So now that hydro receives its meter readings wirelessly and only has to send out meter readers for the stand alones, thus saving a lot of money in wages paid, they want to charge the stand alones a huge amount to have their meters read, while before, it was included in the rates? What’s more, is they want to raise the rates even with these savings?

Frankly, I don’t understand their reasoning.

They are using this fee to try and force people to switch over to the new meters.

It’s over $600 thousand in extra revenue every month.

All the people paranoid about smart meters can always pay extra to have their analog meters read.

The only thing for sure with the cost of most everything is that it is going up. Better get used to it.

BC hydro will always look for ways to increase its “costs” to its service users instead of looking for accountability within. Like most its a very poorly run crown corporation that relys on the never ending hand outs of the people of British Columbia.

There is no accountability for the top brass or the politicians whom are supposed to be responsible for it. Ask a handfull of the construction crews how bad it is. Plans for projects are often flawed from the start or cancelled after thousands upon thousands of tax payers dollars have been invested.

Ben you should look into how much in wages are the BC tax payers paying for the BC hydro hockey tournament in Vancouver this weekend. Someone I know is going to Vancouver and getting paid their wage to play in the tournament.

I think people sometimes forget this is a business that is owend by the people or should I say sheeple.

The new rates sound cheap if you ask me. If people are truly hurt by having to pay this extra fee there is a simple solution. SWITCH OVER to the 21st Century………

If anybody thinks that BC Hydro is making money off these people then your not really thinking about this right. It would be like a phone company having to try and run 2 systems at the same time. 1 that is cutting edge and another that resembles a telegraph from the 1800’s…
It costs money to run 2 systems. Train staff to trouble shoot problems with installation, maintenance, manuals, parts etc etc. I bet they could even be losing money.

well I guess me keeping my old meter is keeping some jobs alive. a young lady came and read it just the other day.
im not totally against the stupid meter but am against being forced into stuff. my old meter is perfectly fine it is not broken or old, it works just fine, not garbage yet. is the new system even up and running? or do you still have to call hydro if your power goes out?

some people are always screaming for more jobs, we want that pipeline because it will create a few jobs… we want a new mine, we want lng… blah blah blah but we will accept the mass change over of hydro meters and make hundreds of jobs disappear. haha let another country build the meters? cant even employ a few Canadians building the things!

mwk, that kind of thinking is far too much common sense for most around here.

Time for a wind turbine on Cranbrook Hill with the promise of a feed in tariff and that will lower our local Hydro rates?

Just because some people opt out of having a smart meter does not mean that they lack common sense. To assume that most around here have a lack of common sense makes no sense.

A little bit of learning about the subject reveals to those who bother to look at both sides of the issue that quite a few (30% in Holland, more in Germany) consumers feared an invasion of their privacy and were given the option not to have a smart meter.

A smart meter may transmit {every 15 minutes} information about how one is using the energy. Each appliance has a unique footprint, that of a kettle is different from that of a stove, a washing machine, a dryer, a TV etc. That is private information.

Blindly accepting everything which comes down from higher authorities as gospel truth is an option, but some people choose to make up their own minds.

Sorry, PG, I am not a conspiracy theorist. I know there are lots of people who are.

Top ten smart meter myths:

http://thenelsondaily.com/news/technology/top-10-smart-metering-program-myths-and-facts-10167#.U1v-jmB3uUk

An excerpt:

“Myth: Smart meters will allow BC Hydro to know when I’m at home and what appliances or electronic devices I am using.

Fact: At no time will BC Hydro have access to any customer’s real-time consumption data. Only customers who choose to take advantage of in-home feedback devices will have access to real-time consumption data in the privacy of their own homes. All personal information collected is handled in accordance with the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.”

My God I’d sure like to go off the grid. Get rid of all this BC hydro crap all together. It sure would be great if we didn’t have to rely on these big corporations for our energy and transportation needs….

Interesting they are charging an extra fee fo have the meters read…. well jerks you are reaing them anyways and the government backs up your stupid story of a extra fee needed…….. your wonderful smart meters are still dumb….like HYDRO IS

Sorry To inform you PG that you leave open all your personal data to hackers if you use the internet. No need to worry about your smart meter information giving up your personal information when you give it up freely as soon as you log on to your computer. So relax save a few bucks and let them install the darn thing.

JB, nobody accused you of being a conspiracy theorist and you failed to notice that I never mentioned BC Hydro at all. I was giving examples of Holland and Germany where many consumers opted not to have a smart meter, one reason being privacy concerns! I was one of the first ones on our street to have my old analog meter replaced with a smart meter!

Nobody has to inform me that being on the Internet is a bummer for privacy! I am fully aware of that and always have been! I actually decided to accept that risk when I subscribed to the internet service because I had a choice!

If one expects others to respect one’s opinion it is always better to support the democratic right of people to actually have the freedom of choice (witness yesterday’s Free For All) when it comes to the basic elements which enable human life, pure clean water being a prime example. It is also perfectly legal and reasonable for anyone to have an opinion which happens to differ from others! It does not mean that they lack common sense or that their thinking is necessarily inferior!

Corporations make all the stuff for ya to get off the grid!

PG, do you ever get tired of passing on myths, falsehoods, and outright misinformation to push your agenda?

PG: “If one expects others to respect one’s opinion it is always better to support the democratic right of people to actually have the freedom of choice (witness yesterday’s Free For All) when it comes to the basic elements which enable human life, pure clean water being a prime example.”

It always comes back to fluoride with you, doesn’t it? Since you keep insisting on bringing it up, you do have a choice, both with smart meters and water. I’m not sure why that is so hard to understand.

No, I don’t get tired. I hope you would one day muster up and get some reality therapy.

Have a great weekend being convinced of your superiority complex!