Lawsuit filed over smart meters
Posted July 26, 2013 10:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SALT SPRING ISLAND (NEWS1130) – A lawsuit has been filed against BC Hydro over smart meters in BC.
Nomi Davis, who lives on Salt Spring Island, is behind the suit, along with a couple of groups opposed to the meters.
They worry about the transmission of signals affecting their health. BC Hydro says people who don’t want the meters can have their signals turned off.
“We don’t believe this. We believe that they will turn the transmitter on,” says Sharon Noble with the Coalition to Stop Smart Meters.
“I have a right to decide what I put on my home. I have a right to decide if I use a cell phone, if I have a Wifi modem… I have a right to make these decisions. BC Hydro is taking that right away from me,” adds Noble.
The lawsuit demands that Hydro remove meters from homes where people don’t want them, as well calls for a block on Hydro from charging people for opting out.
The suit could be certified as a class action, which means anyone in the province could join.
BC Hyrdo said in a statement that they will work through the judicial process, “to explain why we are obligated to replace a customer’s meter when there is potential for a safety hazard. In the case filed today, the meter’s glass was broken and could have compromised the safe delivery of power to the customer.”
“The BC Court of Appeal and the BC Utilities Commission have previously dismissed legal challenges related to the installation of smart meters. BC Hydro has acted at all times within the law to ensure that our electricity system operates in a safe and reliable manner,” said Greg Reimer, executive vice-president of Transmission and Distribution.