Letters: Attached is a letter from a prof. emeritus at the University of Calgary with his concerns. ___________________________________ Letter of comment by email to: commission.secretary@bcuc To the members of the BC Utilities Commission: I am one of the thousands of BC residents who object to having wireless transmitters attached to their homes and who have refused BC Hydros attempts to override our legitimate concerns. Now it seems that the Province of British Columbia has instructed you to approve substantial monthly fees for the privilege of not having a smart meter. As Im sure you understand, there are several holes in the arguments offered by BC Hydro to ensure they get my compliance, or at least a good chunk of my pension. The utility company expects us to believe, without substantiation, that: - the smart grid will not function unless every single home in BC is connected to it; - they will require $35 per month to cover the cost of manually reading non-smart meters; - house fires at the smart meter site have nothing to do with the new meters; - electromagnetic radiation emitted by the new meters is perfectly safe for all people; - smart meters are a type of green energy rather than a source of dirty electricity; and - they have no plans to institute time-of-use billing. In addition, BC Hydro has not mentioned that smart meters have a life span of only 10-15 years, after which they must be replaced at huge cost to consumers. They have not acknowledged that other jurisdictions, notably California, have been removing smart meters because of customer complaints over health issues and inflated costs. They have not said a word about the potential effects of a smart grid on other animals who share the environment, especially bees (already in decline), bats and birds whose directional faculties may be affected by electromagnetic fields. Nothing has been said about research that condemns the wireless grid as a large scale hazard to plant, animal and human health. My wife has required cardioversion at the hospital emergency room twice in the past six years to correct a heart arrhythmia. We removed our cordless phone, have no other wireless devices, and neither of us carries a cell phone. If we also had a choice about our electricity provider, we would not deal with BC Hydro. We are pensioners with a combined annual income of less than $27,000. It would be a financial hardship to hand over more than $400 a year to keep our present meter, and morally offensive to pay to keep a device that we consider harmful from being attached to our house. The term for that is extortion, and its particularly odious when BC Hydro management is so generously compensated and hydro rates are about to rise. I am willing to continue reporting my meter readings to BC Hydro every month, even without charging the $35 they say this would cost if they had to do it themselves, which they dont. Instead of using the meter readings we report, they are undercharging us based on estimates and will no doubt be looking for payment of arrears at a higher rate in the near future. BC Hydro has threatened to cut off our electricity if I dont pay the monthly fee, even though Im 74 years old and scheduled for a hip replacement in December, just after the proposed fee comes into effect. I do not need additional worries on top of my surgery, and neither does my wife, who will be looking after me and everything else during my recovery. Throughout the year, we have been harassed by BC Hydro to accept a smart meter we dont want. As time goes on and our understanding of the technology increases, we want it even less but still have to withstand the bullying every time the pressure and threats are intensified. It has been stressful to guard our old meter and always be ready to defend it against a smart meter installer. There has been no public consultation, no documentation of the costs associated with smart meters, and no reasonable accommodation for those who wish to opt out. The entire plan should have been examined by the BC Utilities Commission before it was ever rolled out. The fact that it was exempted from your scrutiny in the first place suggests the government knew it wouldnt stand up to an objective assessment. Please listen to the concerns of people who have no alternative to BC Hydro for their electricity. Many have heavier burdens and fewer resources than we do. Its clear that the tactic for enforcing compliance is to make the refusal of a smart meter more painful than its acceptance. We sincerely hope the Commission will prevent this from happening to people for whom a smart meter is really out of the question, and offer instead a fair and reasonable compromise that protects our democratic right to privacy, security and freedom of choice. Thank you for considering this letter of comment as you make your deliberations. To: commission.secretary@bcuc Subject: BC Hydro Smart Meter Choices Program British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Application for Approval of Charges Related to Meter Choices Program Please add the following Letter of Comment to the above-named proceeding. To the Members of The B.C. Utilities Commission: Please, please do not allow the imposition of a punitive and excessive $35 monthly fee for anyone wishing to keep their wired meter, to supposedly cover the costs of manual meter readings. For the last 19 years we have been paying electricity rates that included the cost of reading our meter at our home. Also, being on the equal payment plan our meter is only read once a year and then our estimated bill is adjusted, so why should we be paying over $400 a year extra now? The government has already admitted that our rates will be rising next year and on and on, so this is an unreasonable amount they are asking for. How is it legal for Energy Minster Bill Bennett having issued a cabinet order to the BCUC in advance of Hydros application for smart meter fees, to instruct the BCUC to approve extra fees to those not wanting a smart meter? While the BCUC retains its ability to lower the fees if it sees fit, it is further instructed not to eliminate them entirely or make any changes to how Hydro runs the smart meter program even with growing concerns worldwide about this technology. If preventing an unfairly high fee is all the BCUC is able to do than please make this fee as low as possible. Why is BC Hydro imposing fees so much higher than Quebec? And please do not allow BC Hydro or its agents to apply exorbitant failed installation fees as their past record has been at times to just to show up on private property without any notice or prior arrangement and try to intimidate homeowners with threats of fines. They should not be allowed a failed installation fee if they dont even give proper notification. To try to pass this off as operational and to say there is nobody to intercede for the people is unfair. We are worried that the BCUC is now powerless to be the peoples watchdog and is no longer independent and largely just being instructed to rubber stamp whatever it is told to. We are puzzled as to what function this body is now able to serve? Please do whatever is possible to help the citizens of BC to not be penalized for making a health, safety and privacy choice on their own homes. Thank you for your consideration,
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 13:14:51 +0000
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