Smart Meter Hearing Update

Thanks so much to those who sent in testimony for the three Massachusetts utility smart meter bills!

(If you haven’t had a chance, there’s still time and every voice counts — here’s the template to make it easy.)

Yesterday nine constituents testified before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. We hope to have video to share soon.

Some highlights:

• The legislators heard personal experiences, the science, and what other states and countries are already doing to protect their citizens.
• They also heard details on National Grid’s fraudulent smart grid pilot program in Worcester, MA.
• Senate Chair Michael Barrett stopped to ask good questions about the science.
• We laid out solutions and handed both the House and Senate Chairs the roadmap to safe, sustainable technology: the policy book Reinventing Wires: The Future of Landlines and Networks.
• Industry representatives were in the hearing chamber so we got to educate them too; they chose not to testify.

We are so grateful for the tireless work of our world scientists, health care professionals, educators, advocates — and a growing number of public servants tuning into the wireless radiation issue. We know it is on your shoulders we stand as we work together to move the needle toward safe technology.

The public policy process in Massachusetts is a long one — this session goes until December 2020 but perhaps our legislators will move more swiftly now that New Hampshire and Oregon have passed wireless radiation bills into law.

The Next Bills: October 7

We just found out the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure has scheduled two more of our bills for public hearing:

Monday, October 7, 1-4 p.m.
Massachusetts State House, Gardner Auditorium

Senator Julian Cyr’s S. 129 and S. 130 seek, respectively, to:

• Form a special commission to research the impact of electromagnetic (EMR) and radiofrequency (RFR) radiation on consumer protection, public health, and technology
• Emulate the Berkeley, CA ordinance to notify the public of the fine print radiation warnings

I’ll create a template soon and ask for testimonies to be sent in again. If folks can make arrangements to testify in person too, these are perhaps our two strongest bills this session.