VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – BC’s energy minister is not making the future of smart meters much clearer.
Rich Coleman isn’t ruling out imposing them on homes that still don’t want them.
There remain holdouts; Coleman says there’s fewer than 100,000 homes, compared to close to 1.75 million households that have them.
Now Coleman wants BC Hydro to revisit the people who don’t want them. “The optimal is to have a system that is completely integrated.”
And if they still refuse? “Our experience is about 75 per cent of them will probably take them at that point, than I’ll know the numbers and we’ll sit down and formulate the plan from there.”
Coleman says it will take a few months to go through the discussions with those who oppose the smart meters.
The NDP’s John Horgan notes that pushes the issue until after the election.
“I think they want to quiet down the noise. I have received tens of thousands of emails over the past year-and-a-half on smart meters from people right across BC. There is definitely discontent and uncertainty and misinformation,” argues Horgan.
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This is probably going to cost Coleman the election.
We should have the option to have Removed and Replaced with NON Wireless Models
Hard to imagine Minuster Coleman could make more of a mess of this issue then he has – foot-in-mouth, and flip flopping all over the place. Why not just let Hydro state its policy = one voice. Thought he’d have learned his lesson on the Surrey Casino issue, but apparently not…Bad a Christy Clark for desperately seeking photo ops – then messing-up……
Why should I have to pay more? BC Hydro is saving millions of dollars a year (with all the laid off meter readers) and will soon be rolling in cash as rates go through the roof to subsidize industry, on the backs of residential customers. Not to mention time of day billing, which will be possible with “smart” meters. It’s quaint, to think that all customers that don’t want a “smart” meter are tin foil wearing morons, but it’s not true. All of the people that I know, that still don’t have “smart” meters, are more educated about “smart” meters than the rest of the general public. That’s why we don’t want one, because we know the truth. BC Hydro refuses to answer the questions that everyone wants to know, because they know the truth would destroy their “smart” meter program.
The BC Liberals say they’re not considering time of day billing. 4 years ago, they said they weren’t considering implementing the HST. I think you know how that turned out.
To pvlarry: BC Hydro is not the Gestapo. They should not have the power of the Gestapo or the KGB. I don’t have wireless technology, except my cell phone, which I leave off and only use in emergency for travel. You are clearly very ignorant and most likely bitter or jealous because you were forced to take a “smart” meter, due to inaction. I will never give up my privacy without a fight. This is only the begining. Next is Fortis. Then “smart” appliances and time of day billing. This is more about how to gouge the customers (99%) and feed the corporations (1%) with hydro subsidies. You sound like a spokesperson for BC Hydro. I, on the other hand am a real person, with a real name.
The customers will pay for this $1,000,000,000.00 “upgrade”, while BC Hydro execs and BC Liberals pat themselves on the back and collect huge rewards. There is still no opt out option, but there should be.
I believe California (or someplace in the states) allows people to keep the old dumb meters, but charges something like an extra $20 a month for having to send someone out to read the meter. If they really want to keep the od dumb meter, they have the option…
And by the way, that fat ass BC energy minister, is worse than Hansen (the father of HST). Coleman has got to be defeated in the next election. And oops about the spelling mistakes (theuy and Huydro) in last comment
Those people that don’t want smart meters because they fear the RF radiation, probably hold a cell phone on their person, or to their ears for most of the day. But doing that is is ok? For those that don’t want them, I say fine, put a surcharge on their hydro bills at least $50 a month, for not allowing hydro a complete 100% system. Theuy don’t pay it, their huydro will get cut off. And by the way, I detest the BC liberals and Crusty Clark.
Could someone clear this up for me? The contract for the smart meters maker was 270 million, the contract to Corix to install them was 73 million. The total contract was approximately 1 billion dollars…so where did the other 650 million dollars go?
The other 650 million goes to paying the pension of Christy and all her Liberal cohorts