1)      A good experience in Ladysmith:

Just a quick note to tell you of our experience with our meter exchange, which finally came  … we have been dreading this encounter.  However, as it turns out, there was no need!   It was all good!  

 “AJay” is the fellow’s name who came to us, (one of two fellows for our area of Ladysmith/Nanaimo?).   He took note of our signs on the gate,  and phoned first before coming in. 

I found Ajay to be a very polite and pleasant young man, both reassuring and accommodating.  He had me turn off our computer and TV inside.  He himself took photos of the various stages and steps with his hand held computer, checked out the base of our meter before installing the new one,  and remarked on how nice and clean it is inside, said it looks like brand new,  so there should be no problems for years to come.   

Thank goodness it all went so smoothly 😉 

 He also suggested that we wouldn’t be bothered any more regarding the $Meter, since we had accepted a new analog and are paying our monthly fee for the ‘reading’ … such as it is.    And, that probably we could now take down our signs  …  ???  … 

I responded to the member that I see no reason to trust that Hydro will not try to take our analogs. They might not try for a while, but their goal is still to get $$meters on every home. We should not let down our guard or remove our protective devices, IMHO.

2) Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe speaks on EHS

 An excellent video.  Fast 36 min.  You must pause video to read some of the slides.  Fantastic.  The presentation gets a bit deep but this will give you an idea of what is going on in the world of EHS research.

EHS suffers are not crazy.  It is the world.

 http://vimeo.com/100623585

3)  BC MLA helping tenants with Smart Meters

     An MLA got involved and helped some tenants being harassed by Hydro.

Thank you, S. Chandra Herbert!! (s.chandraherbert.mla@leg.bc.ca). 

 (video 02:00) West End residents fight smart meter fee by John Daly – Global News – July 21, 2014:
– https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/video/west-end-residents-fight-smart-012613083.html

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/07/20140721-080217.html

4)  Your usage data is worth lots of money

    Non-$$meter, but it shows that companies want our data, to know what we are doing, to target market to us. Verizon has a new loyalty program, but to get points you must agree to being tracked.

 http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/want-verizon-rewards-let-them-track-you

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 Letters:

From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: July 21, 2014 9:37 PM
To: Bill Bennett (mem.minister@gov.bc.ca)
Cc: Christy Clark (premier@gov.bc.ca); John Horgan. Leader NDP; ‘andrew.weaver.mla@leg.bc.ca‘; ‘maurine.karagianis.mla@leg.bc.ca‘; ‘mike.farnworth.mla@leg.bc.ca‘; CKNW Mike Smyth (msmyth@theprovince.com)
Subject: Discrimination by BC Hydro

 Dear Mr. Bennett,

As Minister of Energy, you are responsible for ensuring that the laws and intentions of the laws are followed by the utility companies providing services to British Columbians.

One of the key regulations of the BC Utilities Commission Act is that all customers who are receiving substantially similar services must be treated in the same manner, without “unduly discriminatory rates”.

BC Utilities Commission Act, section 59.

Discrimination in rates

59  (1) A public utility must not make, demand or receive

(a) an unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or unduly preferential rate for a service provided by it in British Columbia, or

(b) a rate that otherwise contravenes this Act, the regulations, orders of the commission or any other law.

(2) A public utility must not

(a) as to rate or service, subject any person or locality, or a particular description of traffic, to an undue prejudice or disadvantage, or

(b) extend to any person a form of agreement, a rule or a facility or privilege, unless the agreement, rule, facility or privilege is regularly and uniformly extended to all persons under substantially similar circumstances and conditions for service of the same description.

In Directive 4 you ordered that legacy fees be charged to those who refused to accept a smart meter. Your justification and BC Hydro’s in its application to the BCUC for these fees is that additional work is being done and additional equipment is required to handle manually read meters. This implies clearly that the smart meters do not require additional work or equipment because they are being remotely read.

At the time the fees became effective, and continuing today, many smart meters are being manually read, requiring the same work, the same manual input of data, the same everything that “legacy” meters require. It is likely that this will continue for some time, during which legacy metered account holders are being charged high fees every month, and smart meter account holders are not.

Can you please justify this discriminatory practice?

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sharon Noble
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Sent: July 21, 2014 11:07 AM
To:patrick.wruck@bcuc.com
Subject: BC HYDRO- estimated bills?

 Patrick,

I would appreciate a clear answer from the BCUC on whether or not BC Hydro customers now paying the egregious legacy meter extortion fee, must also pay this same full fee when BC Hydro bills are estimated?  If a reduced fee for estimated bills is only applicable, what is it and what is the procedure for paying it to BC Hydro when they overcharge?  If there is not a reduced fee, why not?

BC Hydro has stated their goal of moving all legacy meter users into smart meters.  Your  role have served to facilitate their intention well, at the expense of those thousands with valid concerns for safety, privacy and health. I would like to know if you anticipate the BCUC providing ANY impartiality in its future decisions on critical items affecting the public, with the government now dictating outcomes via Orders in Council and directing/restricting your mandate? 

Sharon Noble

Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters

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