Under the theory of California government I have the right to charge every Californian who does NOT subscribe to the California Political News and Views. Under the theory of the CPUC Ford can charge everyone who does NOT buy a car from them.
This may be the most corrupt action by government–the use of force by government to have people pay for something they do not want and will not get.
“Drowning out a chorus of boos and hisses from angry audience members, the state’s utility watchdog approved a plan Wednesday that would charge fees to residents who want to opt-out of PG&E’s contentious SmartMeter program.
Residents who elect to abstain from the digital energy readers will have to pay a one-time fee of $75 and a subsequent monthly bill of $10, as part of the plan authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission.”
Bernie Madoff never thought of this much theft–and protected by government.
This is extortion. I believe it was Jefferson or Washington who said, “government is not logic or reason, it is force.” Let the stealing begin.
By: Will Reisman, SF Examiner, 02/01/12
Drowning out a chorus of boos and hisses from angry audience members, the state’s utility watchdog approved a plan Wednesday that would charge fees to residents who want to opt-out of PG&E’s contentious SmartMeter program.
Residents who elect to abstain from the digital energy readers will have to pay a one-time fee of $75 and a subsequent monthly bill of $10, as part of the plan authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Low-income residents who qualify for utility subsidies will have to pay a one-time fee of $10 and a monthly fee of $5 if they don’t want to participate in the SmartMeter program.
More than 60 speakers spoke out against SmartMeters at the hearing, saying the digital readers caused health problems, were an invasion of privacy and weren’t proven to be accurate. Several speakers said that residents shouldn’t have to pay opt-out fees for a program they never wanted to join.
“I should be able to live in my house, and my property, without unwanted devices put in there by extortion,” said Garril Page, a Marin County resident.
When the unanimous decision of the four members on the commission was finalized, numerous people shouted out that all the commissioners should be fired, and a chant of “we say no fee, charge the utility,” broke out as audience members exited the CPUC auditorium.
“CPUC is clearly in support of PG&E,” said Amy Coulter, a San Leandro resident. “It didn’t matter what people said today. They had already made up their minds.”
PG&E has said it needs to charge the fees in order to support two different energy networks, the new digital SmartMeters, and the older analog systems.
Greg Snapper, a PG&E spokesman, said the CPUC’s action Wednesday was fair and allowed the utility and its
customers to move forward.
customers to move forward.
Even though the audience was infuriated with the CPUC’s decision, the opt-out fees approved Wednesday were lower than earlier agency proposals and much less expensive than PG&E’s original recommendation. Last month, the CPUC recommended one-time opt-out fees of $90, and PG&E initially wanted to charge customers as much as $270.
PG&E has hailed its digital SmartMeter technology — which shows users directly how much energy they’re using — as an efficient and reliable way to relay power consumption.
I wasn’t in the audience, but I did write a letter of opposition to this horrible proposal. The health threats are REAL, because of the microwave frequency of broadcast and that the homeowner has no control over the placement of the device OR the placement of the “relay station” in his or her neighborhood. The radiation could be beamed right into a person’s house, and they wouldn’t even know!
February 3, 2012 at 11:50 am