To the editor;
Anyone who claims that their hydro bill jumped drastically once a smart meter was installed needs to consider the following fact: BC Hydro smart meters are still being read manually for billing purposes. Manual meter reading will continue until the entire smart meter network and backend computer systems are in place later this year.
Yes, installed smart meters are transmitting data, but that data is not yet being used for billing purposes. And, yes, one of the one million installed smart meters was found to be not working correctly. On the scale of one million units, that should not be a surprise. And once the entire smart grid system is up and running, a defective meter or system component would be detected instantly.
So if people are looking for an answer to a sudden, drastic increase in their hydro bill they should really be looking to human error rather than to technology change as the cause. So far, all but one instance has, in fact, boiled down to human error.
However, no one should ever hesitate to contact BC Hydro if they believe there is a problem with their billing. BC Hydro replies to all enquiries and refunds customers if a mistake is found – just as one would expect from our public utility.
David Field, Co-spokesperson
B.C. Citizens for Green Energy
