Saturday, February 25, 2012

TEPCO to Introduce Smart Meters to Households As Early As Fall of Next Year

As if irradiating the population with Fukushima-origin radionuclides is not enough, TEPCO says it will introduce smart meters to its household customers by the fall of 2013.

Privacy concern about smart meters? Nah. The country is set to introduce the numbering system for the citizens for more efficient tax collection and tracking, calling it "My Number" as if you were queuing to be served at a deli.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (2/26/2012):

東京電力が、節電の切り札の一つとして検討を進めている次世代電力計「スマートメーター」の導入計画案が分かった。

TEPCO plans to introduce "smart meters" as one of the best ways to conserve energy.

 来年秋にも一般家庭を中心に従来型メーターとの入れ替えを始める。電気料金にもはね返るメーターの製造コストを下げるため、メーカーの選定は東電の電力計で初の一般競争入札とし、今年10月に実施する。計画は月内にも発表する。

The company will start swapping the current meters for the household customers with the smart meters starting the fall of 2013. The manufacturing cost of the smart meters will be reflected in the increase of utility bills, so TEPCO plans to solicit open competitive bids from manufacturers for the first time for the meters. The bidding will be conducted in October this year. The plan [for the smart meters] will be announced by the end of this month.

 スマートメーターは、消費者が電力使用量を同時進行で把握できるため省エネに効果的とされる。東電は福島第一原子力発電所の事故後の電力不足を踏まえ、スマートメーターの普及を急ぐことにした。昨年12月にまとめた経営合理化の「アクションプラン(行動計画)」では、2022年度までに約2700万件の全契約者にスマートメーターを導入する方針を掲げていた。

Smart meters are said to be effective in saving energy because the users can monitor the electricity consumption real-time. Due to the shortage of electricity after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, TEPCO has decided to speed up the plan for the smart meters. In the "Action Plan" for streamlining operations in December last year, TEPCO said smart meters would be installed for all 27 million customers by the end of the fiscal 2022.

Yomiuri would be the last to tell the readers that there has been no shortage of electricity after the nuclear accident, even though TEPCO and the national government introduced the rolling blackout scheme to teach people a lesson. The paper is not about to tell the readers how the smart meters are being resisted in many places in the world and why.

However, that kind of information probably doesn't matter for a nation that decided, soon after the Fukushima accident started, to go ahead with the electromagnetic monster aka "Linear Shinkansen" (JR-Maglev). Being zapped with radiation and radio frequency is clearly not enough. The project will require building a long tunnel right through the Japan's Median Tectonic Line under the Southern Japan Alps. They also want the Large Hadron Collider in Tohoku like the one CERN has. They also want to mine methane hydrate from the ocean floor.

It almost seems like a collective death wish to me, but someone should tell the Japanese "DO NOT DO IT" on the last one. The world does not need two environmental disasters from a same nation in short order.

10 comments:

enoughalready45 said...

Off topic/kind of...

I just posted about events in Chicago, Illinois USA regarding "Remembering Fukshima". One is a two day symposium at the University of Chicago.
http://enenews.com/upcoming-meetings-gatherings-demonstrations/comment-page-3#comment-211116

Anonymous said...

I am almost speechless...but I realize I shouldn't be surprised at these latest shenanigans by TEPCO.

The Japanese citizens should take heed and learn from the ongoing battle by California residents against the installation of these "Smart" meters in their neighborhoods.

Check out websites such as http://stopsmartmeters.org/ or Google it to learn more, so you can prepare yourselves with ideas for stopping them in Japan as well. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Asstralia, where "Smart" Meters are compulsory.

Enjoy electricity bill magically multiplying! I know the electricity companies will. Kaching! $$$$

Atomfritz said...

By remote surveillance and analysis of your electric consumption it is very easy to always know what you are currently doing.

A "smart meter" is about the same as a surveillance camera in your bedroom.
You lose your privacy.

And now look closely which political and economical groups promote the trend to "smart meters".

Cui bono?

Anonymous said...

You can bet your life that the Japanese public will keep their collective mouths shut on this issue, there will be very little dissent and the smartmeters will be rammed down their throats by the media..... Even more Total brainwashing coming up...watch this space

They are watching! said...

Smart meters are for two reasons, to raise your monthly bill and to snoop.
These meters are nothing more than a surveillance device that can tell a lot about you, if you are home, did you set your alarm, what kind of appliances you have and so on. The criminal element will love these things, they can be easily hacked because they are wireless.
So all you rich folks in Japan remember this, the bad guys will know if you are home and if you set your alarm, then it is open season of all your precious things.
TEPCO loves these things because they can raise your rates through the roof and make of ton of money, Corporations do not spend that kind of money if they will not make it back with huge profits.
They are bringing these foul things into every market in North America, to snoop and to make lots and lots of money, the consumer does not enter into the equation. Beware! They are watching you.
Also the police like these things because they can tell a lot about you and your habits.

CaptD said...

What is holding America SOLAR Back?
http://www.grist.org/solar-power/2011-08-08-clever-accounting-lets-utilities-cash-in-when-you-go-solar

The Utilities want to maximize the profits for the shareholders and so they donate to Candidates to get them to support traditional Energy Production, which does not include anything but a token amount of Solar... We are being "forced" to accept their Energy "mix", instead of using our own and being fairly paid for the Energy we produce and push INTO the grid!!

When The Energy Utilities pay each of us for the energy we put into the grid, at the same rate that the Utility charges for that same energy someone else uses at that exact time, then you will see Solar being installed Nation wide!


Because Solar is generated during the daytime, it is the most valuable since the Utilities charge the most for daytime usage (where they have SMART metering the utility can also charge for "time of usage")!

Many, many more would install Solar if the Utility paid those that installed Solar for the energy they put INTO the grid, at the very same rate that the Utility charges for that same Energy to folks that take Energy OUT of the Grid! By not paying the same amount, the Utility shareholders receive additional money they do not deserve and the folks that have installed solar end up with a much longer payback period!

The Japanese need to STOP THE SOLAR ENERGY RIPOFF!

CaptD said...

Smart meters will allow TEPCO and the other Utilities to create new energy TIER's so they can also charge different rates for time of usage!

The gov't. can also track changes in usage which indicate how many live in a house and or number of visitors!

These meters also give off radio freq. waves and many in CA are starting to find that they "feel" different because of them; who wants another radiating device in your life to save the electric company from having to pay "meter readers" to read your electric meter! If anything smart meters should LOWER your bill because of that but FAT CHANCE of your bill doing anything but go ever upward!

CaptD said...

Example of free solar light:
Solar Water Bottle "Light"

Great Solar Bottle light for the Third World and beyond!
http://wimp.com/lightenup/

This will make you smile, even if you love Solar energy,
It is so simple and so efficient!

Anonymous said...

Another word rendered useless: smart. If these meters were such a benefit to the consumer, they could make them available and let the market decide. Are we to believe so much money will be saved if meters don't have to be read, as if that little bit of job creation caused energy usage and price to be high?

Here in the USA, Obama used stimulus money to front the meters and let the utilities collect later. That's why we only have to pay to not have them, while you have to pay upfront.

Naturally GE is involved. Similar to how they once wanted to "wire" every hospital room to stop disease spread - a preposterously expensive solution. But that is the model of how the corporate mafia makes money. They don't offer up products that help people. They go to governments and develop schemes to foist their money-making plans on an unwilling public.

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