November 8th 2010
William Devereaux Infiltrated Health Advocacy Group in Order to Gather Intelligence
San Francisco- William Devereaux, Senior Director of Pacific Gas and Electric’s ‘Smart’ Meter program has been caught falsifying his identity in a covert attempt to access information from a group of citizens opposing the new meters. The group has been identifying and collecting evidence of widespread health problems, meter inaccuracies, electrical interference and customer information privacy problems caused by PG&E’s wireless ‘Smart’ Meters.
Devereaux, who has testified to numerous local governments throughout California and made claims about the meters’ safety and accuracy, has been using a fake name on other activist listservs for months. This may explain how PG&E contractors Wellington Energy knew to evacuate their installation yard in Rohnert Park before a protest planned by neighborhood groups on October 28th. But on Thursday, November 4, Devereaux pushed his luck and was caught lying about his own identity and hiding his position with PG&E. Apparently assuming that his name would be hidden, Devereaux signed his e-mail to Sandi Maurer, moderator of the EMF Safety Coalition, “Ralph.” However, his e-mail program revealed the sender’s true identity:
On Nov 4, 2010, at 3:23 PM, William Devereaux <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Sandi,
> Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I’ve been travelling a lot. I live in Oakland where Smart >meters have been sweeping across town and wanted to learn more about them and join the conversation to >see what I can do to help out here.
> Thanks,
> Ralph
“This is not a single indiscretion, but rather typical of the false information that PG&E has publicized, fabricating advantages for customers.” said Ellen Marks of the Environmental Health Trust. “Contrary to PG&E claims, we will face significantly increased utility bills, collection of private data revealing information about events occurring inside our home, and exposure to powerful spikes of microwave radiation 24 hours a day through our brains and bodies.”
The deception by one of PG&E’s top officials is only the latest in a series of unethical tactics used to force ‘Smart’ Meters on an increasingly skeptical public. PG&E has been ripping off ‘do not install signs’ on meters, and threatening to cut off the gas and electricity supply to elderly residents of Santa Rosa- even as winter approaches- unless they accept a ‘Smart’ Meter. The company has also censored public comments on its Facebook page, deleting references to peer-reviewed scientific studies showing health damage from RadioFrequency (RF) radiation at levels far below those from the ‘Smart’ Meter.
PG&E’s meter program represents the largest system technology roll out in the history of California, yet they have not even done a basic Environmental Impact Report, which could have caught the massive violations of health, privacy invasion and increased costs to customers. The meters have been plagued with problems since the beginning, starting with widespread reports of inflated bills, privacy violations, electrical interference and reports of health issues from residents who have received the new meters. ‘Smart’ Meters use microwave radiation (similar to a cell phone) to transmit customer data back to the utility, and are being installed just as the public learns of evidence that brain tumors and other health damage can be traced to similar wireless devices. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) which sanctioned PG&E’s $2.2 billion program to install 10 million new meters throughout California at the expense of ratepayers, has not allowed individuals to opt out even in cases of severe health impacts.
Nearly two dozen local governments* have called for a moratorium. The State’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) last month also demanded public hearings be held to study potential health risks resulting from exposure to radiation from the meters.
According to Joshua Hart of Stop Smart Meters!, “This fraud and covert espionage against the people of California, carried out by the Director of the ‘Smart’ Meter Program in California, should immediately force a moratorium on ‘Smart’ Meter installation and open up a full independent State Legislative investigation of the entire PG&E ‘Smart’ Meter Program.”
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* California local governments demanding a moratorium include: the City and County of San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Marin Counties, Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, the cities of Sebastopol, Berkeley, Cotati, Fairfax, Santa Cruz, Piedmont, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Watsonville, Sausalito, San Anselmo, Belvedere, Monte Sereno, Novato, Richmond, Ross, Bolinas, and Camp Meeker
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Stop Smart Meters!
http://stopsmartmeters.org
PG&E SmartMeter exec tries to infiltrate activists
San Francisco Chronical
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/08/MNG61G940B.DTL
Senior PG&E director admits snooping on SmartMeter critics
Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/green-energy/ci_16558858
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http://newsblaze.com/story/20101118131406zzzz.nb/topstory.html
Op-Ed Contributor
Health Advocates Invite PG&E CEO Darbee to Wireless Summit
By Joshua Hart
“No Need to Spy to Learn Health Impacts of Smart Meters- Published Scientists Happy to Share Findings”
Opponents of PG&E’s ‘smart’ meter program today delivered an invitation to PG&E’s CEO Peter Darbee at the corporation’s Beale St. headquarters, urging him to attend Thursday’s high profile wireless health forum at the Commonwealth Club.
Last week, William Devereaux, the Senior Director of PG&E’s ‘smart’ meter program was caught falsifying his identity in an attempt to spy on internal discussions within the EMF Safety Network, a group who have a legal case against PG&E pending at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), alleging health harm from the new meters and demanding an immediate halt on further installations.
The espionage has prompted widespread media coverage, Devereaux’s resignation, and an investigation by the CPUC.
Although PG&E would like us to believe that Devereaux was working alone, circumstantial evidence indicates that the spying was known about, and sanctioned at high levels within PG&E. Glen Chase, a Systems Management Professor who has been consulted and asked to speak on the Smart Meter issue by a number of Bay Area municipalities, said: “The complex logistics and granting of authority to transfer a complete fleet of trucks to another location to foil a demonstration would be near impossible to accomplish by a single man. Other PG&E management and operations personnel almost certainly had to know. Otherwise who would have authorized the move, selected a new truck location, reserved the buses to bring in drivers for the trucks, briefed the installation contractor, etc.?”
Thursday’s forum, dubbed “The Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields,” will feature dozens of scientists from all over the world who have published peer-reviewed research in scientific journals. Their findings include a variety of health problems from the same type of radiation that is being emitted by new wireless ‘smart’ meters.
“It is not necessary for PG&E to spy on our discussion groups to find out how ‘smart’ meters are hurting California families.” Said Joshua Hart Director of Stop Smart Meters! “Scientists from all over the world will be happy to share their published, peer-reviewed findings that even low levels of microwave radiation have been linked with nausea, dizziness, and headaches, some of the many symptoms that people throughout the state are reporting after ‘smart’ meters are installed.”
Nearly two dozen California cities and counties have demanded a halt to the program. Yesterday, the Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), the consumer advocacy arm of the CPUC, blasted the appointed Commission for failing to hold hearings on the health impacts of ‘smart’ meters. The DRA commented: “Unless the public’s concerns can be put to rest, there is a very great risk that PG&E’s SmartMeter deployment will turn out to be a $2.2 billion mistake that ratepayers can ill afford.”
Members of the media (as well as Peter Darbee) are invited to hear the testimony of ordinary Californians who have been suffering health impacts from wireless ‘smart’ meters at the conclusion of Thursday’s Commonwealth Club Event, which is planned for this Thursday, November 18th from 11:15am to 4:30pm at the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St. 2nd Floor. Look for “Smart Meter Not Here” signs in the Commonwealth Club lobby at 4:30pm.
Interviews with ‘smart’ meter victims can also be arranged independently by contacting Joshua Hart, Director of Stop Smart Meters! at 831 440 9814 or [email protected]
Smart Meter Health Testimonials
SA, San Clemente CA
The very first symptom was my husband and I noticed that both of our ears were ringing. (The meter was located directly outside of our bedroom wall behind our headboard.)
Waking up feeling heavy crushing pressure on our chests, rapid heart palpitations, waking up at night at the precise same time for weeks (like 1:23 a.m.) emotions unstable constant agitation, red bumps, rashes, and thermal burns on face, strained speech, difficulty speaking or loss of words, poor memory, painful inflammation of ear canals due to cell phones, (especially blackberries and iPhones, within 150 feet from me), dect phones, wifi, electrified outlets, refrigerators, and other electromagnetic fields.
Sensation that the left hemisphere of my brain was actually being cut or splitting in two, back of skull feels electrified, back of tongue feels electrified, electric shocks through my eyes, legs and feet. Brain feels like mush, cannot communicate or articulate well, dry cough around cell phones and wifi.
A.E. , San Diego
It started with the aches and pains, the super dry lips and a loud squealing in my right ear. Even my teeth hurt. Then the buzzing sound intermittently mixes with the high pitch squealing noise in my ear, followed by extreme exhaustion or fatigue in random parts of the day or evening, to where I couldn’t even stand. The headaches make me feel like I want to die. I can’t sleep until 5 or 6 am and pop back up at 7 am. I am nauseas, and my ear in is extreme pain. I have feelings as if the ground or furniture is moving or being bumped. I get dizzy and have problems orientating myself when I go from standing to sitting or vice versa.
R.H., San Diego CA
I began having symptoms of head burning and pressure on my chest within a few days. As time progressed the symptoms worsened. I had severe burning in my head and headaches of a new type. I started having palpitations, arrhythmias and flutter. I called SDG& E. Three people including an engineer and the director of the Smart Meter program came to my home, spent an hour talking and photographing the meters. They took no measurements of the radiation, though they said they would on the phone. The next day SDG&E informed me that they would not be replacing the meters with the analogue meters. They assured me that they are concerned about people’s health.
By six weeks in, my cardiac symptoms were so severe and erratic that I had to move out. I rented an apartment, which turned out to be unsafe as well. The Smart Meters are everywhere. With the intensification of my symptoms, I have become EMF/RF sensitive and now have the above problems around cell towers, Wi-Fi and other sources, accompanied by skin rashes and burning. I am being evaluated by a cardiologist. I have always had a strong, healthy heart, even told so by doctors. The cardiologist has sent me for an evaluation by a neurologist as well.
Five people have reported symptoms in my home: My father has experienced headaches and visual migraines. My mother reported having pressure on the upper part of her chest and palpitations. One neighbor exposed to these 16 cluster meters is experiencing headaches and chest tightness. Another neighbor has difficulty opening her eyes in the mornings after 8 hours by the meters. Her ophthalmologist could find no explanation. She said she uses her fingers to open her lids. All of the above symptoms have occurred since the smart meter installations. The symptoms are worsening for everyone.
I am running scared living this nightmare. I don’t know where to live and fear for my well-being. I already have a prior immune disability and I thought I would be legally protected by the ADA. I don’t know where it is safe for me to live. In addition, the financial impact of this disaster compounds. I pay my monthly mortgage and rented a place, which due to symptoms, I cannot stay in. I am not sure that I can rent or sell my condo in good conscience. I am seeking medical care including treatments not covered by any insurance. My out of pocket costs continue to grow.
