Author Topic: Homeowner Pulls Gun To Stop New Electric Meter From Being Installed  (Read 2767 times)

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famousdayandyear

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http://consumerist.com/2012/07/homeowner-pulls-gun-to-stop-new-electric-meter-from-being-installed.html

The Unwelcome Mat
By Chris Morran on July 19, 2012 2:15 PM
Short URL: http://con.st/10100822
nosmartmetersplease   

A woman in Texas says she tried to be polite when she told the man from the power company that she didn't want to have her old electric meter replaced with a new "smart" meter. But when he refused to listen to her, she grabbed her gun.

The woman tells Houston's KHOU that she placed herself between the installer and her old meter but, "He just kept pushing me away."

That's when she showed him her handgun.

"He saw it, and went back the other way," she tells KHOU.

The homeowner says she is not comfortable with the amount of information smart meters transmit back to the power company.

"Our constitution allows us not to have that kind of intrusion on our personal privacy," she explains. "They’ll be able to tell if you are running your computer, air conditioner, whatever it is."

The woman still has her old meter and she and her husband have posted warning signs declaring "No Smart Meters Are to Be Installed On This Property," but CenterPoint, the power company that attempted to install the meter says it will persist in its efforts.

"We are deeply troubled by anyone who would pull a gun on another person performing their job," reads a statement from the company. "CenterPoint will be taking additional steps – including court actions – because what happened is dangerous, illegal and unwarranted."

KHOU reports that CenterPoint Energy already installed around 2 million smart meters in the area, but the local Public Utilities Commission is now weighing the possibility of allowing homeowners to have the new meters removed.

Offline Rapunzel

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Good for her!
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Offline U-238

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I have a smart meter. It is so difficult to read. Everyone in the city is required to have a smart meter.
"To do a great right, do a little wrong."(Merchant of Venice Act 4, Scene 1
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Oceander

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Of course, the simple alternative is this:  if you want electric power, then you get it through the provider-approved meters; otherwise, find your own way to get electric power.  Someone so opposed to the meters the provider wants to use can bone up on solar and wind and see what they can do with that (actually, done correctly, they could probably be a net source of power back into the grid rather than a net draw off the grid; there'd still be the matter of that pesky meter, however).

Offline Rapunzel

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Of course, the simple alternative is this:  if you want electric power, then you get it through the provider-approved meters; otherwise, find your own way to get electric power.  Someone so opposed to the meters the provider wants to use can bone up on solar and wind and see what they can do with that (actually, done correctly, they could probably be a net source of power back into the grid rather than a net draw off the grid; there'd still be the matter of that pesky meter, however).


My friends with a house here -- 3000 square feet -- has it solar powered (house and pool) their net electric bill runs about $11 a month at most -- usually around $8 a month.  That said no way do I want the power company telling me what temperature I can keep my house cooled or heated to...
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Online DCPatriot

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The smart meter will allow them to cut the power without visiting the property. 

It will cost jobs. 

It can also cut back the wattage at certain peak times....where everything runs less efficiently except the meter.
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Offline mountaineer

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When we built our home 3 years ago, we looked into alternative energy, wanting to be as self-sufficient as possible.  The $50,000 cost of a rooftop solar  system just didn't make sense, though, so we have regular old power company electricity. We need it to power the $20,000 geothermal heating and cooling, though (eventually, we'll recoup that expense, we trust). In the winter, we gain a few degrees of warmth through passive solar collection along the south side of the house.
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Offline Rapunzel

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When we built our home 3 years ago, we looked into alternative energy, wanting to be as self-sufficient as possible.  The $50,000 cost of a rooftop solar  system just didn't make sense, though, so we have regular old power company electricity. We need it to power the $20,000 geothermal heating and cooling, though (eventually, we'll recoup that expense, we trust). In the winter, we gain a few degrees of warmth through passive solar collection along the south side of the house.

Winter is no issue for me... unless we have a cloudy and cold snap as long as we have sunshine the windows on the front of my house get full on sun all afternoon and the windows on the back capture morning sunshine and warms my house nicely.... if it gets really cold and we have clouds then I have to switch on the heating system, but $25 a month heats my house in winter and $15 of that is my base and cooking gas.... summer is my problem, goes from $80 to almost $300 a month... and water goes up exponentially as well... 
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline mountaineer

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Perhaps it's time to put signs on our electric meters, just in case the power company fellow comes by:  "Keep your %*#! smart meters to yourselves!"
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Offline Rapunzel

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Perhaps it's time to put signs on our electric meters, just in case the power company fellow comes by:  "Keep your %*#! smart meters to yourselves!"

Good idea...... so far I have not read they are doing them locally, but we have a mayor who is a Bloomberg wannabe so nothing shocks me...
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Oceander

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Re: Homeowner Pulls Gun To Stop New Electric Meter From Being Installed
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2012, 02:27:13 am »
Perhaps it's time to put signs on our electric meters, just in case the power company fellow comes by:  "Keep your %*#! smart meters to yourselves!"

Good idea...... so far I have not read they are doing them locally, but we have a mayor who is a Bloomberg wannabe so nothing shocks me...

It all depends on who the meters belong to.  If they belong to the utility company, then the owners of the homes to which the meters are attached cannot prevent the utility company from doing what it wishes to with its own property.