Thursday, June 28, 2012
Some say meters are ingenious, others say they're dangerous, as 202 Pepco customers opt out of smart meters.
On June 11, Pepco said 70 customers had opted out of smart meters and by Tuesday, June 26, the number had grown to 202, according to Pepco. The number of Pepco customers in Maryland is 531,000, according to Pepco. "We think the low number of customers who want to opt out indicates the majority of our customers have looked at all the scientific data and found nothing to be alarmed about," Pepco stated in an email to Patch Monday night. More than 190 comments have been posted on Patch's initial article about customers who opted out of smart meters. Below are excerpts from what our readers had to say. Readers' Speak Out on Smart Meter Pros and Cons "I think the smart meters will be a good idea for smart billing. Rates increase during high-…
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Electric companies consider offering opt-out policies for smart meters—but not for free.
Making room for a potential customer opt-out from smart meters, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Pepco, and Delmarva Power outlined potential opt-out plans at a recent public hearing on the topic, according to a Maryland Gazette report by Sara Blumberg. BGE executives proposed a plan that would let customers pay their way out of the program. But those who want to keep their existing, analog meters would have to pay a $50 one-time fee. Plus they'd get a monthly fee—anwhere from $10 to $60—Wayne Harbaugh, director of pricing and regulator services at BGE said during the Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing Tuesday, the Gazette reported. As electric companies move forward in their efforts to install smart meters in homes and businesses …
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Pepco says smart meters typically relay thousands of brief communications daily during scheduled and unscheduled transmittals.
Pepco informed the D.C. Office of People's Counsel (OPC) that smart meters relay thousands of brief communications in conjunction with their scheduled and unscheduled daily transmittals. This information is in an April 9 letter from Pepco to the OPC's D.C. office, a letter which the Maryland OPC emailed to Patch Tuesday. As Pepco continues its work of replacing traditional meters with new smart meters in Maryland, debate and speculation has arisen over how much radiation the meters emit. Some customers are up in arms, fearing the radiation may give them cancer or make them sick. But Pepco states on its website that the smart meters use the same frequency ranges as cellular or cordless phones, but at much lower power. In addition it states …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Prince George's County Fire officials are on the scene at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt investigating why radiation and smoke alarms sounded around 10 p.m. Thursday.
Update: May 11, 2:03 p.m.: Engine Overheats in NASA Goddard Building Containing Radioactive Material Original Post: Prince George's County Fire Department investigators are trying to figure out why alarms sounded Thursday night at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt. According to PGFD Spokesman Mark Brady's Twitter account, firefighters responded to the scene of NASA Goddard around 10 p.m. after radiation alarms sounded at the building. Hazmat was also on scene to determine the cause. Investigators said the radiation alarm sounded because the facility's smoke alarms sounded, Brady tweeted, but no smoke was visible on scene. Although radiation has been ruled out as a cause of the alarm, firefighters are continuing to investigate the reason for the …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Smart Meters: Genius to Some, Insanity Say Others
Will Pepco's installation of smart meters emit radiation that gives some customers cancer. Or are the meters state-of-the-art mechanisms that will move Maryland into the 21st Century? Depends on who you talk to. Greenbelters will get a chance to hear directly from Pepco on the matter Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the multipurpose room in the Greenbelt Community Center. Pepco will also discuss its plans to upgrade the electric system and reduce power outages in Greenbelt. As for the smart meters, Nick Costen, Greenbelt resident and an aerospace contractor in Prince George’s County has been following the issue and is worried. He thinks the radiation emitted from smart meters may be dangerous. He's especially concerned about the locations that have …
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thursday night's ACE Science Club explores the wonders of radiation.
Since 2009, University of Maryland grad student Jacob Tosado has sparked science learning in elementary and middle school kids through an array of hands-on demonstrations and activities. Thursday night's ACE Science Club meeting in Greenbelt focused on radiation in all its fascinating guises, from sound waves radiating through air to radioactive uranium ores that sent Tosado's Geiger counter a twittering.
Kids learn to touch, explore and think in Jacob Tosado’s world of science wonder.
Thursday night, as the stifling, steamy humidity bathed Greenbelt, things started to heat up inside the Community Center at ACE Science Club. Or to be more precise, inside Jacob Tosado’s battered microwave oven, the one in which he created a plasma — the “fourth state” of matter. Six kids, aged 4 to 12, gathered campfire-like around Tosado, a physics graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Thursday it was all boys, but of course girls and any other Greenbelt kids, 8 to 14, are welcome to participate in the twice-monthly club meetings. Tosado sparked a wooden kitchen match and propped it up in the center of the oven. He covered the flame with a glass chemistry-set beaker to collect hot gases. “Ready?” he asked. Are you…
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15 Crescent Rd, Greenbelt, MD
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George Karadimas
6:19 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
"Dear MSMA Member, Because we realize some of you do not have enough time to go on line and download a letter to your delegates, we are making it very easy for you to get involved. While letters and face-to-face meetings are much more effective, signing the petition below is much simpler and will have some impact. The petition urges your Maryland Delegates to support the NO FEE OPT OUT House Bill… more ›