumption throughout the day. I did some research on the Internet and what did I find? Yes, Smart Meters are being used as a crime fighting tool raids and arrests have been carried out based, perhaps not solely, on these meters, and how they record energy consumption.
Now, just how all that is done, I'm not sure. But there is the potential for abuse. Example: I now primarily heat my home and cook by a combination of natural gas, kerosene and minor electricity. But what if say, I decide to go all electric with my heating and cooking? That alone might show a dramatic increase in electric energy consumption. Is it possible that alone could be misread by some lame brained incompetent during an election year looking to get elected on a platform of taking a bite out of crime? Could my home be raided in the middle of the night, middle of the day, by a bunch of airheads looking to put on a show? Sure? Such instances are being carried out all over America today. We don't get much of the news here in America, but such American news is widely read in Europe and other countries.
I'm reminded of one of many warnings from the elders: "All roads leading to hell started out with good intentions, or at least under the pretense of having good intentions."
I'm still not sure how I feel about the Smart Meter saga. I'm aware that some people are overly dramatizing the subject, but then again are they really that far off base?
Brenda Manghane-Washington
P.S. I promise you the only things I have presently growing in my house are are dust and a few easy to grow summer plants I bring in from my front porch before the first frost. I'm not all that good at growing things. I'll be honest, I once drowned a cactus. The poor thing kept looking thirsty. I kept giving it water until one day I went to check on it and it had turned to a mushy blob. Other than a few tomatoes, corn, turnip greens and peppers (and they usually take care of themselves)....that's the extent of my farming abilities. I kid you not.
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No it could not. You will not have your house raided for simply using a lot of power. They would need probable cause and a warrant to get those records, and if they already have that, like you said it's just another tool to build a case in which there is plenty of other evidence.
Bill Loman
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Brenda, why do I keep picturing you sitting inside your house all day with aluminum foil wrapped around your head?
Michael Burns