Image above: A KIUC Smart Meter on a Matrix Pod. From (http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm87/Tehila_2008/?action=view¤t=Matrix-pod-with-baby.jpg&newest=1).
[Island Breath Editor's Note: We emailed Adam Asquith requesting clarification of conflicting information we have received from Mark Naea, Joan Conrow, and Ray Songtree. Adam was the plaintiff in the lawsuit against KIUC's Smart Meters. The following is Adam's response:] What you are reading are conflicting opinions, not conflicting information. Joan Conrow is correct in that the settlement was only about the complaint I filed in Federal court. Mark Naea is correct in that under State law (PUC regulations) KIUC cannot offer me something that they do not offer to everyone else. Joan is incorrect in stating that the settlement is the same a deferral form. The settlement is a court document. The deferral form is venue offered by KIUC that allows you to ask them not to put a smart meter on your home at this time. The stipulation in my settlement is a forced opt-out. Rather than go to trial, KIUC agreed to not put a smart meter on my house. KIUC will not try to put a smart meter on my home under their own initiative, nor can they ask the PUC to allow them to do so. The only way I will get a smart meter is if I ask for one, or if the PUC somehow independantly instructs KIUC to put one on my house. A deferral means exactly that. The intended action is merely postponed to a future time, but still intended. What part of "defer" to people not understand? KIUC is not postponing the installation of a smart meter on my home. Rather, they have agreed in court not to put one on my home. So currently, I have been given an opt-out as agreed to in Federal court. No other customer of KIUC has this. This is against State law. Is this an "opt-in"? I don't know and it may just be word play. What it certainly is, is a tool that any other member can now use to demand the same assurance (opt-out) that was given to me. Can everyone else receive this assurance (opt-out)? Absolutely. Will KIUC offer it freely? Probably not. Is it the same as a deferral form? Not at all. How does someone else opt-out now?
Either erase my name and add yours to the documents I used and file in Federal court, or submit a formal complaint to the PUC and demand equal treatment under State law from KIUC.
Are either of these easy to do? No. Is it worth it? That depends on each person. There are unrefuted studies showing that using smart meter data, KIUC or someone else with access to the information can easily determine the most intimate details of your private life that would ordinarily be protected under the Federal and State constitutions, and could only be accessed by law enforcement with a search warrant obtained by demonstrating probably criminal activity. But some people don't value privacy........ until they do....... and then it is too late. See also: Ea O Ka Aina: KIUC Opt-In or Opt-Out Fiasco 6/16/12 .
No comments :
Post a Comment