How to Stop Gas Smart Meter Installation
by the Utility Company

DTE and Consumers Energy don’t install/upgrade the gas meters and electric meters at the same time.
DTE allows customers to keep their analog gas meter. This is part of their opt-out fee for electric meters. We suggest that you post a sign on your gas meter saying: "I am opting out of the smart meter. Do not install gas smart meter." We would suggest that you still chain up your gas meter, as there is no guarantee an installer won't install anyway. We do not suggest calling customer service to opt out. Rather, if the DTE gas department contacts you, you can decide whether or not to speak with them.

How to Lock Your Gas Meter

A typical gas meter. Note the meter display at the top. Note the chain tightly wrapped around three times and secured with a lock through two loops.

Please note that the lock pictured above is not a hardened shackle lock!

This procedure is only required when the gas meter is located outside your home. The outside gas meter is attached to a pipe that comes out of the ground right next to the home.

  1. Measure the size of your meter to see how long of a chain you will need. You want the chain to loop around 3 times. A piece of rope would make measuring very easy. Always add 6 inches more to the measured length for the chain so you don't buy something too short!
  2. Buy a hardened shackle lock, like the one for your electric meter. Buy a hardened steel chain. You want the chain to loop around 3 times. Make sure you allow at least 2 extra links so that you can be assured you can lock it all up.
  3. If you want to, put clear tape over the meter display to protect it from being scratched. We haven’t found this to be necessary, but we have seen it recommended.
  4. Wrap the chain tightly around the meter 3 times. You must make sure it is tight. Lock the chain to itself, making sure you lock the first wrap to the third wrap. If you aren’t able to include the second wrap, don’t worry about it. The chain will be secure.
  5. Test to be sure that the chain is tight and see whether you can move the chain off the meter display. If you can then it’s not tight enough. The tight chain is the most important part.
  6. Make sure that the meter is still readable. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be. The chain will move slightly, and the meter can also be read thru the holes in the chain links.

Following this will keep your gas meter safe.

Close-up of lock on gas meter
Please note that the lock pictured above is not a hardened shackle lock!

 

 

Newsletter, Facebook—Stay Up to Date

Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter (it comes out every 1 to 4 weeks). We constantly update our website, so check back often. You can find updates and time-sensitive actions to take under our “Alerts and Breaking News” box. We also use Facebook to send out quick news updates. (While we understand the privacy concerns with Facebook, at this point in time it is a useful tool for us, and is a great way to spread the word about smart meters. If you only wish to use Facebook for access to our updates, you can get an account without revealing personal information—it’s all in what you choose to share, and you can give them any name or birthdate you like.)

Our newsletter comes out every 1 to 4 weeks. It will keep you informed and tell you what actions you can take to fight smart meters. Note that most email programs will filter out our newsletter unless you adjust your email settings. Even though you may receive individual emails from us, when we send the newsletter out to a large group, the emails may be placed in a folder other than your inbox. This happened to us! We weren’t even getting our own newsletter.. Please make sure you look for emails from smartmetereducationnetwork@ gmail. com in your Promotions, Spam, Junk, or other folders. Please contact your email provider to learn how to adjust your settings, or search on the internet.

 

 

Terms to Know

Advanced meter: smart meter (term used by DTE to hide the fact it is a smart meter).

AMI meter and AMI program: another name for the smart meter and the smart meter program. AMI stands for advanced metering infrastructure.

Blood-brain barrier: EMFs can cause the blood-brain barrier to be breached, allowing toxins to enter the brain. Toxin entry is thought to be partially responsible for Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s.

Dirty electricity: spiky, pulsed electromagnetic field generated by smart meters that rides through building wiring and permeates the building’s rooms. Responsible for many of the health problems seen with smart and digital meters.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs): consist of an electrical field and a magnetic field. Fields are created by the flow of electrical current through the wire, sunlight, etc.  

Electromagnetic frequency: examples are 60 Hz electrical current of your home, RF of a cell phone. Often used interchangeably with electromagnetic field.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS): sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. Symptoms are complex and involve all bodily systems

Hydrogen bonds: Electrostatic bonds that help hold the DNA double helix together. Breakage of hydrogen bonds may cause changes in DNA that can lead to cancer. RF and other EMFs may disrupt the Hydrogen bonds.

Meter upgrade: the installation of an advanced (smart) meter on your home by DTE.

Microwave radiation: the type of radiation emitted by smart meters. Known to cause biological harm.

Non-transmitting meter: another name for the DTE and Consumers opt-out meters.

Opt-out meter: this is a smart meter. The only thing that is different is the radio-transmitter is turned off. It still generates dirty electricity, it still retains the two antennas, and it is only incrementally less harmful to your health. It can still record detailed information about your electrical usage.

Radio-disabled meter: another name for the DTE opt-out meter.

Radio-off meter: another name for the DTE opt-out meter.

Radiofrequency (RF): high-frequency electromagnetic waves in the range of 10 MHz to 300 Ghz. All wireless devices, including smart meters, cell phones, and Wi-Fi emit RF.

Switched mode power supply: contained in all smart meters, it creates dirty electricity.

van der Waals bonds: an extremely weak electromagnetic force that helps hold the DNA double helix together. Breakage of the van der Waals bond may cause changes in DNA that can lead to cancer. RF and other EMFs can disrupt the van der Waals bonds.