VANCOUVER, B.C. (CN) - A class action demands that the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority stop installing microwave-emitting "smart" power meters at customers' homes without their consent.
Lead plaintiff Nomi Davis, a yoga instructor, claims in B.C. Supreme Court that the publicly owned utility "installed and/or sought to install a microwave radiofrequency-emitting, communications transmitter" on her property.
"The presence of a device with bio-effects on the plaintiff's property has disrupted the integrity of the space as a sanctuary for meditation, peace of mind and resonant attunement," Davis says in the lawsuit.
She claims the World Health Organization has identified the frequency emitted by the microwave device as possibly carcinogenic.
"There is consensus in the scientific community as to the fact that exposure to the emissions causes biological effects; however there is division in the scientific community as to whether those biological effects are adverse to human health," the complaint states.
Davis claims installation of the smart meters exceed "the scope of the defendant's right to access the plaintiff's property for the purpose of reading, repairing or replacing the meter."
She says she told the company she didn't want a smart meter installed, but it installed one anyway, in August 2012.
Davis says she asked the company to remove the meter, but B.C. Hydro refused and threatened to cut off her power, using "its monopoly status to coercively and deceptively impose the microwave device on the plaintiff against her express wishes."
She claims the meter causes her emotional distress and interferes with her quiet enjoyment of her property.
"The plaintiff uses her property to host yoga and meditation retreats, including a spiritual practice of attunement to resonant states of consciousness," the complaint states. "The installation and operation of the microwave device and the presence of the emissions in the plaintiff's domestic environment has interfered with that practice. The presence of a device with bio-effects on the plaintiff's property has disrupted the integrity of the space as a sanctuary for meditation, peace of mind and resonant attunement."
Davis seeks an injunction compelling the company to remove the meter, and damages for trespass and nuisance.
She is represented by David M. Aaron of Nelson, B.C.
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