Avoiding Smart Meter’s in Victoria (A Manual of facts to help you): Victoria

Showing posts with label Victoria. Show all posts

Saturday, 26 July 2014

Smart meter, Refugees and Human Rights Activists

Avoiding Smart Meter’s in Victoria

(A Manual of facts to help you)

The aim of this web page is to provide you with some little known facts to assist you in your fight to protect your health, privacy and democratic right to say ‘NO’. It has been compiled from personal experience and many hours of research.

If you have a smart meter that is making you, unwell and/or have other symptoms related to EHS and you complain to your distributor, they will simply reply: “Smart meters are mandated/standard".

You can then complain to the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) (EWOV), they will send a request to your distributor, who will send the usual answer, which will be passed on to you that: " Smart meters are mandated/standard".

As far as the distributors are concerned, it is your problem and nobody else’s. I know the names of refugees who have left their jobs, friends, who have sold their property in VIC and moved interstate because they could no longer take the pain from smart meters.

Do you think Human Rights activists, mass-media or any Ombudsman paid any attention to their stories? Nope. The only "refugees" which they care about are illegals, those who coming from overseas direct to our Centrelink offices by boats.

Not one Human Right activist, mass-media editor or Green Party official is foolish enough to risk interfering with billions of dollars "donations" into pockets of corporations under the pretext of "Advanced Metering Infrastructure". So you can be sure the smart meter issue will not get into the front pages of any major media outlet until YOU make it happen.

Currently Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria is answering to all complains in same way:

"Smart meters are mandated/standard/compulsory".

So if Smart meter is killing you, that’s fine by everyone who is supposed to protect you, as long as it done legally. Nazi murdered millions of people because laws of Raich allowed it.

I wonder that kind of answer we would hear from Ombudsmen if distributors got permit to shoot their customer on spot? Probably something like this: "Killing unhappy clients is allowed by Order in Council and section 6A Electricity Industry Act"?

Only one way to force Ombudsman to do his job, to protect you - complain. And not just complain - use law. There is Equal Opportunity Act, force Ombudsman to read it! Look at my post under heading "Equal Opportunity Act and Human Rights."

Legal Aid can waste a lot of money to help child molesters or rapists, but if an honest citizen has a problem with a big corporation, ‘sorry mate, it is your problem and no one else’s’.

And only you and no one else can force them to protect rights and liberties of honest citizens!

Not be shy. Write to local and main mass-media. Lodge complains. Demand answers and actions. Bring distributor to Human Rights division of VCAT (it is free).

Since forcing Aboriginals from their lands it is first ever time in Australian history then people are forced from their homes.

Not because they are criminals, enemies or anything like this. People who suffer from EHS cannot live in Victoria and they are forced to move away.

Power industry needs profits and politicians cover-up them. It is against all our Human rights, against Constitution, against all democratic liberties.

But it is happening JUST NOW. Because our politicians put profits of foreign corporations before humans.

Do NOT vote for Labors who started Advanced Metering Infrastructure rollout.

Do NOT vote for Liberals who did not lift a finger to take into account rights of citizens of Victoria.

Do NOT vote for Greens who supported desal plant, who against cheap clean water from Mitchell river, who did not say a single word to protect rights of Smart Meter' refugees!
Do NOT vote for National (current energy minister National one) who have same policies as Liberals!

Equal Opportunity Act and Human Rights.

Avoiding Smart Meter’s in Victoria

(A Manual of facts to help you)

If you complain that your smart meter radiation is making you sick and you get the answer that “everything is within ASPANSA limits". Technically, this answer is correct. It is not the job of distributors to check out faults in standards. ARPANSA RPS3 (the standards) have some issues, I spoke about it in another post.

But the distributors do have other obligations. For example they have to obey Equal Opportunity Act.

Sections 44 and 45:

«Discrimination in the provision of goods and services»,
(b) in the terms on which goods or services are provided to the other person

It sounds as though distributor must supply you with electricity regardless of what kind of electrical meter you have.

Section 15: Duty to eliminate discrimination...
(1) This section applies to a person who has a duty under Part 4, 6 or 7 not to engage in discrimination...
(2) A person must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate that discrimination... as far as possible.

So if you have medical condition (EHS) your distributor must make some adjustments. For example remove Smart meter from your house.

And also distributors in Victoria should have policies and procedures how to deal with people who suffer from EHS. But I never heard about miracle like this.

As far as I concern mostly they just bully people into moving interstate.

And there is section 45: Service provider must make reasonable adjustments for person with a disability

According to this, a Distributor should use another meter, which does not emit radiation. It is NOT your problem which meter they will use and what written about it in THEIR rules. You have rights! If they do not want to know about your rights because they too much concern about their profits - bring them to court!

Human rights division of VCAT is FREE for Applicant. How much money will be spent by distributor - it is THEIR problem. Applicant is not responsible for expenses of Defendant.

You just want to keep your Manually Read Meter, which was used (and still is) around the world for a century. No way it can be treated as "un-reasonable" adjustment.

The distributors try to cover-up their bulling tactics by this:

PART 5—GENERAL EXCEPTIONS TO AND EXEMPTIONS FROM THE PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION
Section 75 Things done with statutory authority

(1) A person may discriminate if the discrimination is necessary to comply with, or is authorised by, a provision of—
(a) an Act, other than this Act; or
(b) an enactment, other than an enactment under this Act.

Yes, they have orders to install Smart meters. But "the best endeavours" never made them compulsory. And "the best endeavours" do not allow them to make people suffer from EHS.

So usage section 75 as a defence is very questionable in this case.

More, there was "Waters v Public Transport Corporation" case which may be a good precedent in case of class action.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/1991/49.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=WATERS%20v.%20PUBLIC%20TRANSPORT%20CORPORATION

And there is a Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006

1 Purpose and citation

(c) imposing an obligation on all public authorities to act in a way that is compatible with human rights;

So there is a fare chance VCAT will interpret section 75 in your favour.

(d) requiring statements of compatibility with human rights to be prepared in respect of all Bills introduced into Parliament and enabling the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee to report on such compatibility

And it NEVER happened with any document related to Smart meter rollout!

But unless you go to court you will not know for sure. You may suffer for rest of your life from radiation or get rid of Smart meter if you take action.

The choice is your.

Write me if you have any questions.

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Capital Punishment from distributor: Disconnection

Avoiding Smart Meter’s in Victoria

(A Manual of facts to help you)

Disconnection

From information which I have received, it appears to me that distributors can disconnect "troublemakers" quick and easy.

Not many Victorians are aware of the rules which regulate disconnection, so I try to tell you some basics.

It may come as a surprise for electricity distributors and Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV), but there is a law in this country which is called the ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION CODE 2011.

You may ask your distributor for a copy:

9.1.4 On request by a customer, a distributor must give to a customer a copy of this Code (which, if so requested, must be a large print copy).

Before disconnection, a distributor has to send you at least TWO letters:

12.2.1 A distributor may disconnect supply to a customer’s supply address if supply otherwise would potentially endanger or threaten to endanger the health or safety of any person or the environment or an element of the environment or if there is otherwise an emergency.

12.2.2 Except in the case of an emergency, or where there is a need to reduce the risk of fire or where relevant regulations require otherwise, a distributor must not disconnect a customer’s supply address under clause 12.2.1 unless the distributor has:

(a) given the customer written notice of the reason;

(b) allowed the customer 5 business days from the date of receipt of the notice to eliminate the cause of the potential danger; and

(c) at the expiration of those 5 business days given the customer by way of a written disconnection warning another 5 business days’ notice of its intention to disconnect the customer (the 5 business days is to be counted from the date of receipt of the notice)

If there is a dispute, or you have lodged a complaint with your distributor, the EWOV, they are not allowed to disconnect you at all, clause 12.6.2 (b) dot point 2 states, ‘a distributor must not disconnect supply to a customer’:

• if there is a dispute between the customer and the distributor which has been notified by the customer under clause 10 and is still being dealt with by the distributor under that clause, or is the subject of proceedings before the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) Ltd. or other relevant external disputes resolution body;

I have heard several instances where these rules have been ignored, office of EWOV was informed and did their usual job: pen-pushing. And of course they obeyed their policy, which appears to be: ‘don’t create problems for the distribution industry’.
So you have to be demanding and not shy if dealing with them.

No law exist which allows distributor to cut off your electricity because you do not consent to the installation of a Smart meter.

Unfortunately people are not prepared to take action. As result, the offenders get away with unacceptable and in some instances; unlawful behaviour. I believe that if enough Victorians stand up for their rights, it would make all the difference!

You not supposed to pay for court. EWOV is free, but you have to annoy them to get result. If they refuse to help you - there is VCAT, Human Right Division. It is free, Applicant pays nothing.

It should be born in mind that, under the Electricity Industry Act 2000 – Sect 40b, in a case of wrongful disconnection, a distributor may have to pay you $250 per day, if no other amount applies.

~~http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/eia2000261/s40b.html~~

(b) if no amount is prescribed by the regulations, $250 for each whole day that the supply of electricity is disconnected and a pro rata amount for any part of a day that the supply of electricity is disconnected;

The last thing any distributor wants - to get court ruling about removal Smart meter and going back to manually read one. As far as I know Victoria still has none court ruling like this. Court ruling is public and cannot be hidden under "gag order" which is usually part of out-of-court settlement.

Highly possibly your case will be settled quietly out of court - they will give you manually read meter and (possibly) compensation for unlawful disconnection, you sign "gag" order in return for "favour".

They honestly believe they are doing favour to you - allowing to have manually read meter after charging you $1000 for Smart one, which you never needed at all!

Agreement may be worded in so twisted and confusing way that only later you will understand you cannot claim any compensation for illegal disconnection or damages to your health from Smart meter radiation.

And you cannot even speak up about it because you sign "gag" order!

And all it perfectly LEGAL! Why? They are rich bully (or multinational corporation, it is the same), you are just honest citizen.

You should know who has law on their side.

You do not like these laws and want some changes? Visit this page: http://www.peoplepowervictoria.org.au/home

Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Profits.

Avoiding Smart Meter’s in Victoria

(A Manual of facts to help you)

Money and Advanced Metering Infrastructure program.

Who profits?

Nazis killed millions of people in gas chambers/death camps perfectly legal (because the laws of the Reich allowed it). After WWII, companies who supplied death camps with deadly Zyklon B gas got away it. Why should they be punished? They were only guilty of making a few bucks; it was never a crime for capitalists.

So electrical distributors in Victoria got brand-new Advanced Metering Infrastructure which dangerous for US, which is paid by US and it is LEGAL.
Even Nazi did not charge victims for cost of gas chambers and Zyklon B, it was government-funded.

The costs of the implementation of the AMI in Victoria have already blown out from $800 million to $2.8 billion

Also, we pay almost double the price and no one cares. I am sure it has nothing to do with corruption or kick-backs:

Landis + Gyr, the company that amassed about 56 per cent of the market in deals to supply the electricity distributors in Victoria with smart meters...

Landis + Gyr, to which Bayard then changed its name, ...managed to fetch high prices for its devices, perhaps the highest in the world...
According to eMeter Corporation, a meter data intelligence department of Siemens, the average cost of smart meters sold to utility companies in the US is $221, and in Europe $272. A spokesperson for the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed the Victorian distribution companies paid an average of $346 to their suppliers. Powercor paid the highest at $423.

Read more: ~~http://www.smh.com.au/business/smart-meters-but-at-whose-expense-20121223-2btjd.html#ixzz37D6ZH11E~~

May the absence of attention from media may be explained by this?:

Success of Landis + Gyr has confirmed Cameron O'Reilly as one of the most savvy businessmen in Australia. The O'Reilly family had controlled regional media group APN.
Fairfax family would make about $203 million, through Marinya Holdings, and the Smorgon family's Escor Investments, $36 million.

Any benefits for consumers?

Of course we were told that Smart meters give consumers «a lot of benefits». So politicians and fat cats from corporations did not need to ask our opinion, we supposed to be extremely happy from their care anyway.

But South Australia confused about so-called benefits:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/south-australian-electricity-consumers-likely-to-be-offered-new-smart-power-meters-but-at-a-price/story-fni6uo1m-1226882988159?nk=beea83faaaab86f387abe6cc6f8dbde8

South Australian Council of Social Service director Ross Womersley said there was no guarantee the cost of installation to householders would be matched by savings.

“SACOSS accepts that advanced metering offers a range of benefits, but is disappointed that the discussion paper does not provide any quantitative information in this regard,’’ he said.

“SACOSS is concerned that the costs of implementation have the potential to overwhelm the value of these benefits for the consumers of most interest to SACOSS.

“Asserting that a policy is ‘cost effective’ without demonstrating it to be so is not an approach that SACOSS prefers.’’

Also South Australian newspaper was able to disclosure THE BIGGEST SECRET of Victorian power industry – HOW MUCH SMART METERS COST TO US???

Mr Henley said a compulsory rollout in Victoria cost $1000 for each meter, but falling costs meant experts now estimated the price to be between $300 and $400.

I do not know if I got any single cent of «benefits» but definitely my power bills now include $1.32 per day ($480 per year!) «infrastructure cost»

More news: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2012/s3645751.htm

consumer groups say their benefits of the digital devices are murky.
Smart meters have been introduced in Victoria over the past several years, but it's been far from successful.
The mandatory roll-out has cost nearly three times more than anticipated, and electricity consumers are still questioning the benefits.

Something that does not surprise me:

These things are great for the distributors, they're great for the retailers, they're great for the generators, but I don't think they're so great for the consumer.

Terms mandated, compulsory, standard – do all they have the same meaning?

Avoiding Smart Meter’s in Victoria

(A Manual of facts to help you)

Terms mandated, compulsory, standard – do all they have the same meaning?

Are Smart meters "mandated"? To answer this question we must first define ‘mandate’. According to the Australian Oxford Dictionary ‘mandate’ = ‘authority to perform certain tasks’.

Pay attention: authority does not mean obligation. You can do something, but you not have to do it.

The Victorian government and distributors claim that the mandate for the AMI rollout is in the government gazette S200 dated 28^th of August 2007 and specifically sect 14.1a, which requires the distributors to ‘use their best endeavours’ to install remotely read interval meters in every home and small business in Victoria. ‘Best endeavours’ is defined in the Electricity Distribution Code sect 19 and states; ‘in relation to a person, means the person must act in good faith and do what is reasonably necessary in the circumstances’. Now, reading ‘the mandate’ in plain English, it should be read as: ‘the distributors are to act in good faith and do what is reasonably necessary in the circumstances’. NOTHING MORE!

There is one more Order in Council from 10 December 2013: www.gazette.vic.gov.au/gazette/Gazettes2013/GG2013S439.pdf which use same term "each distributor must use its best endeavours to install a complying remotely read interval meter "

So to answer the original question, yes, there is legislation which requires the distributors to ‘use their best endeavours to install remotely read interval meters’, the distributors have mandate to install them, the meters are mandated.

Are they compulsory?

According to ‘the mandate’, no they are not! The government/distributors are putting their interpretation on what the legislation says and fail to quote what it actually says!

I do not know any Government-issued document which use term «compulsory» in relation with remotely read electrical meters.

There is no legislation which says a customer cannot refuse to have one or which interpret refusal having Smart meter as offence. It therefore stands to reason, that if a customer says ‘no thanks’, that should be the end of the storey! Sadly, this is not the case.

Is coercion, bullying, trespassing, cutting off padlocks, disconnection - ‘acting in good faith and doing what is reasonably necessary in the circumstances’? The Essential Services Commission has said no. What have they done about it? NOTHING!

Can "non-standard" meters be used?

In agreement with Information from Department of Environment and Primary Industries YES, they CAN:

Where a customer has refused the installation of a Smart Meter, the Government has decided that the costs associated with manual reading may be recovered by a distribution business through an additional fee.
It is anticipated that the fee will be introduced in March 2015.
A distribution business will only be able to recover the costs of maintaining a non-Smart Meter if the customer has actively refused the installation of a Smart Meter.

So this document tells us loud and clear: smart meters are NOT the only option. It just depends on your actions: "if the customer has actively refused ".