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Guest post by Granny Sue. Letters to the Editor are reprinted in full and may or may not reflect opinions of the Editor.

Electricity: The Amish are Right (Smart Meters in Kentucky)This week has left me more appreciative of the Amish views about electricity. According to what I have read, the Amish are very careful about being connected with the world outside their communities and what is brought into their homes. Some sects are not completely against electricity and allow use of batteries, diesel generators and solar power. What they are chary of is being tied to the grid (amishamerica.com/do-amish-use-electricity). After learning more about the smart grid these last few days, I can see the wisdom of their belief. In short, the Amish are right.

I have written previously about the danger that the smart grid poses for those concerned with liberty and health, not to mention the economy. For a good summarization of these concerns please see http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/. Briefly, let me state that to accept a smart meter on your home is to accept that your energy use will be monitored and controlled in live time via microwave transmissions. These microwave signals are intended to be sent from house to house, then to transmission towers and ultimately to the power company who will database your information. In the wake of revelations of NSA spying and data collection of other microwave transmissions (cell phones), how can anyone not be concerned about smart meters? They are, by very definition, a surveillance device.

I called Fleming Mason, to request that my account be notated as non-consenting to a smart meter. The person on the other end of the line stated that there were no opt-outs allowed for smart meters in Kentucky by the Kentucky Public Services Commission, but offered to send me some FAQs in the mail to help alleviate my concerns regarding privacy and health effects of RF exposure. The call was cordial, and I believed that the person was in earnest while making the statements that she did—until I did some fact checking.

The FAQ sent to me regarding the health effects of RF was slanted and laughable in terms of logic. I was particularly intrigued by the statement that AMI (smart grid) metering resulted in a “net health benefit” as there was no support for this claim in the FAQ. Eventually, I traced the origins of the erroneous FAQ to Tantalus Corporation (http://www.tantalus.com/grid_health.php), with whom Fleming Mason has an approximate 3.5 million dollar contract to install the smart grid system (http://psc.ky.gov/pscscf/2012%20cases/2012-00361/20120801_Fleming-Mason%20Energy_Application.pdf). Hardly an unbiased source of information!

However, what really lit my anger was a phone call I made to the Kentucky Public Services Commission (KPSC) to complain that I should be allowed to opt out of AMI metering. From them, I learned that there was no restriction on opt outs by the KPSC, none at all! “So, I was lied to?” I asked the KPSC employee, incredulously. She demurred. “I won’t say that,” she said,” but you need to read through case documents pertaining to Case No. 2012-0048.”

Heeding her advice, I have learned that the only approval Fleming Mason has received from the KPSC is to purchase the equipment. Contrary to the claim that the KPSC is not allowing opt outs, the KPSC has actually been asking Fleming Mason to clarify their policy about those of us wishing to opt out since 2013 (http://psc.ky.gov/order_vault/orders_2013/201200428_02272013.pdf, http://psc.ky.gov/order_vault/orders_2013/201300142_05152013.pdf). To date, nothing has been settled and the case is still open. This is actually an opportunity for those of us wishing to opt out. If you write a letter to the Executive Director of the KPSC (POB 615 Frankfort KY 40602)asking them to “intervene” on this case to allow opt outs, you may be able to forestall the electric company from disconnecting your power in the event that you refuse smart meter surveillance.

Meantime, please notify Fleming Mason in writing (1449 Elizaville Rd, Flemingsburg, KY 41041
(606) 845-2661) of your wish to opt out of smart metering. Learning of several instances where smart meters were installed against the wishes of the property owners in other states, I sent my letter via certified mail as an extra precaution.

If these measures do not work, I will join the Amish in their refusal of grid tied electricity, who, it seems, were right all along. For more information about this issue including copy-able letters I have sent, you may see my blog at grannysuesfarm.blogspot.com. Also, there are numerous videos available about this topic. In particular, please check out:


God Bless you
Granny Sue