BC Hydro/Fortis BC Smart Meters

[NAB]

Just an update on my own personal situation here... As of 3 days ago I have finally and totally eliminated any need for electricity related to heating my home. The baseboard heating system is now shut down (but still available for backup if needed) and which immediately dropped my electricity consumption during the recent cold spell by over 65% . As a result I can now be fully and comfortably functional without connection to the electrical grid at all should I wish to disconnect, or if the power goes out for an extended period. All except for laundry and some battery charging that is, but there is always the laundromat or the generator if I want until I can permanently solve that problem :-) Next project... on demand no electricity required tankless hot water :-)

Smart meters???? Pshaawww! Now the choice is 100% mine, not someone else's ;-) And BC Hydro can kiss my...

Edit to add: That's 4 homes out of 7 in my immediate block who are similarly capable or close to it, with two more poised to similarly equip this year.

Nab

Not that long ago Nab the price of natural gas was pretty much a saw off with electrical. It's not out of the realm of possibility those days could return. I think you are safe for a while though.

Ya, although it's not really about price twobits, although it does feel good right now to be able to anticipate some actual savings in electricity costs over the next couple of years rather than ever upwards. Rather, I find what I have done over the past 8 years or so a huge improvement in the comfort department ...but even more importantl than that the feeling of independence, choices, and having personal control over those choices.

But as usual such things need a well thought through plan and carry an up front price, although with the approach I have taken methodically working toward an end goal over many years (at least 10 including the initial move to a more moderate climate and downsizing) it has not been a significant burden such as it would have been by putting it off and having to hit the whole package all at once now. Even then, I figure I have achieved what I wanted to for less than 25% of what it would cost me to be facing the whole thing now. I can even make a pretty decent case for it having cost me nothing, even having made money (or stand to).

Nab

[NAB]

Just an update on my own personal situation here... As of 3 days ago I have finally and totally eliminated any need for electricity related to heating my home. The baseboard heating system is now shut down (but still available for backup if needed) and which immediately dropped my electricity consumption during the recent cold spell by over 65% . As a result I can now be fully and comfortably functional without connection to the electrical grid at all should I wish to disconnect, or if the power goes out for an extended period. All except for laundry and some battery charging that is, but there is always the laundromat or the generator if I want until I can permanently solve that problem :-) Next project... on demand no electricity required tankless hot water :-)

Smart meters???? Pshaawww! Now the choice is 100% mine, not someone else's ;-) And BC Hydro can kiss my...

Edit to add: That's 4 homes out of 7 in my immediate block who are similarly capable or close to it, with two more poised to similarly equip this year.

Nab

R value is another avenue to checkout, short term pain for long term gain. Living in Victoria area which I believe you do insulation is not as high of a priority as in the interior of BC. But going over recommended R value is a cost that keeps the heat in & the heat out as well. :smt102

Yes WTH. In fact dealing with the energy efficiency of the "shell" were the very first items on my agenda some 10 years ago, and completed some 7 or 8 years ago. Even buying the home in the first place involved being considerate of such things as size ((not more than about 1100 square feet of living area with 3 bedrooms on a basement or crawl space - no slab builts)), location and geographical orientation, as well as its fundamental existing status as to energy efficiency and proximity to / availability of utility services. No need at all for air conditioning in the summer now either.

Edit to add: BTW, some other criteria associated with my purchase were..

-no windows on north or south facing walls and minimal glass ratio in any event
-no skylights
-limited west facing window area supplemented by lots of shade trees on the west side (some I had to strategically plant the first year and which are now big enough to do the evening cooling job effectively).

As to the new heater location, it is placed as close to the centre of the home as possible, not on an ouside wall.

Edit to add: Just in case anyone wants to compare, excluding space heating, and everything else being electric, this property runs on less than 20 KwH's per day. In peak summer usually no more than 12 to 15 KwH's per day.

Nab

[10Sne1]

Smart meters???? Pshaawww! Now the choice is 100% mine, not someone else's ;-) And BC Hydro can kiss my...

Edit to add: That's 4 homes out of 7 in my immediate block who are similarly capable or close to it, with two more poised to similarly equip this year.

Nab

Hippie!!!!!!!!! Way to support BC businesses......thanks for your support!!! :127:

[NAB]

LOL. It's not my responsibility to initiate support for BC Businesses, ...it's up to them to earn my support and business. I will patronize those that do, ...and avoid those who don't, and if they even screw me around once I won't be back, and a lot of people (i.e. potential new customers) will hear about it too. Besides, I can get almost anything I want or need outside of BC, and often far cheaper too.

I got some really great service from those involved in my latest project, and I made a point today of going back to the salesman that I had initial contact with and did business with, and told him that if he ever wanted any references related to the products I selected I would be more than happy to provide one.... NO CHARGE!

Edit to add: And ya know what, the level of service received and the product performance EXCEEDED what I had been led to expect. Pretty nice when you consider how often people are left with disatisfaction related to being led to expectations that were not met after the sale by sales person hype, deceit, and outright lies.

Nab

[10Sne1]

LOL. It's not my responsibility to initiate support for BC Businesses, ...it's up to them to earn my support and business. I will patronize those that do, ...and avoid those who don't, and if they even screw me around once I won't be back, and a lot of people (i.e. potential new customers) will hear about it too. Besides, I can get almost anything I want or need outside of BC, and often far cheaper too.

I got some really great service from those involved in my latest project, and I made a point today of going back to the salesman that I had initial contact with and did business with, and told him that if he ever wanted any references related to the products I selected I would be more than happy to provide one.... NO CHARGE!

Edit to add: And ya know what, the level of service received and the product performance EXCEEDED what I had been led to expect. Pretty nice when you consider how often people are left with disatisfaction related to being led to expectations that were not met after the sale by sales person hype, deceit, and outright lies.

Nab

:130: :134: :124:

[NAB]

Now that my heating no longer uses any electricity, I did a small test over 24 hours yesterday to determine the basic electricity consumption of my home with normal activity, but no use of laundry equipment, dishwasher, or kitchen stove/oven.

In normal use were such things as all the basics including an older analog TV running continuously 24/7, electric hot water tank and normal hot water usage, my computer systems and related peripherals, some incidental appliances such as hairdryer, microwave, refrigerator, electric griddle, toaster, electric beater, use of various power tools occasionally, and of course normal lighting (all based on old style incandescent bulbs typically 60 watt or higher, and recognizing we are at a time of year of maximum need to use lights both late into the morning and starting early in the evening - but just as needed in any event).

So the bottom line consumption by eliminating use of electricity for space heating, laundry, dishwashing, and stove oven (but not going out of my way unreasonably conserving anywhere else) was... 11 KwH's in 24 hours. That translates into a basic cost of electricity of 74 cents for the day, or approximately $270.00 a year/$22.50 per month, or about the same as my basic cell phone service costs, considerably less than my internet service, just a little less than what it costs for my home insurance, and about half of what it costs to feed my dog. Of course, that $22.50 a month cost of electricity turns into about $32.50 when you add current taxes, rate rider, and basic fixed charges.

((Pretty hard to get excited about any potential savings messing with dangerous and hard to dispose of Fl light bulbs - particularly when you consider the massive amounts of taxpayer dollars the greenies and idiots in government are wasting trying to deal with both their promotion and disposal problems), or pushing hyper expensive LED bulbs, huh? As for dinking around with such things as battery banks and solar chargers for such things as lighting and other low power gear, wellll.... even more idiocy ; -) ))

Edit to add: Now that I think about it, it won't be difficult, inconvenient, or even particularly costly now...to take laundry, dishwashing, and cooking, even refrigeration, completely off the electrical grid, or at least substantially reduce their use of electricity.


Nab

[twobits]

Of course, that $22.50 a month cost of electricity turns into about $32.50 when you add current taxes, rate rider, and basic fixed charges.

((Pretty hard to get excited about any potential savings messing with dangerous and hard to dispose of Fl light bulbs -
Nab

The devil is in the details isn't it? One third of your bill has little to do with consumption. The tax portion collectible is fixed at maximum generating output anyway so the number of customers matters not. The push to have us reduce our consumption has little to do with saving we the consumers money. How do those expensive CFL's do that for us. It is about getting as many customers on the existing grid (infrastructure) to maximize profits thru basic fixed charges. Only after they have done that is upping the capacity of the grid required. Getting us off consuming during peak hours just gives them that many more basic monthly charges to squeeze in as well.

[NAB]

BC Hydro says more than 16,000 customers on Vancouver Island were without power by noon Sunday.

...so why should I care? :sillygrin: Don't rush to bring it back up on my account! ;-) I can get by just fine without you :sunshine:

BC Ferries says severe weather forced the cancellation of Sunday sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen and Departure Bay and Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay.

Ditto goes for that one too... :sillygrin: :dyinglaughing:

Nab

[OIC]

There is much discussion about the Smart Meters and the meters catching fire, or appliances getting fried (MapleRidge BC news had a story yesterday of one lady who had her fridge fried). Have any of you checked with your house insurance company because once a smart meter is installed on or in your home, and either happens and you try to make a claim... your house insurance is voided. Why? ... Because the installers- employees of Corix (the company hired to install the meters) are NOT certified electricians, licensed, or insured!!! Corix refuses to process ANY claims!! Ever try to find out the name of the CEO of Corix or his email- not going to happen!!! The secretary/receptionist requires HIS permission to give out either. Do you home work!!! There is a library of information on the internet! California is now working on taking OUT ALL Smart Meters that have been installed! CALL YOUR HOUSE INSURER and GET it in WRITING IF they CLAIM that your insurance will remain VALID!! Let's face it- IF we were to have any wiring done by just any one and a fire happened the insurer would NOT cover any fire damage!! Well HELLO!!! These guys ARE NOT LICENSED, CERTIFIED NOR INSURED! THEY ARE NOT ELECTRICIANS and IF you are not home they are installing these meters HOT! This means that rather than installing them correctly by ensuring ALL secondary breakers are off then ensuring the MAIN Breaker is OFF PRIOR to installing these meters they are being installed HOT! which can cause an electrical Surge or Spike in power!!! DO YOUR HOMEWORK and CALL your insurance company and then a LAWYER!

[Glacier]

Headaches prompt B.C. first nation community to consider smart meter ban




The Lower Nicola Indian Band near Merritt is considering preventing BC Hydro from installing smart meters on the reservation’s public buildings.

Chief Victor York said some of the band members complained of headaches around the time BC Hydro started replacing the digital and analog power consumption meters with the wireless-enabled smart meters on their homes. He said the band will discuss whether to allow BC Hydro to install smart meters public buildings at the next general meeting later this month.

“We can’t tell people, when they are paying their own heating bills, whether they can have smart meters (installed on their homes) or not. But for the public buildings it will be discussed,” he said.

York said he is aware some members of the band have installed padlocks on their own meters and put up signs telling BC Hydro they don’t want to switch to the smart meters.

Last summer, BC Hydro began the process of replacing more than 1.8 million analog meters throughout the province with smart meters, which are capable of providing hourly information about electricity consumption. The upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of December.

BC Hydro spokeswoman Cindy Verschoor said there is a dedicated team at BC Hydro working with first nations in B.C. and providing information about the change. So far the Lower Nicola Indian Band is the only one that has expressed concerns.

“The bottom line is: if any customer has a concern all they have to do is contact us and we’ll delay installation until we address their concern,” she said.

[maple leaf]

http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/news+ho ... s=dd#video

Just more waste as our rates increase,And check out the flaky airhead answering reporters questions.One sentence she says she told bc hydro to cut 1000 employes,then the very next thing out of her mouth was her government is all about creating jobs.This woman is such a joke.No wonder her handler tried to step in and not allow her to answer the question.

[Popeye69]

Anybody catch CTV news last night. Poor woman on the coast was paying $61.00 a month for electricity, then they installed a smart meter and her new bill is $744.00 B.C Hydro says theres nothing wrong with her bill and that she is now paying for what she uses. WHAT! Lol we all see this coming, the only thing "smart" about these meters is that it rakes in fat cash for B.C Hydro, another bend you over program (like the carbon tax) in the guise of being "green" and "good" for the environment. CTV also reported that this was not an isolated incident and that numerous people have come forward with huge increases to there bill and in one case the increase was a whopping 1000%, many cases are being forwarded to B.C Utilities Commission for review and anyone who has recieved a major increase to their bill is encouraged to contact the Commission as a last resort if B.C Hydro refuses to assist you. Who likes smart meters now? We all knew this was a cash grab... how frustrating.

[John500]

Do we have a choice? Can I refuse a smart meter?

[Captain Awesome]

Do we have a choice? Can I refuse a smart meter?

Yes.

[mtn]

If the result is a LOWER hydro bill/usage than bring on"Smart" Meters.

But if it leads to more increases and "robbing" the bank to pay utility bills,
than FORGET IT!