Oklahoma Smart Meter Info Swap on Facebook INFORMATION and RESOURCES Kaye Beach www.AxXiomForLiberty.

com This is a new Facebook group for Oklahoman residents who want to share information about the Smart Grid or the new Smart Meters being installed in this state. On Oct 27, 2009 President Obama announced that the Department of Energy awarded $3.4 billion in stimulus money to 100 smart-grid projects. Each project had come up with its own matching funds which put the investment at over $6 billion. The Dept. of Energy estimated that the awards will result 18 million homes getting the smart meters which will allow for the conversion to the Smart Grid. Smart electric meters are electronic devices that track and record a customer's use of electricity. Smart meters are also being installed for monitoring of water and natural gas usage.

Smart Meters
A smart meter is usually an electrical meter that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes.[7] Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Unlike home energy monitors, smart meters can gather data for remote reporting. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from traditional automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communications with the meter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter

According to the Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE) Smart meters provide two-way digital communications between the utility and the customer, thereby enabling: ustomer energy management and demand response via both information and rate programs; c utility operational advantages such as outage detection and management, remote meter reading, and remote customer (dis)connections; smart charging of plug-in electric vehicles; and integration of distributed generation resources. The IEE identifies three major benefits to smart grid modernization; Operational benefits allow the utility to deliver more reliable service, rapid remote (dis)connection, and better outage detection and recovery to its entire customer base at a lower overall cost.
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Customer benefits arise from engagement in energy management driven by information and/or price signals, which leads to electricity usage reduction or load shifting and the opportunity to lower bills or mitigate cost increases. Societal benefits arise from demand response and direct load control, enabling reduction of peak purchases, thereby applying downward pressure on energy prices in spot markets, offsetting the need for new generation and transmission and distribution (T&D) capacity, and potentially lowering carbon emissions through integration of cleaner distributed generation and household usage reductions. http://www.edisonfoundation.net/iee/reports/IEE_BenefitsofSmartMeters_Final.pdf

Smart Grid
What is Smart Grid? Smart Grid is the digital and Wi-fi enabled power meters that enable communication between the appliances in your home or business, with the power provider. This provides you and your utility company with visibility of your energy usage and control over your appliances as well as your usage of gas and water. In a letter dated Feb 8, 2011, CT Attorney General George Jepson states; "Connecticut Light & Power Co.s plan to replace existing electric meters with advanced technology would be very expensive and would not save enough electricity for its 1.2 million customers to justify the expense" http://www.ct.gov/ag/lib/ag/press_releases/2011/020811clpmeters.pdf I have seen this opinion over and over from a variety of groups and individuals. They are right. The current at the plans for smart meters all over the nation will not save enough money or energy to be worth it however, we should expect rates to increase by the way of critical peak pricing sometime in the future.

From the Wall Street Journal Feb 22, 2010; What Utilities Have Learned From Smart-Meter Tests...And why they aren't putting those lessons to use Preventing Rebellions You could have a real rebellion" if smart meters push up customers' rates, especially if utilities' other capital expenses are increasing . . .utility executives and regulators have been reluctant to implement rate plans that penalize people for too much energy use, fearing that if customers associate smart meters with higher bills, they will stall the technology's advance just as it is gaining traction.
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So, many utilities are trying an approach that is less controversial, but also less effective. . . Steven Sunderhauf, a program manager for Pepco. "From a purist's standpoint, I may prefer critical peak pricing because it gets the boldest responsebut using rebates will help people get comfortable with smart meters." What this means is that all indications are that peak pricing will be implemented at some point after we get used to the meters. Customers will have to pay much higher prices for using the same energy during certain hours. This would hit businesses, the poor and elderly the hardest.

OKLAHOMA Smart Meters Since February of 2010 OG&E has already installed 350,000 smart meters. They plan on installing smart meters for nearly 800,000 customers by the end of 2012. Oklahoma communities where smart meters are being installed (this is not an exhaustive list); Ada Duncan Durant Moore Midwest City Norman Oklahoma City Owasso Broken Arrow

OG&E plans to have all the Smart Meters installed across its entire coverage area by the end of 2012.

Contact OG&E
Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. 2040N.W. 20th Okc, Ok 73107 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73107 U.S.A. Phone: 405-312-3513

Concerns
Some common concerns raised by Smart Meters and the Smart Grid;

Property Rights, privacy rights

Do we have the right to refuse? The Public Service Company who is installing the meters in Owasso says no. OG&E says NO Opt Out Can I refuse to have a Smart meter? No. Once your utility has approval to install Smart meters, all analog meters will be required to be replaced. Failure to replace all of the meters could eliminate any cost savings and reliability benefits from the Smart meter network. For example, one analog meter in a neighborhood would still require a meter reader to go and physically read the meter. Link Can a customer opt out of the program if the new meter is not wanted? No, in order to reap the full benefits of AMI from an operational and cost standpoint, AMI needs to be fully deployed throughout the project area. In turn, our operational structure is changing to support the new technology and work practices. https://www.psoklahoma.com/save/SmartMeters/FAQs-and-Answers.aspx#11

Oklahoma OG&E
Pressing Issues About OG&Es Smart Meter Rollout
http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/pressing-issues-about-oges-smart-meter-rollout/

Concerns About OG&E Smart Meters: Privacy, Security, Reliability

http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/concerns-about-oge-smart-meters-privacy-securityreliability/

RESISTANCE
People across the country are taking action to stop unwanted installation of smart meters on their homes and businesses. Some have gotten a moratorium declared by their city. Residents usually developed a petition, gathered signatures and lobbied their city council to get the issue considered. If you are opposed to having a smart meter installed you should contact your utility provider and notify them that you are requesting that it not be installed. Follow up with a certified letter. Some customers have applied DO NOT INSTALL stickers or signs on their analog meters and/or have taken steps to secure them by locking them up.
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Here are some tools you may find useful OG&E Smart Meter No Consent Letter - Send Certified Mail http://www.scribd.com/doc/100166276/Smart-Meter-OG-E-Certified-Letter Smart Meter Handout for friends and neighbors http://www.scribd.com/doc/100166265/Smart-MeterInfo-Handout Warning-No Entry Smart Meter Legal Notice (Laminate and post on your property) http://www.scribd.com/doc/100166262/Warning-No-Entry-Og-e-Smart-Meter-Legal-Notice Smart Meter labels (Print and use with Avery labels #5452) http://www.scribd.com/doc/100166261/DoNot-Install-smart-meter-Labels Sample Refusal Letter http://www.scribd.com/doc/62782083/Smart-Meter-Refusal-Letter Sample Petition (AZ) http://www.change.org/petitions/a-call-for-the-immediate-opt-out-and-ban-on-smartmeters-in-sedona In some states, utility companies have been persuaded to allow customers to opt out. PG&E Submits Smart Meter Opt-Out, But Wants to Charge for It http://larkspurcortemadera.patch.com/articles/pge-submits-smart-meter-opt-out-but-wants-to-charge-for-it-2 Maine Utilities Must Offer Consumer a Smart Meter Opt Out The Maine Public Utilities Commission is requiring Central Maine Power (CMP) to offer an opt-out program for customers who do not want a standard smart meter installed. Power consumers in CMPs service territory will have two opt-out options: they can get a smart meter and have its transmitter turned off or they can retain the existing analog meter http://www.smartmeters.com/the-news/2232-maine-utilities-must-offer-consumer-a-smart-meter-optout.html In cases where the meter is already installed some unhappy customers have purchased an analog meter at an electricity supply shop and hired an electrician to swap it out.

How to stop smart meters http://www.scribd.com/doc/46785093/How-to-stop-Smart-Meters THREATS TO PRIVACY According to Cheryl Dancey Balough, Balough Law Offices, Chicago; Three factors fuel the concern of those advocating for additional, specific measures that will protect privacy compromised by the installation of smart meters.
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 First, the wealth of information that smart meters and affiliated appliances and devices make available can threaten both consumers privacy within their homes and their ability to control the distribution of their personal information outside the home. Second, as necessary consumers of electricity, people do not have other options. Third, despite the multiple information privacy laws passed in the past few decades, none of them adequately address the new challenges to privacy posed by smart meters. Legal scholars have proposed various concepts of privacy over the past 120 years or so, and the countrys founding fathers certainly contemplated privacy rights when drafting the Bill of Rights. A discussion of those concepts and their origins is beyond the scope of this article. It is important to note, however, that the threats to privacy connected to smart meters lie primarily within the concepts of a right to be left alone within ones home and the right to control personal information. The first right is embedded in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their person, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. The second rightto exercise control over the disclosure of personal information has been discussed by a number of legal scholars.22 The U.S. Supreme Court also recognized this right in 1977 in Whalen v. Roe. Source: Privacy Implications of Smart Meters By Cheryl Dancey Balough, Balough Law Offices, Chicago, Illinois, 2011 http://www.balough.com/uploadedFiles/Privacy%20Implications%20of%20Smart %20Meters%20-%20Cheryl%20Dancey%20Balough.pdf

Oklahoma HB 1079, The Electric Usage Data Protection Act was passed into law and signed by the governor on May 24, 2011. There is little to no protection afforded to the customer of their personal data collected by the smart meters. HB 1079 authorizes OG&E and other utility providers in the state the right to share your meter usage data, without your consent, to various third parties for purposes of development, enhancement, marketing, provision of energy-related products and services or promotion of public policy objectives. The Oklahoma Electric Usage Data Protection Act went into effect on Nov 1, 2011. Read the bill http://www.scribd.com/doc/62786738/Oklahoma-HB1079-The-Electric-Usage-Data-Protection-Act

EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center on Smart Meter privacy issues; Privacy implications for smart grid technology deployment centers on the collection, retention, sharing, or reuse of electricity consumption information on individuals, homes, or offices. Fundamentally, smart grid systems will be multi-directional communications and energy transfer networks that enable electricity
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service providers, consumers, or third party energy management assistance programs to access consumption data. Further, if plans for national or transnational electric utility smart grid systems proceed as currently proposed these far reaching networks will enable data collection and sharing across platforms and great distances. A list of potential privacy consequences of Smart Grid systems include: Identity Theft Determine Personal Behavior Patterns Determine Specific Appliances Used Perform Real-Time Surveillance Reveal Activities Through Residual Data Targeted Home Invasions (latch key children, elderly, etc.) Provide Accidental Invasions Activity Censorship Decisions and Actions Based Upon Inaccurate Data Profiling Unwanted Publicity and Embarrassment Tracking Behavior Of Renters/Leasers Behavior Tracking (possible combination with Personal Behavior Patterns) Public Aggregated Searches Revealing Individual Behavior

Read more from EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center http://epic.org/privacy/smartgrid/smartgrid.html

My research on the privacy and policy implications of smart meters; http://www.scribd.com/doc/60173520/Smart-Meter-Privacy-Policy

Accuracy
March 9 2011 USA Today reports; In both California and Texas, higher bills led to independent audits of smart meters. A lawsuit by a Bakersfield, Calif., resident Peter Flores, who said his monthly bills went from $200 to $500, halted installation of meters there. A hot summer in California and a cold winter in Texas seem to be partly at fault for the anger, the audits concluded. But misperforming meters have led to utilities handing out refunds, says Mark Toney of The Utility Reform Network (TURN) consumer group in San Francisco. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-09-smartmeter09_ST_N.htm Texas- This Texan really combed the reports purporting to demonstrate Texas smart meter accuracy. He wasnt impressed. At his website he carefully documents smart meter inaccuracies. Website-Defranchise Oncor http://www.defranchiseoncor.org

Health
There are many advocacy groups formed that center on the health implications of the smart meters/smart grid. Here are just a few; Smart Meter Safety http://smartmetersafety.com/ The EMF Safety Network http://emfsafetynetwork.org Citizens for Safe Technology http://citizensforsafetechnology.com/ How Smart Grid Will Affect Your Life http://www.channelingreality.com/Power/Smart_Grid_for_the_Layman_Nixon.pdf

Safety Hazards
There are many reports of electrical fire hazards associated with smart meter installation and at least a couple of class action lawsuits have been filed by consumers. -Smart Meter Fires and Explosions http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?page_id=1280 Security -Smart meters have security holes Flaws could allow hackers to tamper with power grid, reseachers say http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36055667/ns/technology_and_science-security/#.TlGN8qggQSY Computer-security researchers say new "smart" meters that are designed to help deliver electricity more efficiently also have flaws that could let hackers tamper with the power grid in previously impossible ways. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36055667/ns/technology_and_science-security/#.TwfpXvLh-Sp

A good overview of the common concerns associated with Smart Meters/Smart Grid; The problems with Smart Grids http://energybulletin.net/stories/2011-03-23/problems-smart-grids
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If you are interested in learning more or sharing the knowledge you have about the Smart Grid or Smart Metersplease join us! Oklahoma Smart Meter Info Swap on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/groups/258342357528590/