Bob Gammer, from BC Hydro communications said smart meters will still work efficiently in the local area, even if there is no cellular access available.
According to BC Hydro, smart meters require a digital transmission of data, which is relayed from customer’s smart meters directly to BC Hydro using existing communication infrastructure, such as a cellular signal.
In cases where there is no cellular network available a digital subscriber land line (DSL) [digital transmission over the wires of a local telephone network] or transmission by satellite is used to forward the information for billing.
“If areas of Burns Lake and the surrounding Lakes District do not have cellular access, alternative solutions can be used, such as satellite collectors. DSL based collectors may also be installed to relay consumption data back to BC Hydro,” he said.
“Data integrity and billing are not impacted by the use of these alternative communication technologies,” he added.
More than 2,500 smart meters have been installed in the local area and BC Hydro figures show that 1.8 million of them will be installed in B.C. by the end of 2012.
Since introducing the meters, BC Hydro has received numerous complaints about personal privacy, safety concerns and most recently complaints about higher than usual bills have flooded in.
As reported in the Lakes District News edition of April 18, 2012 Jennifer Young, from BC Hydro media relations admitted that BC Hydro has found some faulty smart meters.
“We have found some meters with components that aren’t working properly and are showing an error message or have a blank screen. Like other pieces with electronic components, we know there will be some anomalies and with electronic equipment and we’re going to find some meters that don’t work properly early on,” she said.
Young said, “To date, we’ve installed over one million smart meters province wide and although rare, we may see other instances of a person getting an erroneous bill. In these cases we will try to minimize the inconvenience to the customer and when we find a problem, we fix it.”
Also in the Lakes District News edition of April 18, 2012, Gammer said, “There is absolutely no connection between smart meters and any reported increases in customers bills. In all of the cases we have investigated, we have not found a single link. We are receiving more complaints about customers with analog meters than we are with smart meters,” he said.
Last week he said, “We take high bill complaints very seriously and investigate every one that is brought to our attention. Customers with high bills are first encouraged to visit our website [www.bchydro.com] for tips on investigating the cause of a higher than expected BC Hydro bill.”
As for meter readers potentially finding themselves out of a job following the installation of smart meters across the province Gammer said BC Hydro contracts a company called Accenture to deliver meter reading services to the company.
“They have about 300 people who review and read the meters every two months and BC Hydro is uncertain how many jobs will be impacted because the meter readers also service other utilities.”
“We are installing two million pieces of new technology on the grid that will require new technology based jobs to maintain and operate it. The electricity grid is going digital and that means there will be new opportunities outside of BC Hydro for technology innovators and communities to build on.”
