SmartMeters! They are coming your way and there is no choice: you will have a SmartMeter installed on your home. You can pay to have it relocated near your home, but install it they will, like it or not. A lot of people are not happy and want me to do something about it.
This is a tricky subject - a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation. We have done a fair bit of research on SmartMeters and I thought you might be interested in some of our findings.
Some people will remain extremely concerned, and perhaps rightly so, as there is a lot of contradictory information out there.
However, I think the initial research has answered some (certainly not all) of the questions. I can also promise you I will be the first to correct any of my comments that turn out to be wrong.
The debate surrounding the implementation of SmartMeters is black and white. The negatives include the lack of independent oversight of the government's order to B.C. Hydro to install the SmartMeters; the wireless signal is dangerous to our health; hydro bills go up; they are an invasion of our privacy; the signal can be hacked; the installation is costing $1 billion; the meters can be inaccurate; there will be no past/present usage information.
On the other hand, B.C. Hydro says its technology needs upgrading; SmartMeters will reduce electricity theft; they are now the global standard; they will reduce wasted household electricity; will improve outage restoration; will eventually (when the dreaded time-of-use billing arrives) smooth out peak hours; and are not a security risk.
What they don't say is SmartMeters are also a tool that will tell B.C. Hydro precisely how much excess capacity is in the grid and available for sale at any given moment.
Our findings suggest hydro bills in other juris-dictions went up following installation of SmartMeters, but generally the initial increases were attributable to other factors. In California, they were installed during a heat wave, when energy use rose dramatically. The installation coincided with a rate increase. Some customers undertook renovations and additions, which meant higher usage. The old meters had deteriorated and were underreporting usage.
In Texas, they added a surcharge to cover the cost of installation and a severe winter followed the installations. The Ontario implementation is also very controversial, but scheduled rate increases and timeof-use billing changes are also occurring around the installation date.
Now, there are twists and turns to all this information, but I have to say I think the above is a fair reflection of what happened. Are there any bets that B.C. Hydro's scheduled rate increases won't happen during B.C.'s own SmartMeter season?
And not before the next election?
The privacy argument is being examined by the ombudsman (actually now the ombudsperson) and I do look forward to that report. However, I can say SmartMeters will not identify what appliance is being used (not to say they couldn't, I suppose) and will not transmit usage in real time: they transmit on an hourly basis, for a total period of three to six minutes a day (Hydro says the average total transmission is one minute a day).
SmartMeters have become the global standard, like it or not, and apparently the old meters are no longer manufactured (we haven't verified the statement). I don't know what to say about the hacking problem: despite Hydro's assurances, I can't believe that a determined hacker couldn't break the security.
We questioned Hydro's assertion that SmartMeters will reduce electricity waste: after all, switch it off and no more waste. It turns out it is electricity loss along the transmission lines that will be reduced.
The SmartMeters can be inaccurate, but the level of inaccuracy is evidently marginally less than that of the old meters.
Unlike some U.S. jurisdictions, Measurements Canada requires utilities to indicate previous/present usages and while the SmartMeters will not display the comparison, we will be able to see it online. And we should insist Hydro continue to show it on our utility bills.
Of all the issues surrounding the SmartMeters, their impact on our health is by far the most contentious. There is good science on both sides of the EMF/RF exposure issue, but we can't find anything definitive. Moreover, agencies as diverse as Health Canada and the World Health Organization have differing standards and opinions.
Hydro advises that SmartMeters transmit at only one watt; that RF dissipates at two feet; that the collector antennas are atop hydro poles and 24 feet from the nearest residential area; that the Health Canada limit is 600 microwatts per minute squared - whatever that means - and that Hydro's limit is far lower, which it definitely is.
But it is all meaningless in the face of fear and there is nothing to console those individuals who are truly concerned about their health.
So what are my own conclusions in this difficult affair? Firstly, as always, is the element of choice. As one study commented, the technology has outstripped the health studies and if a family is desperately concerned about EMF exposure, then B.C. Hydro better figure out a way to leave that home on the old meter system.
Secondly, the fact the government not only ordered B.C. Hydro to install the SmartMeters, but also exempted them from utility commission review, is untenable (and, might I add, typical). Independent oversight would have resolved many of the concerns and without it, choice becomes absolutely necessary.
