The perceived dangers of Longmont’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, will be the focus of a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday at 1 p.m. hosted by opponents of the initiative and featuring speakers outlining AMI hazards.
Resident and self-described AMI “canary” Doe Kelly said the Zoom event is to educate people who are unaware of the health implications of houses switching over to AMI this year.
“We are resonant souls with a common purpose and mission at this moment in time,” Kelly said via email. “If enough people became really educated on this topic, of electromagnetic harms to living things, I double we’d see smart meters ‘coming soon to a house near you.’”
Residents can join the Zoom call at www.SMARTMETERTOWNHALL.COM.
Featured speakers on the ZOOM call are:
Cece Doucette, MTPW, BA, Director, Massachusetts for Safe Technology
An informative overview on the dangers of wireless EMFs (electromagnetic fields) and how this relates to smart meters.
Timothy Schoechle, PhD, Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy; Author: Re-Inventing Wires: The Future of Landlines and Networks Why rolling out smart meters in Longmont may be a waste of residents’ money and much, much more.
Susan Foster, MSW, Medical Writer, Honorary Firefighter with the San Diego Fire Dept. A recent landmark case was won against FCC; Susan will speak on why the FCC was derelict in its duties and what this may mean to Longmont; plus, an overview of smart meter fires.
Olle Johansson, PhD, Retired, Celebrated Professor and Researcher, Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; Internat'l expert on EMF/EMR effects on living things How adding more wireless radiation (smart meters, 5G) to our local environs contributes to systemic eco-collapse.
The $14 million rollout of AMI starts in the spring, with an initial deployment of 500 electric meters in southern Longmont, Scott Rochat, spokesman for Longmont Power & Communications, the city’s utility provider, told the Leader.
An initial distribution of the new meters will begin near the end of this year, or the beginning of 2023, taking about a year to complete the program, Rochat said.
Proponents of the program say AMI captures the energy use of a home or business more accurately than traditional meters. Instead of being read once a month, an AMI system reads itself for a few seconds every hour, supporters say.
AMI will help lower energy costs and lead to more efficiency, supporters say.
The city council unanimously approved an opt-out plan for residents last week with little comment.
If a resident decides within a two week period they want a regular meter installed, they will be charged $50.
A $125 fee is charged to residents who decide to opt out after that two-week period, Rochat said.
In both cases, the charge helps cover some of the labor costs for installing a manually-read meter, he said.
