Huge Electric Bill Increases: What to Do

Has your electric bill gone up significantly at any point since a smart meter was installed on your home? It has for many people (see previous posts on this blog). Make your voice heard to the legislators and the Michigan Public Service Commission.  What you need to show is that your bill increased significantly—some people have seen $20,000 to $34,000 bills for one month of electricty usage, others spikes of several hundred dollars. Links: Fox17 report on Consumers. Write to the following:

• House Energy Committee, Senate Energy Committee, your state rep, your state senator, all Michigan state reps, all Michigan senators.  These are email addresses you can simply copy and paste into your email.
• Michigan Public Service Commission: File a complaint. Enough complaints will likely trigger a hearing. DTE is already on the dock for the numerous shut-offs it has perpetrated without following proper procedure. Your complaint can be another nail in their coffin.

Due to the cold we experienced in December and January, your heating bill (and probably your electric bill, even if you have gas heat) will likely have increased over the same time last year. That said, if your bill has gone up hundreds of dollars, you can be almost certain that the smart meter is the culprit.

How do you show this? It is very easy to do. Look at the kWh usage that shows on the front of the bill and compares to the same period last year. Then look at bills from earlier years. How much has your kWh usage changed? Bills can fluctuate due to costs, but if your kWh usage has changed significantly, you are either running new equipment in your home or your meter is not accurately recording usage. When you write the legislators, you can tell them about both your cost increase and your usage increase.

The information on the front of the bill is not the amount your bill has increased from previous years, but the amount your energy consumption has changed.  Here is DTE's How to Read a Bill.

Also, if you have gas heat, see whether the gas usage has gone up. If it has, what is it compared to the electric. My guess is, your guess has gone up (because it was so cold), but your electric has increased way, way more. If you aren't using space heaters or runing new equipment, then you can bet the meter is not recording your actual usage. See this letter I wrote to the Energy Committee.

Make sure you are clear that you have a smart electric meter on your home. Be sure to tell the legislators and the MPSC whether you use electric or gas heat. I suggest that if you have gas heat, you look at how much your CCF usage has increased over last year. If you have gas heat, the usage increase is almost certainly accurate, because while the gas smart meter transmits wirelessly, your gas usage is still measured on an analog basis. For instance, my gas CCF usage went up 77% over my usage the prior year. But my electric usage went up 144%!  How is it that with gas heat, my  electric usagewent up twice as much as my gas usage (especially when I have boiler heat)? It's a clear indication that the smart meter is cheating me.
 

Have you been running any new appliances? To determine if your bill has gone up for reasons other than an increase in electricity costs, figure out the following. This isn’t difficult, it just takes a lot of words to explain. For the legislature and the MPSC to see through the smokescreens, we need evidence!

1. Have you been running anything new (for example, computer, electric heater, appliance) that you did not run in prior years?
2. If you have a gas or electric furnace, is the fan set to "On" or to "Auto"? If it's set to "On," this means it is running all the time, not just when the furnace is on, and this could increase your bill significantly.
3. Have you been running anything more often than you have in past years?
4. If you have, you can determine how many kWh have been used by looking up your product online. For example, If your heater has a 1000 watt rating and your cost of electricity is $0.080350/Kwh your cost to operate for one hour would be $0.08. If you ran the heater 24/7, it would cost you $1.60 per day, or $50 per month.
5. Compare the kWh charges for this bill to bills from the same months in previous years. If the charges are different, compute what the charges for the old bill would have been if you were being charged what you are being charged now.
6. Next, look on the back of the bill under “Current Billing Information.” You will see “Days Billed.” Divide your total charges by the number of days you were billed for. That will give you your average daily rate.
7. How different is this from previous years, computing previous years as if they were billed at the current rate?
8. Keep all your computations.
9. When you present your testimony orally or in writing, show how you arrived at your answer.
10.  It is best to simply tell them how much your kWh usage has increased, according to DTE or Consumers.  What they record as kWh is what they use to compute your bill.

Just like math in school—not much fun for most of us, but essential!



A little more info not needed for the above, but FYI: Your electric bill consists of multiple parts. There is the kilowatt-hour charge. You will find this under the boldfaced “Power Supply Charges” on the back of your bill. Then there are the Delivery Charges, which are found below the Power Supply Charges. Like the Power Supply Charges, these are broken down into kWh charges.

House Energy Committee Emails

esleeper@house.mi.gov

TimSneller@house.mi.gov

DonnaLasinski@house.mi.gov

JosephBellino@house.mi.gov

DarrinCamilleri@house.mi.gov

TristonCole@house.mi.gov

ScottDianda@house.mi.gov

BrianElder@house.mi.gov

PatrickGreen@house.mi.gov 

BethGriffin@house.mi.gov

StevenJohnson@house.mi.gov

BeauLaFave@house.mi.gov

JamesLower@house.mi.gov

JohnReilly@house.mi.gov

JimTedder@house.mi.gov

DianaFarrington@house.mi.gov

LaTanyaGarrett@house.mi.gov

GaryGlenn@house.mi.gov

TomBarrett@house.mi.gov

Find your own state rep. Find your own state senator. 



Copy and paste list for all state reps.

Copy and paste list for state senators.

Emails for Michigan Senate Energy Committee

SenMNofs@senate.michigan.gov, senjproos@senate.michigan.gov, senkhorn@senate.michigan.gov, SenTSchuitmaker@senate.michigan.gov, senjhune@senate.michigan.gov, senmshirkey@senate.michigan.gov, sendzorn@senate.michigan.gov, senhhopgood@senate.michigan.gov, sendknezek@senate.michigan.gov, seniconyers@senate.michigan.gov

 

Commission Orders Hearing on Shut-Offs: March 2

DTE has been shutting off thousands of customers because the utility can't make its billing system work properly. "The evidence for thousands of improper shutoffs was so compelling that state regulators, in effect, said DTE Energy is guilty unless it can prove otherwise. The Michigan Public Service Commission ordered the utility's gas and electric providers “to prove they did not violate the Commission’s billing rules” when they switched to a new billing system in April," reported the Detroit Free Press and WZZM13.

The commission will hold a hearing beginning March 2. We need YOU to tell us if you have been improperly shut off (DTE Shut Me Off) or if your bill has gone up significantly (My Bill Has Gone Up Significantly).

Read the MPSC press release.

The Free Press/WZZM13 article talks about "mysterious illnesses" reported by people with smart meters, again portraying people as kooks, and has a lovely, and inaccurate press release statement from DTE, but at least the word is getting out.

DTE Bills Going Through the Roof

There is now an avalanche of customers reporting that their electric bills are going through the roof since the installation of smart meters on their homes. Consumers Energy customers are experiencing the same issues, and if you look back through our old posts, you will find some of these reports.

Just reading this will not change anything. You have to act. So, first of all

• sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date
• write your legislators and the House Energy Committee
• contact Fox2 news, who will likely do a story. Give them your name, phone number, and DTE account number'
• fill out this survey, because this is how we can log ALL the complaints and tell Fox2, the House Energy Committee, and the MI Public Service Commission how many complaints there actually are. 

The latest:

• St Clair County residents are reporting ultra-high bills.
•  
• Worth Township in Lapeer County got a bill for $10,000. Their normal bill is $300.
•  
• My (Linda Kurtz's) bill was normal for the first two months after the smart meter was installed. The next bill is up almost 250%. I've lived in my house for 21 years, and have every bill. DTE is doing a billing investigation. I don't expect anything useful to come of that. The smart meter is a black box. You can read an analog. You can't read a smart meter.
•  
• One meter was programmed with a commercial code, which has a much higher rate. The customer complained for months. DTE determined the commercial code error, but did nothing and continued to charge astronomical sums. Finally, the customer took the meter off and replaced it with an analog.

Hearing on DTE Shut-Offs

On January 16, 2018, the Michigan House Energy Committee heard testimony on DTE shut-offs of customers, especially those who have refused the smart meters.

The testimony presented at the January 16 hearing on DTE and Consumers Energy shut-offs was spectacular!

We urge you to watch all of it on our YouTube channel. Jaime Chimner courageously braved the EMFs that are so devastating to her health to tell the committee about her miraculous recovery when the digital meter was removed from her home and then how Consumers Energy uncaringly cut off her electricity. She and her husband have been living since 2015 without electricty from Consumers.

Wally Listopad and his 90-year-old grandmother testified, as did Dan Schulte (DTE employees laughed while cutting off his electricity), Georgetta Livingstone, and many others.

Senator Patrick Colbeck gave great testimony about the shut-offs and the need for meter choice.

To learn more about smart meters, please visit our website, Smart Meter Education Network.

Consumer Energy Installing RF-Transmitting Gas Meters in Areas Served by DTE Electric.

Consumers Energy is installing "communicating modules" for gas meters where they provide gas service but DTE provides electric. A person will drive by to read them. These may be traditional AMR meters, which transmit only when a gun is pointed at them. On the other hand, they may be an ERT meter that is emitting RF radiation 24/7.

The only way to know is to email Consumers and ask them to send you the data sheets on this meter. In addition, ask them for the brand and model of the meter. Please email us the info at SmartMeterEducationNetwork@gmail.com.

You can OPT OUT of the transmitting meter. Contact Consumers. They aren't charging your to do it.

Consumer Energy Installing RF-Transmitting Gas Meters in Areas Served by DTE Electric.

DTE's Latest Intimidation Tactics

People continue to resist DTE’s forced installation of smart meters, refusing to cave in to their shut-off notices and threats. This has left DTE confounded and uncertain and unable to settle upon a decisive course of action. Over the last two-and-a-half years they have continually reinvented their letters, notices, and threats in the hopes that they find some magic bullet to stop the resistance. Bottom line: Your resistance is working! DTE is not shutting off electricity to most customers to whom it sends notices (and, in a crazy twist, it is shutting off some customers who agree to allow a smart meter to be installed on their home).

Because of the strong resistance DTE is showing, and because of the publicity around the relatively small number of shut-offs, DTE is now going door-to-door, threatening customers with analog meters that if they do not accept the smart meter, their electricity will be shut off. They are hoping that people get scared and let them put a meter on, on the spot. For the most part, customers continue to refuse installation, and those customers are not being shut off.

Below we discuss some of the history of these notices and customer responses. Following that, we outline what you should do if you get a shut-off notice, some other kind of letter, or DTE personnel banging on your door or visiting your property.

Following that, you will find our original pages on what to do if you get a letter from DTE. DTE is still working to complete its initial installations in the northern parts of its territory.

Table of Contents

1)      Recent History of Letters and Shut-offs

a)      Shut-off Notices, the First Incarnation

b)      Unsuccessful, DTE Reverts to Its “Health and Safety Hazard Letter”

c)      Confounded Because Most Customers Refuse to Cave in, DTE Decides That a Gift Certificate Combined with a Shut-off Notice Might Induce People to Call and Accept the Smart Meter

2)      Even People Who Call to Accept the Smart Meter Have Been Shut Off

3)      What DTE Is Trying to Accomplish—Rather Unsuccessfully

4)      DTE’s Most Recent Tactic, as of Mid-November 2017

5)     What to Do If You Receive a Shut-off Notice or Other Threat

6)       

Recent History of Letters and Shut-offs

Shut-off Notices, the First Incarnation

DTE began sending out actual shut-off notices to customers in August 2017. As usual, they have tried varying tactics. In one instance, they sent shut-off notices to at least 11 Ann-Arbor–area residents. Eight people refused to respond to their letter. A protest was held at the home of Linda Kurtz, leader of the Smart Meter Education Network. DTE never showed up at her home, and never shut off her electric service. DTE did shut off most of the other customers, but did not do so in one day. Channel 7 did a story on the shut-offs, we were featured on the front page of the Ann Arbor News, and appeared on MLive and in other outlets.

Unsuccessful, DTE Reverts to Its “Health and Safety Hazard Letter”

Perhaps because of the publicity, DTE reverted to its previous letter that asserts, without foundation, that a locked meter is a health and safety hazard.  DTE, with the blessing of the Michigan Public Service Commission, was using this letter as a pretext to shut off electricity to customers who did not want smart meters. (Read this and this to learn why a locked meter is not a hazard.) DTE had been sporadically sending this letter out since March of 2015. When sending the letter out, it tried various tactics to get people to cave in: Sometimes it sent the letter to customers scattered widely across its service territory, some over 100 miles apart. At other times, it would select customers in one city. In every case, DTE has hoped that customers would cave in. They hoped that the customers receiving the notices and getting shut off would talk to each other, and that everyone would then fold, accepting the smart meter without a fight. Most customers refused to fold. After nearly two-and-a-half years of that pretextual letter, DTE moved to an actual shut-off notice. When that didn’t work in Ann Arbor, DTE went back to the “health and safety hazard” letter, sending it out just a couple of weeks later to customers in the Brighton area. While some customers did call DTE and accede to their demands, most did not. DTE was foiled again, and state representative Lana Theis is fully on board with Analog Meter Choice!

Confounded Because Most Customers Refuse to Cave in,

DTE Decides That a Gift Certificate Combined with a Shut-off Notice

Might Induce People to Call and Accept the Smart Meter

Hmm, thought  DTE. What do we do now? Yeah, we get a few people caving in here and there, but mostly people are refusing. So DTE reverted to the shut-off notice that Linda Kurtz and others had been sent, but with a twist. It now threatened customers with shut-off, yet inexplicably added a carrot, a special offer for its “valued customers”: 

DTE sent out scores of these letters threatening an October 23, 2017 shut-off date, and has sent out a few threatening a later date. Most customers have refused to respond. DTE has shut off customers here and there since October 2017, but is mostly leaving people alone. Of the hundreds of letters sent out, only about 10% of “valued DTE customers” were shut off. That is good odds that you will be left alone!

Even People Who Call to Accept the Smart Meter Have Been Shut Off

 There are also people who called DTE after receiving the shut-off notice. They told DTE they would accept the smart meter (or the non-transmitting smart meter) on their home. DTE scheduled an appointment for meter replacement. DTE went out and shut off some of those people anyway, including 73-year-old Irene Robinson of Hamburg Township near Pinckney. They showed up on a Sunday morning, a week before they were scheduled to replace the meter, and simply shut off her electricity. She’s not the only one. It seems that whether you call DTE or not, your electric service may be cut. It’s all a lottery. If you get a shut-off notice, your electricity might be cut—but it might not. If you call DTE and tell them you will let them place the hazardous smart meter on your home, your electricity might stay on—or it might be cut, even though you’ve made the appointment.

What DTE Is Trying to Accomplish—Rather Unsuccessfully

DTE has tried, through all the iterations of its threats and letters and shut-off notices, to find that magic bullet that will cause not only the person receiving the letter to cave in, but everyone else that person knows, too. They hope that if Mary Jane gets a shut-off notice or is shut off, she will talk to her neighbors who are resisting, inform all her friends and acquaintances, with the end result that all these people freak out and call DTE to accept the smart meter. They have hoped that if they send letters to a few people in widely scattered parts of the state, it will seem like DTE is on the march. It hasn’t worked. They have hoped that if they send letters to a couple handfuls of people in one city, the whole city will cave. It hasn’t worked.

DTE’s Most Recent Tactic, as of Mid-November 2017

DTE’s attempts to scare and intimidate with shut-off notices are producing poor results for the utility. Now DTE is trying yet another tactic. It’s latest letter combines the wording of many different letters it has sent out over the last five years. Here is the letter:

picture

This letter combines elements of the “health and safety hazard” letter with other features. Among other things, DTE—and the Michigan Public Service Commission—have learned from the formal complaint I, Linda Kurtz, filed against DTE in September 2017. My complaint was denied, yet DTE has now incorporated some of my allegations into its letter. Did you know that according to DTE a deck can be a safety hazard warranting shut-off? According to the letter, you must remove your deck in order to comply with the law. Regarding the cooperation between DTE and the MPSC: I was told straight up by the head of the complaints department at the MPSC that the commission had approved DTE’s “health and safety hazard” letter and was fully supporting its contents and claims.

Most interestingly, DTE has dialed it back once again. This latest letter is not a shut-off notice but instead, like the shut-off notice, a stick combined with a carrot. Continued customer resistance, the many TV news stories, and the concerted work of Senator Patrick Colbeck’s office on behalf of customers who have been mistreated by DTE are having an effect. Goliath is meeting his David.

We post links to media stories on shut-offs on our Alerts and Breaking News page, and also on Facebook.

What to Do If You Receive a Shut-off Notice or Other Threat

1.      Call us at 972-2677 (area code 734), and follow the instructions there for connecting with us.

2.      Don’t call DTE until you talk to us.

3.      Email us with your name, city, county, and phone number and tell us the type of letter you received. If you don’t see it on this site, please attach a copy. Our email address is SmartMeterEducationNetwork@gmail DOT com (replace the “DOT” with a period). Please put “Shut-off Notice” in the subject line so that we can quickly find your email!!

4.      Remember, DTE doesn’t shut off most people.

5.      Calling DTE to allow them to put on a meter guarantees you nothing. You could schedule DTE to come out and put on an opt-out meter or smart meter, and they might come out and shut you off anyway.

6.      Know that if your electricity were to be cut off, you can get your service restored.

7.      Know that we have generators available if necessary.

8.      If you do call DTE:

a.      Every encounter you have with DTE should be recorded. DTE has lied multiple times to many people, but unfortunately people rarely record the conversations.

b.      Get the name (and and I.D.) of the person you talk with. Write down the date, time, and length of the call, and make notes on what was said. Do this for every call, without fail!

9.      Every person who gets a threatening letter from DTE needs to email every single member of the Michigan Legislature. That contact info can be found on our Analog Meter Choice Bill page. All you have to do is copy and paste the emails. There’s no excuse for not letting the legislature know what is going on!

We recommend that you do not contact DTE. As we said, DTE has sent out hundreds of shut-off notices. Only a few handfuls of people have been shut off. Moreover, even if you call DTE and accept the smart meter, they might come out and shut you off! It is better to wait and see what happens. You will probably be passed over. If you call them, you are more on their radar than ever.

Only one person has been shut off  in the last couple of weeks.

If DTE personnel come by your home and threaten shut-off, simply tell them you are not ready to accept the meter. You can read more on our Alerts and Breaking News page.

Empty DTE Threats

DTE is showing up to people's homes with their "bucket trucks" (also called "cherry-pickers), threatening to shut the customer off if the customer doesn't allow them to install the smart meter. Customers who have not received a shut-off notice who REFUSE to let DTE install the smart meter are NOT being shut off. Stand strong!

DTE Shuts Off Customer for Refusing Smart Meter, Then Shuts Her Off Again

http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/291578810-video

Fox News story.
DTE spokesperson gets it wrong, says "there's no electronics" in the opt-out meter.

Customer Medical Complaint to Be Heard by MPSC

After receiving a letter from DTE threatening to cut his electrical power…

DTE customer Tom Mitchell has been granted a hearing by the MPSC based on his hand-written letter which he informed them that due to a common medical condition (Atrial fibrillation:  a condition occurring when the upper chambers of your heart receive irregular electrical signals) he could not live without power or with a smart meter on his home.

MPSC contacted Tom by phone assuring him that his power would not be cut and that he is scheduled for a hearing on the matter.

Tom received a call from DTE telling him, in so many words, to drop his complaint because no one has ever won a case based on his argument.

Tom dismissed DTE’s request and pre-hearing arguments are scheduled for:

Tuesday October 31, 2017

9AM

MPSC Headquarters

7109 W. Saginaw Highway

Lansing, Michigan 48917

Case # U-18445

before administrative law judge Lauren G. Van Steel

A large turnout at the pre-hearing is needed to provide support for Tom and will impress upon the judge that Tom is not alone in his need to safeguard his health from the curse of smart meter radiation. It is not known if there will be an opportunity for comments from anyone other than Tom, but just being there will speak volumes.   

Unexplained Health Problems Since Smart Meter Installed

When I'm in bed, my head is less then 3 feet from all the utilities coming into my house.

I have multiple health problems since the smart-meter was installed.

I have great Family, Rheumatologist and Podiatrist Doctors who 

and are baffled at my declining health--headaches, muscle weakness and fatigue.

I'm having MRI, MRA and X-rays and hope they can find a cause, treatment and solution! I need this meter removed!

No More Analogs for Consumers Energy Customers

Consumers Energy no longer allow its customers to opt out and keep their analog meter. We hope that this spurs you to get seriously involved in getting the Analog Meter Choice Bill passed!

Any new customers who call or email to opt out are given only the option of a digital meter. The dirty electricity from digital meters is causing severe health problems for some Consumers Energy customers.

We don't know when Consumers will force its customers who have opted out and currently still have an analog meter to switch over to a smart or digital meter.

Read more about the Consumers Energy opt-out.

Tell Trump: Please Stop the Roll-out of 5G

Ask President-Elect Trump to stop the roll-out of 5G technology, which is more devastating than smart meters and current cell phone technology. If he gets enough comments, maybe he will listen. Here is what I wrote:

Dear President-Elect Trump: I am asking you to please look out for the little guy and stop the corporations from being able to do anything they want, even when it affects people's health. I am one of a growing number of people who are what is known as "electrosensitive." This means that we are badly harmed by radiofrequency (wireless) radiation. The FCC under President Obama has decided to roll out 5G (just like Hillary wanted to give everyone free WiFi). To deploy it, miniature cell towers will be required on literally nearly every utility and light pole. 5G is extremely penetrating--it will go through anything. I already can't spend time outdoors because of all the wireless frequencies. 5G will penetrate my home. It will be deployed in rural areas. There will be nowhere to be safe. Please do not allow the deployment of 5G until it has been PROVEN to be safe! No safety tests of any kind have been done on it. I hope you will differentiate yourself from the Obama (and previous administrations) and be actually caring about PEOPLE! When exposed to wireless radiation I experience unremitting insomnia, heart palpitations, ringing in the ears, headaches, extreme fatigue to the point where I cannot function.

https://apply.ptt.gov/yourstory/

Sen. Colbeck Speaks Up in Support of Analog Meter Choice

Awesome statement in support of analog meter choice! Senator Patrick Colbeck offers amendment to Senate Energy Bill (SB 437), which senate rejects. "Their home is supposed to be their castle, yet they have no control over the devices to be placed there." He offers many points regarding smart meters and analog meter choice.

See the You Tube video of Colbeck's remarks.

Also see http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/11/10/sweeping-energy-overhaul-passes-michigan-senate/93617144/.

WiFi Might Be Disabled at Santa Fe City Halls When Requested

This is a start! Santa Fe may disable Wi-Fi at City Hall when electrosensitive residents request it for public hearings.
Santa Fe City Hall may turn into a Wi-Fi dead zone Wednesday during a public hearing on telecommunications facilities in the public right-of-way.
The city is considering turning off the Wi-Fi in council chambers at the request of self-described sufferers of Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome, also known as Wi-Fi allergies.

"We’ll make that determination tomorrow," city spokesman Matt Ross said Monday. "We’ve gotten several calls this afternoon requesting that it be turned off..."

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/blogs/local_news/santa-fe-may-disable-wi-fi-at-city-hall-after/article_fe8c4428-a543-11e6-977b-1fd4ff24ced9.html

Radio interference from LED lighting

LED lights: Not only do the damage your retina and create dirty electricity, they emit radiofrequency radiation. Read more at EMCrules.

"Although today’s LEDs are capable of long life, and delivering high light output levels with very little power consumption, most need to be paired with a drive circuit to provide constant current sourcing to operate in our homes and offices, and that’s where the problem comes in. These switching drive circuits operate at increasingly higher frequencies, and in order to maintain the highest efficiency, and highest LED longevity possible, they also need to maintain very high slew rates [dirty electricity, or voltage changes]. These factors contribute to the overall unwanted emissions from each individual lighting element, increasing the Electromagnetic background noise. Most of the interference may be caused by very high frequency emissions, typically in the 30 – 300 MHz range, and possibly higher."

"Electromagnetic Interference or EMI mitigation inevitably increases the overall cost of products by adding additional components to a design, or requiring a more complicated and expensive design and layout, and for low price consumer electronics, with very small profit margins, every penny counts. As EMI mitigation is considered by some as an unnecessary expense, it is often overlooked or simply disregarded."

Smart Meter Fire in Hillsdale County

http://www.hillsdale.net/news/20161027/no-injuries-reported-in-blaze

The gentleman claimed that sparks coming from his newly installed electric meter caused the blaze.

Election: Write the Candidates

ELECTION in 2 WEEKS! Michigan is a battleground where at least 20 seats might switch parties. YOUR VOTE COUNTS! Where do the people running for state legislature stand on smart meters? Who will get your vote? Write the candidates in your district NOW and find out where they stand. Tell them you want Analog Meter Choice!

There will be a minimum of 42 new faces in the Michigan House. With that changeover comes new leaders and new committees.

Go to Ballotpedia. Scroll down until you find the section titled "List of Candidates." You will see the Democratic candidates listed on the left and their Republican opponents on the right. Write to the candidates in you district.

Consumers Energy Shuts Off Power to Man It Overcharged

CONSUMERS ENERGY SHUTS OFF POWER to man it overcharged. Consumers Energy estimated reads at Jerry Bosse's 2-bedroom Kalamazoo home for 14 months, then slapped him with a $22,000 bill. He claims he doesn't owe the money, and that the smart meter was reading wrong. How could it not be? What normal person in a 2-bedroom home could have an electric bill of nearly $2000 per month? Consumers reduced the bill to $10,000. Bosse has been paying the utility $200 per month.

Today, Consumers Energy shut off his power, claiming he had not paid his bill. He and his wife have a baby who needs refrigerated breast milk.

Consumers Energy says, "Count on Us." Yeah, we'll count on you, Consumers, for unwarranted shut-offs, bill overcharges, smart meters that irradiate us 24/7, and digital meters that ruin our health.

See the original Fox News story on Jerry's plight.
http://fox17online.com/2016/04/08/22000-bill-for-two-bedroom-kalamazoo-home-leaves-owner-in-shock/

Consumers Energy Gas Smart Meters Being Installed

Consumers Energy is forcing gas smart meters on customers across the state. Refuse their gas smart meters! See our pages on Consumers Opt-Out and on Gas Smart Meters.

Smart Meter Fires in Kansas City

Channel 41 in Kansas City reports on smart meter fires. this is the best TV reporting on fires we've seen yet. See a homeowner's smart meter in flames. The utility let him without power for a month. Interviews with smart meter experts Curtis Bennett and Brian Thiesen.

At the end, you will hear the utility company say that most meter fires are caused by factors other than the meter, including old and faulty wiring. What they don't say is, these fires were not happening with analog meters. The dirty electricity generated by the smart meters can overwhelm older wiring. This dirty electricity is also a cause of flickering lights and appliance short-outs.
As for the utility claim that the meter socket is at fault, please see our video where electrician Rob Marx discusses the thinner stabs (blades / prongs) of smart meters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKS5z5niKd4