The Canadian Initiative to stop
Wireless, Electric, and
Electromagnetic Pollution
www.weepinitiative.org
Dirty electricity raising your electric bill?
Friday, January 19. 2007
When I first became interested in the health effects of electrical pollution, power quality expert Dave Stetzer did an independent test of our electrical power quality, and we found that our utility was delivering electricity containing 11,000% more electrical pollution than is allowable by state code. When I discussed this with our next-door neighbors, we learned that they had been receiving absurd electric bills, for way more electricity than they could possibly be using in their home, but the utility company was insisting that they pay the bills. Both they and we were complaining vehemently to the utility company.
Suddenly, the level of electrical pollution in our neighborhood went down to just about half of what it had been. We will never know for sure why. However, at that very time our neighbors' electric bells became normal. Dave Stetzer explained that high frequencies make disc type electric meters spin faster, making it appear that more electricity has been used than actually has.
The August 1999 special issue of the Wisconsin Agriculturist was devoted to the issue of electrical pollution, and included some information about this issue of meters being affected:
If there's harmonic distortion on your farm and you have a disk-type electric meter, you may be paying more for your trouble than you think - literally.
In 1996, John Beyerl, Colby, "isolated" his farm from the utility lines, an option selected by many farmers dealing with "stray voltage.'" The procedure can be effective if "dirty'" current is entering the farm from utility neutrals, but not if it's entering via the earth. [Which the utilities are now using to return 70+% of the current to their substations.]
In Beryl's case, it didn't work, but his electric bill declined by nearly two-thirds. ...."It's simple. It's harmonics," Dave Stetzer told Beryl - the higher the frequency, the faster the meter turns, unless it's a digital meter.
August Hegg, Jr., Unity, who has "stray voltage" problems on his farm, says his monthly electric bill decreased by $400 to $500 when NSP installed a digital meter.
Now Dave Stetzer and Magda Havas have written an article, "High electricity costs and cell phone antennas: Is there a connection?" in which they discuss the effect of nearby cell towers/antennas on resident's electric bills.
Following are edited excerpts. You can read the entire article at: www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/electricity_costs_antennas.pdf
Larry and Susan Stankaviches of Duanesburg, NY began to experience ill health after a cell phone tower was erected in their neighborhood in the late 1990s. Radio frequency radiation in their home fluctuates and relates to poor health, severe headaches and elevated blood sugar levels for Susan, who has type 2 diabetes, and sleep difficulties for both Susan and Larry. There are now three cell phone antennae within1700 feet of their home, which is on a hill in direct line with the antennae. Shortly after the most recent cell phone antennas were activated the Stankavichs noticed their electricity bills were higher than normal.
In 2002 and 2003 the annual electricity expenses were similar, around $1,400. In 2004 the annual electricity bill increased by $1,000 to $2,400 (70% increase). No major changes in electricity use during 2004 could explain this increase. The increase in their December 2004 electricity coincided with the installation of another set of cell phone antennas within 600 meters of their home. The monthly bills remained high until April 2005, when Larry Stankavich installed high frequency filters.
The most likely explanation is that the meter read inaccurately due to the high frequencies put on the line from the equipment at the base of the cell towers and not due to the broadcast signals.
With the many cell phone antennas that are dotting the landscape, the degree to which they interfere with hour-watt meters and contribute to inaccurate readings and high electricity costs needs further examination. If this is indeed a wide-spread phenomena we recommend the following actions be taken:
1. The Cell Phone Provider needs to filter their equipment to minimize radio frequencies on
electrical wires.
2. The Electricity Provider needs to ensure that their meters are measuring electricity use
accurately.
3. The Electricity Consumer needs to be compensated for any errors in the amount of electricity they have been billed for but not used.
NOTE: The local electricity provider replaced the new radio frequency (RF) Hr-W meter that could be read remotely from the road with the original mechanical Hr-W meter that recorded monthly electricity use.
Many electrically-sensitive individuals experience severe symptoms when one of these RF-producing "smart" meters is attached to their home by a utility company, and have requested that the new meter be removed and replaced with the original mechanical one, upon which the new symptoms disappear.
