Victoria Community TV Presents:
Face to Face with BC Hydro SmartMeters
Starting as soon as this summer the BC government is going to put a powerful wireless transmitter ON YOUR HOUSE. At a cost of One Billion Dollars. For no good reason.
We talk to Walt McGinnis about the dangers of all wireless technology — including the ability of Hydro and other hackers to invade your privacy by reading your meter output — which will be linked to ALL of your electrical devices — and data mining your usage habits. This will allow Hydro to bill you based on peak or low times and it will allow marketers to target you based on your data.
They also discuss the intentional dismantling of BC Hydro, the lack of public consultation and education and, most important, the health impact of EMR on living organisms.
On our community TV Station
Channel 11 – in Victoria and Saltspring Island …
Saturday, June 4 at 11AM and 11:30PM
Sunday June 5 at 10AM and 9PM
Also on the net at:
http://www.vimeo.com/24439968
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR8tILAxhjI
Produced by Lazarus Productions
Also watch: Pasifik.ca; usually Saturdays and Sundays at 8:30PM
Read: StreetNewz, and Focus Magazine
Check out: www.pacificfreepress.com
Listen to: CFUV Radio, 101.9FM
ICTV can be reached at [email protected]
#1 by Mia Nony on June 5, 2011 - 12:06 am
BC Hydro Smart Meter program
Timeline
BC Hydro will begin the installation of smart meters this summer and we are due to complete installations across the province by December 2012.
We currently expect to exchange meters on the Gulf Islands towards the end of the installation phase.
Before the meter exchanges take place, BC Hydro will contact customers via bill inserts, adverts in community newspapers and personally addressed letters which will let them know:
· that BC Hydro will soon be in the area exchanging meters
· how to prepare their home for installation, and
· customer service contact information.
Radio frequency
Customer and public safety are top priorities for BC Hydro and will continue to be throughout the Smart Metering Program.
BC Hydro has sought the advice of Dr. Perry Kendall, BC’s Provincial Health Officer, and he is confident that the selected technology is safe and can be implemented as planned. Additionally, the BC Centre for Disease Control has conducted independent testing on BC Hydro’s smart meters at our request, which found the meters to be well below the applicable public limit of power density exposure.
BC Hydro smart meter signals are low power, short and infrequent. The meters will communicate using radio signals only 4 to 6 times a day – for a total average daily transmission of one minute, and the cumulative exposure to radio frequency from a BC Hydro smart meter – over its entire 20-year life span – is the equivalent to the exposure during a single 30 minute cell phone call.
Despite the board body of evidence on the overall safety of wireless technology, and the low-frequency radio communications of smart meters, BC Hydro appreciates that there are some customers who continue to have personal health concerns about radio-based technology. We are considering options that may be offered to these customers, and what the cost of these options will be. This consideration is ongoing.
Customers will not be able to keep their current mechanical or digital meters.
Customer questions and concerns
BC Hydro is committed to providing accurate and timely information about the Smart Metering Program. All current information about the program can be found at bchydro.com/smartmeters, and customers can email their questions and comments to [email protected].
Customer can also sign up to receive direct updates from BC Hydro as the Smart Metering Program progresses.
Fay Thompson
Public Affairs Research Assistant, Smart Metering & Infrastructure Team
t. 778-452-6702
e. [email protected]
BC Hydro | For Generations | bchydro.com