Ted Koppel: “Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath,”

PBS News Hour reports on Ted Koppel's new book, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation

Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. In this tour de force of investigative reporting, Ted Koppel reveals that a major cyberattack on America’s power grid is not only possible but likely, that it would be devastating, and that the United States is shockingly unprepared. Among other things, Koppel says: "When I spoke to Janet Napolitano just after she left as secretary of homeland security — and she had been on the job for five years — I said to her, what do you think the chances are of a cyber-attack on the power grid? She said very, very high, 80 to 90 percent."

Consumers Energy Apartment-Dwellers: You Can Keep Your Analog Meter

We have received reports that Consumers Energy is allowing apartment-dwellers to keep their analog meters. For more information on the Consumers Energy opt-out program, see the Smart Meter Education Network website. Consumers usually tells customers they cannot keep their analog meter, or makes you think you will not get a new, digital meter, and then they install one. So read the website!

Sterling Heights Rescinds Smart Meter Moratorium Without a Vote

Sterling Heights smart meter activist Jackie Ryan says she found out through a FOIA request that City

Manager Mark Vanderpool issued a memorandum in November 2013 informing the council that DTE had asked the city to rescind the moratorium because the energy company had provided an opt-out policy. That policy, as we know, is a complete joke, as the policy still installs a smart meter on your home, just one with the RF turned off.

According to Ryan, the memo states that, upon getting an opt-out option that let residents refuse the meters, the moratorium was eliminated without further City Council action.

Several residents and City Council challenger candidates made another round of pleas to Sterling Heights city officials to take more action on smart meters during an Oct. 6 council meeting.

The above is taken from C&G Newspapers. Read the full story on their site.

DTE Decides Not to Build Wind Turbine After Woman Submits Letter from Doctor

DTE Energy says it won't build a wind turbine near a resident whose doctor says it would be disorienting and potentially harmful to her health, reports the Huron Daily Tribune in Bad Axe.

The utility's decision comes less than two weeks after the county received a letter from Chandler resident Deb Ruth. She said if a wind turbine planned for DTE's newest Pinnebog project is erected about a quarter-mile from her home, it could trigger dizzy spells.

Ruth attached a letter from Scott Baker, a Bay City ear, nose and throat specialist, who wrote Ruth has Meniere's disease in both ears, leaving her without balance functions in either ear. Meniere's disease is a disorder that causes severe dizziness and a roaring sound in the ears called tinnitus -- a common cause of hearing loss, according to the National Institute of Health. There is neither a known definite cause of the disease nor cure. Read the rest of the article here.

Here is the original article from the Huron Daily Tribune’s online site, MichigansThumb.com. This is well worth reading!

HURON COUNTY — A Chandler resident sent a doctor’s note to the county validating a concern that if she is exposed to a wind turbine, slated to be built a quarter-mile from her home, it would be “very disorienting and potentially harmful to her.”

The letter, sent by Deb and Ron Ruth, includes an attachment from Scott Baker, a Bay City ear, nose and throat specialist. The Tribune contacted Baker’s office, which said he was out until next week. Baker’s signature appears on a letter received by the county building and zoning office Sept. 30 regarding patient Debra Ruth of Elkton.

Baker writes that Ruth has Meniere’s disease in both ears, leaving her with “very little hearing function” and “essentially no balance function in either ear.” Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes severe dizziness and a roaring sound in the ears called tinnitus — a common cause of hearing loss, according to the National Institute of Health. Scientists do not know the cause of the disease, and there is no cure.

“When she is exposed to visual stimuli such as a Ferris wheel or a windmill it causes what is call(ed) visual vertigo, which would be very disorienting and potentially harmful to her. She has asked me to speak on her behalf in regards to this matter and I think that her concerns are reasonable and valid,” the letter states.

Jeff Smith, the county’s building and zoning director, said it was the first time he’s seen such a letter from a medical professional.

Smith said he doesn’t see it as validating health concerns for wind turbines, but could in the future.

“We may seek correspondence from them as it progresses,” Smith said.

But because the township Ruth lives in isn’t under the county’s zoning jurisdiction, Smith said he isn’t sure what can be done besides investigating the matter.

Ruth, in a letter dated Aug. 18 and received by Smith’s office Aug. 31, writes her condition causes a severe spinning sensation.

“It can happen when I look at things that are spinning,” the letter states. “If this turbine goes up by our house I might not be able to go in my yard or look out my front window without triggering an attack.”

The Tribune could not reach Ruth to verify the letter. Smith says he has not confirmed the letter was sent by Ruth.

However in April, readers were asked to submit questions they had about wind energy the Tribune would ask during a DTE Energy media tour. Ron Ruth contacted the Tribune, requesting to ask whether anyone complained of contracting Meniere’s disease because of a turbine. DTE officials said they hadn’t heard such a complaint in research they’ve reviewed.

DTE’s Matt Wagner said he had talked with the Ruths many times. One solution involved shielding the turbine from their home, using trees to block the view, he said.

DTE has been approved for a 30-turbine project in Chandler, Oliver and Colfax townships. A spokesperson could not confirm Thursday if it still planned to build the turbine near the Ruths’ home.

The Himmels, of Elkton, also penned an Aug. 28 letter to Smith. They said it was not a professional medical opinion from Nick Himmel, a physician’s assistant with a family practice in Ubly, but that it was sent out of concern for their neighbor, the Ruths. The Tribune contacted the Himmel family, which verified the letter.

“We are pleading with you not to let this turbine go up,” the letter states.

The Himmels say they’re concerned for their neighbor’s health and question how Ruth would “cope with a massive, spinning wind turbine about a quarter mile from her front door.”

“We are also deeply concerned that this turbine will ruin any beauty our little farm has and consequently its property value. This turbine will completely dominate our landscape, making it look like an industrial zone and it will forever mar our beautiful sunset view, which was one of the reasons we bought this farm in the first place. We never imagined something like this could happen when we bought this property,” the letter states.

UPDATE: On Friday, after the article published, DTE contacted the Tribune to request publishing a letter to the editor, which appears in today's edition.

"As planning for the proposed Pinnebog project progressed, we identified some construction challenges with the turbine in question. Based on those challenges, as well as with this resident's concerns, we have decided to remove this turbine from the proposed Pinnebog Wind Park layout," the letter states.

Ron Ruth contacted the Tribune on Friday. He said he was thankful to see the article, and that DTE had called him and said they do not plan to build the turbine.

County Commissioner Rich Swartzendruber, whose district includes Chandler Township, said he got a call from Ron Chriss, a DTE regional manager. Chriss said the utility did some re-engineering and isn't citing the turbine near Ruth's home, Swarzendruber said.

"So hopefully the health problems for Mrs. Ruth will be avoided," Swartzendruber said during a Tuesday board meeting.

DTE utility recently got the go-ahead to build 30 turbines in Chandler, Oliver and Colfax townships. Initial plans put the majority in neighboring Meade Township; however, in a referendum triggered by Meade resident Rita Parsch, a friend to the Ruths, residents reversed the township board's decision and voted against the project.

Consumers Energy Employee Recorded on Video Refusing to Provide I.D., Being Angry and Aggressive

Consumers Energy vehicles parked in a woman's driving, blocking her exit. She records the entire exchange, including the male employee repeatedly refusing to show his I.D. and acting in an angry and threatening manner. See the Channel 7 story. Utility employees are required to show I.D. Consumers Energy says: Too bad, our employee felt he was being harassed and he has a right to be on your property. Watch the Channel 7 story and decide for yourself.

Remember, we watch news stories to inform. But if we don’t act, nothing changes. Please get the word out about smart meters and the bill!

Some Customers with Smart Meters Overcharged

Quite a few people have written us to say that their electric bill skyrocketed after a smart meter was put on their home.  Here is a story from Texas: CPS Energy admits to overcharging customers with smart meters.