Site "C"

[Pemby_mess]

I have been in a long battle with BC Hydro over their smart meter program. No conspiracy nut stuff. Perhaps not surprisingingly, I've done a bunch of research. If anyone is interested I can detail it here.

What I've found is apparently in places with access to natural gas, and/or you have a long established pattern of use pre-smart meter, you will have not have seen a significant rise in your bills. If you live in a location that has no access to gas, and/or you have recently moved into a new situation, you may be seeing a pattern of rising KWHs used, and large spikes in the winter.

unfortunately, we are not unique with this situation in BC. There are international studies that confirm gross inaccuracy of the new meter tech. Regulatory bodies are staying quiet for now because it's a huge looming disaster for everybody. The stories coming out of Northern Ontario can be attributed to this as well.

[okas]

well i think go for it as the more power the better but do not give it away to the USA like the gas deal years ago

[Dannybuoy]

^ that'd be great if it worked that way, and indeed it's supposed to. But with Site C, it's industry that is getting the break at .06/kWh on a long term contract. If the province was willing to sign a long term discount contract with rate payers in exchange for putting up the capital, I'd be all for it.

unfortunately it's going to go the other way on us. Our Utility, is giving our suppliers huge money for procuring energy that we could be making ourselves with our current infrastructure. It's going to bleed us on both ends: taxes and hydro rates. I'm heating with wood and have an incoming bill for 900 bucks!

You may have a problem...I heat with wood and average <$100 per month (1800sqft) and no natural gas in our community
back to site C , we are going to need the power someday

[Pemby_mess]

You may have a problem...I heat with wood and average <$100 per month (1800sqft) and no natural gas in our community
back to site C , we are going to need the power someday

Yes, our summer bills, rarely go over 100 bucks a month, and that is what I calculate our approximate power usage to be. All though even the summer bills inexplicably creep upwards. I've put a legacy mechanical meter in series with the utility's and they don't match. Of course Hydro claims their's to be the accurate one. The day you move, is likely the day you will have my same problem

Site C has got to get paid for somehow. Even if future demand justifies it going ahead, you have to ask yourself why the BCUC rejected it repeatedly in favor of other solutions to the same problem. Another question that needs to be asked is why the utility is so willing to pay private suppliers .4-to .9 $kwh in long term contracts, with no customers out there willing to do the same.

[Fisher-Dude]

I have been in a long battle with BC Hydro over their smart meter program. No conspiracy nut stuff. Perhaps not surprisingingly, I've done a bunch of research. If anyone is interested I can detail it here.

What I've found is apparently in places with access to natural gas, and/or you have a long established pattern of use pre-smart meter, you will have not have seen a significant rise in your bills. If you live in a location that has no access to gas, and/or you have recently moved into a new situation, you may be seeing a pattern of rising KWHs used, and large spikes in the winter.

unfortunately, we are not unique with this situation in BC. There are international studies that confirm gross inaccuracy of the new meter tech. Regulatory bodies are staying quiet for now because it's a huge looming disaster for everybody. The stories coming out of Northern Ontario can be attributed to this as well.

I'll take the savings of $54 million a year as grow ops are detected by smart meters, thank you very much. I'm not subsidizing the illegal production of dope for dopes.

Only people that don't want this technology have a lit up basement, IMO!

[HappyJack]

Hmmm i guess I'm still in the dark on this subject..
I live in Williams lake,42 year old home..have a few energy efficient lights..mostly the garage..high efficiency forced air furnace and hotwater tank.just Susan, our faithful pooch eEbony. .we plug our 2 vehicles in, both have a block heater and oil pan heater..
Our hydro bill for 2 months was $200..for 61 days..or $3.28 per day...furnace, water, lights, cooking showers, laundry..everything..plus 2 vehicles with 4 high wattage heaters. ..I'm not Complaining about that..during may, June July Aug, sept it's much lower..yes $900 is expensive..this is about as high as our hydro gets..a bit higher in January. .feb but not much..
Don't wear sweaters and turn the heat off..21 degrees ..and 19 at night..nor do we leave lights on..life..
Natural gas is about the most reasonable heat source..and gain no complaints with that bill...

Just our experience..can't imagine a huge bill..couldn't manage that on my pension...ouch.
Steven

Interesting, do you have a smart meter yet??

We have a country home, just the two of us...ours is $140 a month on equal payments...we have all led lights, electric hot water, wood heat, we only plug in the vehicles when it is really really cold. And we run an oil filled electric heater in the chicken house over the winter. It seems like our power usage just inexplicably keeps going up and up....we have a smart meter now.

[Pemby_mess]

I'll take the savings of $54 million a year as grow ops are detected by smart meters, thank you very much. I'm not subsidizing the illegal production of dope for dopes.

Only people that don't want this technology have a lit up basement, IMO!

Well I'd sure appreciate an investigation for the power apparently going missing between my meter and panel feed. I've actually suggested this quite a few times. So far hydro has declined, so either I'm getting conned or Hydro doesn't seem to be all that interested in curbing power theft from where I sit.

https://www.utwente.nl/en/news/!/201...gy-consumption

Above is a study recently conducted that shows the very clear problems with the new tech. If you've used clamp-on ammeters before that is the same technology the new meters use and there are many issues trying to implement that in a real world metering application. The mechanical meters were impossible to fudge. The Itron smart meters have so many security vulnerabilities and oversights built into them, I don't even know where to start. Add in two way communication and you've given the utility both motive and means to hide the problem indefinitely. So far, measurement Canada seems uninterested in addressing the issues brought to light by the study.

[Pemby_mess]

Interesting, do you have a smart meter yet??

We have a country home, just the two of us...ours is $140 a month on equal payments...we have all led lights, electric hot water, wood heat, we only plug in the vehicles when it is really really cold. And we run an oil filled electric heater in the chicken house over the winter. It seems like our power usage just inexplicably keeps going up and up....we have a smart meter now.

you've seen nothing yet - they're estimating what you (should be) using. According to the study I posted above, you will have seen your kWh consumption go up when you replaced your lights with LEDs. Reason being LED's, and anything running a switched power supply create harmonic interference that the hall-effect sensors can't pick up properly. This will result in a wildly under-reading or over reading meter.

Now this is what I think they're trying to do to compensate-

The chances of hydro actually letting your bill under-read are slim. They'll adjust it to what they think it should be reading. Massively over reading meters are adjusted down. (Sometimes). There is two way communication that has the ability to link to the metrology board inside the meter.

[Fisher-Dude]

Those smart meters are bad, and all part of a huge government conspiracy!

[Spy]

Those smart meters are bad, and all part of a huge government conspiracy!

You got that right once again calling people conspiracy theorist you would have thought your ilk would have learned their lessons. Smart meters were rammed down our throats I held out until the end and paid the 30 $ charge until one day they just changed it.