{"id":6937,"date":"2015-08-25T22:28:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T05:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=6937"},"modified":"2015-08-26T12:59:13","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T19:59:13","slug":"kelowna-tenant-and-smart-meters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=6937","title":{"rendered":"Kelowna Tenant and Smart Meters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kelownaAug2015\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Kelly Hayes<\/p>\n

August 25, 2015 \u00a06pm
\nVideo Journalist \u00a0Global News<\/p>\n

Time is running out for a Kelowna man who is in a standoff with FortisBC. The man refuses to have a smart meter installed in his rental home. He says he wants to keep his old analog meter but FortisBC says that\u2019s not an option. Kelly Hayes has the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then finally they sent me the disconnection notice.\u201d
\nJamie Dale Walraven is one of a few hundred Kelown residents
\nholding out from FortisBC from installing a smart meter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth Concerns, Privacy Issues\u201d Fortis and Walraven have been going back and forth with letter but Walraven has run out of time. Fortis says if he doesn\u2019t get a smart meter, they\u2019re going to turn off the power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said the reason they are cutting off my power, is that the meter is obstructed.
\nIts not obstructed, I don\u2019t have a fence, I don\u2019t have a dog, theres no lock on the meter, all I have is this sign\u201d
\nComplicating matter, Walraven doesn\u2019t even own the home, he rents.
\nWalraven might be fighting a loosing battle, because he doesn\u2019t own this place, the decision whether or not a smart meter goes into the home is really up to the landlord, and if Walraven doesn\u2019t agree with that decision, he could end up being evicted.
\nRuss Godfrey of Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre (Trac) say that the landlord has the lawful right to install a smart meter. The tenant has not got a lot of options if they don\u2019t want it because the landlord can insist. Tenants can be evicted for getting in the way of the safety and rights of the landlord. Then the tenant would have to dispute that notice, and if they loose they are evicted.
\n\u201cDisconnection is a last resort\u201d says FortisBC.
\nFortis says the renter could accept a smart meter – or pay Fortis an extra monthly fee for a new meter with no transmitter.
\nThere is no option to keep the old e meter
\n\u201cMight have to move. But where will I go? There are smart meters everywhere
\nMeanwhile the meter is running. If the meter doesn\u2019t relent, his power could be cut off as soon as tomorrow.
\nKelly Hayes Reporting, Global News, Kelowna<\/p>\n

Watch Video<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/2185463\/tenant-and-smart-meters\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"kelownacourierAug2015\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Get a smart meter or face eviction<\/h2>\n

Posted:\u00a0Tuesday, August 25, 2015 9:13 pm\u00a0Andrea Peacock<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

A renter in Kelowna must consent to having a FortisBC smart meter installed or risk eviction.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Jamie Dale Walraven received a phone call from FortisBC telling him his power was going to be cut off on or after Aug. 27 if he did not have a smart meter put in.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs a renter, I have no say. It comes down to the owner,\u201d said Walraven. \u201cBut Fortis is talking to me. The bill is in my name.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

For customers who do not want a smart meter, which electronically transmits usage data to the company, FortisBC offers a radio-off version, which requires a FortisBC employee to manually download data from the meter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Walraven said he would not mind paying extra for the radio-off option, but he believes those meters still transmit information, despite what FortisBC says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019ve sent (FortisBC) registered mail on three occasions, expressing concerns, and they\u2019ve told me on the phone my concerns are unwarranted. I want that on paper, but they won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Walraven said he wants someone to be accountable for what he considers safety concerns of the meters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got three letters from them saying I have to take the smart meter. I\u2019m not saying no, I\u2019m saying here\u2019s my rebuttal, answer my questions,\u201d said Walraven. \u201cIf they take full liability, then great.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Walraven said he would like to go off the grid, but that does not seem to be an option.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

There is a wood fireplace in the house, but Walraven said he needs to install an insert so heat can be distributed throughout the house.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

However, insurance will not cover the insert, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI could get permits and the insurance would go up, but even then I still couldn\u2019t get it, because the property owner doesn\u2019t want to mess with the insurance premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Walraven said his property manager requires the house to be heated in the winter, so if his power is shut off and he cannot heat the house with the fireplace, he suspects he will likely be evicted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He said his landlord is sympathetic to the situation, but does not wish to incur any extra costs himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI am painted into a corner here. Either I accept the meter or I have no place to live,\u201d said Walraven.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cA corporation apparently has more autonomy than a human being living on the earth. To me, that\u2019s just wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.kelownadailycourier.ca\/news\/article_c18ace28-4ba8-11e5-8f87-13642f3b8190.html<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kelly Hayes August 25, 2015 \u00a06pm Video Journalist \u00a0Global News Time is running out for a Kelowna man who is in a standoff with FortisBC. The man refuses to have a smart meter installed in his rental home. He says he wants to keep his old analog meter but FortisBC says that\u2019s not an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236,17,302,102,3,50,142,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apartment-condo","category-bc","category-disconnected","category-fortisbc","category-health_and_safety","category-kelowna","category-opt-out-options","category-smart-meter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6937"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6946,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6937\/revisions\/6946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}