To the editor:
Re: Sharon Noble's page A9 letter, headlined Reader believes BC Hydro discriminatory, (Nov. 27).
The decision to charge fees to customers who want to retain an old meter or chose a radio-off meter is a fair solution. It ensures the vast majority of customers who have accepted a new meter are not subsidizing the choices of a very small number of customers.
Fees for non-communicating meters help recover the additional costs of adding and maintaining resources, equipment and systems that have been automated by new modern meters. The fees have been approved by the British Columbia Utilities Commission and are now part of the bill for customers who chose a non-standard meter.
BC Hydro has installed 1.9 million smart meters and is in the final stages of completing the communications network that supports the electricity grid. While this work is being finalized, there are still a small number of customers with new meters that are still being read manually.
These customers are not being charged for this service because they have accepted BC Hydro’s standard equipment. As the communications network is completed, more meters will be connected to the network.
Modernizing the electricity grid with smart meters plays a crucial role in BC Hydro’s plan to provide a secure and reliable power system for customers all over the province.
Once complete, a modernized grid will help BC Hydro improve its management of the electricity system, lower costs, reduce theft, encourage conservation and automatically detect outages.
Bob Gammer
Community relations manager
BC Hydro