BC Hydro Issues Advisory to Homeowners
Thursday, August 9, 2012 @ 2:47 PM
Prince George, B.C.- B.C. Hydro has issued an advisory to all homeowners in the wake of a couple of fires which started after a new smart meter had been installed.B.C. Hydro says the meter socket, into which the smart meter is plugged, is the property of the homeowner. However, it adds that during the smart meter installation, “BC Hydro conducts a thorough inspection of the meter socket before a new meter is installed. If installers discover problems with a customer’s meter socket, BC Hydro will contact the homeowner and offer to bring in a qualified electrician to fix the problem at BC Hydro’s expense.”
Last week, a home in Coquitlam was the scene of a minor exterior fire near the smart meter. It is thought that fire was the result of an over loaded electrical circuit.
In July, a home in Mission suffered serious fire damage when a cracked base plate on a meter socket overheated and ignited.
The advisory also says the risk of a smart meter exchange causing electrical problems is extremely low, with meter socket failures occurring at a rate of about 0.05%, which is the same failure rate experienced when old analog meters have been exchanged.
According to BC Hydro, of the 1.5 million meters installed so far, there have been about 1,000 cases where there was pre-existing damage to a customer’s meter socket. The damage noted ranged from eroded wiring and improper meter socket installations to pre-existing electrical bypasses.
Comments
âBC Hydro conducts a thorough inspection of the meter socket before a new meter is installed. If installers discover problems with a customerâs meter socket, BC Hydro will contact the homeowner and offer to bring in a qualified electrician to fix the problem at BC Hydroâs expense.â
I call BS on this. The dude was here for all of 15 seconds when he swapped out my old meter. There was no inspection of any sort and most definitely not a thorough inspection. I chatted with him non-stop from the moment he arrived to the moment he left.
How long do you think it takes to inspect a box roughly a foot square that contains only some wire?
So it’s our fault that the are fires due to the installation of the smart meters ? They can’t be really sying that can they. What a bunch of bu,,sh,t
“The advisory also says the risk of a smart meter exchange causing electrical problems is extremely low, with meter socket failures occurring at a rate of about 0.05%, which is the same failure rate experienced when old analog meters have been exchanged.”
This is the key paragraph.
“How long do you think it takes to inspect a box roughly a foot square that contains only some wire?”
A “thorough” inspection should take several minutes. Wires tend to degrade over time and should be looked at carefully when swapping out a meter.
No P Val, its your fault if your meter base is faulty. Just like when you build a new house, the meter box, pole, etc are all your baby. Hydro just puts the meter in the hole and hooks up the power. If your box is 40 years old what do you expect?
Have any of you Experts done a complete House Wiring including the Meterbase ? I done a few including my own, my Base locked like new at the time of the Smartmeter install(33) Years later) if you have no Corrosion caused by Water getting into the Base you will be fine. Wires don’t degrade ,just the Insulation will and I still don’t like Smartmeters ,just wait when we change to time of Day Billing , the real Reason for the change.
Sorry but this is total BS from Hydro. They are covering thier asses. If the base was inspected during the change out why was there a fire. There was no way my base was inspected as the installer was only there for seconds, and is that person an electrician? Who says the base was not cracked by the installer? Total cya BS.
What if there is a house fire from all this and someone loses their family….than what??
whats your point, sunny?
Point being that if I have a meter and base that’s worked perfrectly well for years and there is fire after a smart meter is installed, whos fault is it? The meter base was installed and inspected by the proper people. Along comes Hydro and says you are getting a smart meter if you like it or not. If I object to getting a smart meter and they install it anyway, it would be their fault for the fire not mine. Of course there is the option of no power at all if you won’t accept the smart meter. Hydro has a long history of trying to avoid liability in these matters. To try and put it on the homeowners is pure crap. Nuff said.
Does anyone besides outwest know what is behind their Meter? It’s pretty freaking simple! The question is were the contractors trained to inspect your wiring connections to and from your meter base? I doubt it and depending on you meter base type it would be hard to see those connections unless you remove the meter base cover too.
“If installers discover problems with a customerâs meter socket, BC Hydro will contact the homeowner and offer to bring in a qualified electrician to fix the problem at BC Hydroâs expense.â”
My smart meter was installed when I was not at home. I don’t know who installed it and how much time was devoted to an inspection.
I was not contacted by BCHydro about any problems with the meter socket. Therefore I feel secure in assuming that the socket was clean, not corroded and perfectly safe, according to BCHydro.
If a BCHydro contractor failed to notify BCHydro when a notification was called for it is BCHydro which is liable if the blasted thing starts to smoke and flare up.
Oh for crying out loud. For those who don’t like the ‘risk’ of having power delivered to their home or dislike the idea of smart meters, call BC Hydro and have them disconnect your service. I’m sure they won’t miss you.
You have all the answers don’t ya JohnnyB!
âBC Hydro conducts a thorough inspection of the meter socket before a new meter is installed. If installers discover problems with a customerâs meter socket, BC Hydro will contact the homeowner and offer to bring in a qualified electrician to fix the problem at BC Hydroâs expense.â
It’s not BC Hydro inspecting it’s a contractor.
It’s BCHydro’s Smart Meter replacement campaign, not the contractor’s.
Ultimately it is BCHydro’s responsibility to hire competent and conscientious contractors and supervise the work to make sure it is done properly, including the requirement of reporting and correcting of faulty meter sockets.
The buck stops at the top if the contractor screwed up and went out of business.
NoWay: “You have all the answers don’t ya JohnnyB!”
No, I just had a moment of weakness and let the whiners get to me.
How to Start a Fire, don’t replace worn out Outlets .
One persons whine is another persons legitimate concern. If hydro has trained these contractors to do a proper inspection then maybe there was a checklist they were supposed to follow? Sure hydro has a similar failure rate when replacing old style meters in the past but you would think there would be less chance of a fire after this was done.
So who is liable? The homeowner who doesn’t know there is a problem or the contractor that should of reported a problem. If the contractor was a good one and noticed a problem then that contractor should not reinstall the meter until the problem is fixed. Cracked meter bases do not cause fires. Hot spots could cause fires. Hot spots are generally caused by loose connections. Now if a cracked Meter base causes a loose connection then so be it.
So here is hydros next cash grab……
You the homeowner will have your meter base inspected one a year. There will be a minimum of 100.00 charge for a new seal to be installed by hydro or the electrical contractor. This will be over and above the cost of the inspection. Failure to do this inspection will result in your power being disconnected.
If hydro doesn’t do this who do you think will?
Before we can renew your fire insurance sir you will be required to show proof of your annual meter base inspection!
That should create a few jobs!
The people who install smart meters are NOT electricians.
Fire? That’s why I have insurance– I think?
Comments for this article are closed.