Naperville, Ill a suburb of Chicago with a separate political structure, is a hotbed of activists’ resistance to smart meters. A local grass roots group, Naperville Smart Meter Awareness (NSMA), was established by the two women arrested for resisting a smart meter installation and video taping it, Malia “Kim” Bendis and Jennifer Stahl.  tahl locked the gate on her fence and refused to allow technicians access to her property when technicians had arrived to install a smart meter.

The police were called, the lock was cut, but still Stahl tried to block them from taking her old analog meter. She was handcuffed and taken away, and Malia Bendis was also arrested for “eavesdropping” on an official police activity. Read more…

The city’s mandate does allow an opt-out feature. According to the Chicago Tribune, one can opt out by paying for an initial fee of $68.35 for the alternative meter plus a $24.75 monthly fee for manually reading it. Some areas have higher fee arrangements and others have lower rates, while some say you can’t opt out – period.