Please write to the auditor general of BC. We need help to get this dangerous, expensive, ill-conceived, illegal program stopped and the AG could do that. How will Hydro pay the lawsuits for fires and (potentially) injuries, for health effects, and for hacking?  As the Ontario AG has outlined, the costs are never-ending with the short life expectancy, the ongoing upgrading of software, of new models, and especially the security measures that will be required to protect the grid from cyberattacks.

 

Here are some terrific letters written by members. Please use them for ideas. Please write, and copy your MLA, Dix, Horgan, etc.

 

Letters to the Auditor General:

 

Sent: December 10, 2014 7:59 PM
To: bcauditor@bcauditor.com
Cc: Bill Bennett; Hon. Don McRae; Hon. Peter Fassbender; John Horgan; Premier Christy Clark; Greg Reimer; Adrian Dix; CKNW – Mike Smyth; Rich Coleman
Subject: Common Sense Needed in This B.C. Smart Meter Matter!

Dear Auditor General,

This week,  Ontario’s Auditor General released a blistering report identifying numerous issues with Ontario’s smart meter program.   In case you haven’t seen the report it is available at:

http://www.auditor.on.ca/en/reports_2014_en.htm

and the press release is at http://www.auditor.on.ca/en/news_en/14_newsreleases/2014news_3.11.pdf

 

I learned recently, also,  that nearly 70,000 smart meters were being read manually as of January 1, and as of Sept. 1 nearly 50,000 are still being read manually. Hydro insiders have told me that many smart meters will be read manually more or less permanently. These customers are receiving the same service as those with legacy meters, but are not being charged the $32.40 per month fee ($64.80 per reading). This practice is discriminatory under the BC Utilities Commission Act which says that all customers must be charged the same rate for the same service. The legacy meters are requiring and receiving no service that is not being done for manually read smart meters. Because BCUC has been directed to not interfere in the smart meter program, no remedial action can be taken.

Today, I learned according to a  fire report from the BC Safety Authority that some (if not all) Corix installers received only 8 hours training prior to removing analog meters and installing smart meters — not the 10 days which we had been told by BC Hydro.

There has been no oversight of this program since its inception which not only is costing British Columbians huge amounts of money that may not be justified based on benefits, but also is jeopardizing our health, safety and security.

Some Good Common Sense is needed to be put into action on this Smart Meter issue, by those who are responsible for the well being of the citizens of our Province.

Sincerely, XXXXXXX

*************************************

Sent: December 10, 2014 6:24 PM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble; bcauditor@bcauditor.com
Subject: BC Hydro Smart Meter Program

Dear Auditor General:

I am aware of Sharon Noble’s valiant and lonely work in attempting to discover the truth regarding the British Columbia’s mysterious smart meter project, and the potential consequences of continuing with this dangerously misguided program.

I am concerned about Sharon’s claim that she has not been responded to by your office. I myself have experienced an official spiral of silence around the program, with MLA’s and the Provincial Health Officer silent or deceptive when queried. Please tell me your office is still independent and is actively prepared to investigate the issues presented?

When no official agency will respond to citizens… what is the next step for citizens? Tens of thousands are still resisting smart meters, and many are awaiting your response. I’m hopeful that your office will soon reply with proper due diligence to the issues presented.

Thank you.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

*****************************

Dear Auditor General,

 I am one of thousands of concerned citizens that have continued to refuse the installation of a wireless BC Hydro smart meter onto my property.  There are numerous reasons for this which I will not get into within the context of this writing.  Needless to say, many of those reasons are now playing out both in Ontario and Saskatchewan, although the province of Saskatchewan at the moment is the only Canadian jurisdiction that has actively stepped in to protect its citizens.

 Interestingly, the Auditor General of Ontario has recently released a report which confirms beyond any doubt many of the issues to which we have been expressing our concerns over the past three or more years, and yet here in BC, the government continues to deflect and obfuscate the discussion while continuing to deny that there is any issue—even in the face of direct evidence to the contrary.

 On behalf of the citizens of British Columbia, I implore you to please carry out a similar audit in this province.  Do we not owe it to our families and loved ones to ensure that we are not being placed into harm, whether it be physically, mentally or financially, due to the lack of due diligence by those that should be accountable for our safety and well-being?

 Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.

*************************************************

Sent: December 11, 2014 9:57 AM
To: bcauditor@bcauditor.com; Complaints@bcuc.com
Subject: Alarming report about the true cost of the smart meter implementation

It is an alarming report released this week by the Auditor in Ontario about the true cost of the smart meter implementation.

Based on my dealings over the past three years with BC Hydro, and with the neutered BCUC, I am extremely concerned that getting to the real facts about the true cost of the British Columbia smart meter program will be almost impossible without your help.

Your office would appear to be the only reliable Organization that can be trusted to objectively examine and report on the cost and implementation aspects of the smart meter program.

We have been told so many “facts” by BC Hydro and Government that do not hold up to scrutiny, in truth many “facts” turn out to be untruths, if not major deceits and outright lies.

An example is the following false statement made to the BCUC by BC Hydro in their February 2014 response to an an Intervener’s questions:

REPLY SUBMISSIONS OF BC HYDRO to BCUC, February 14, 2014.

BC Hydro response to British Columbia Pensioners’ and Seniors’ Organization et al (“BCPSO”);

(Bold italics underline added for emphasis….)

Quote “The truth is that BC Hydro has installed about 1.9 million smart meters as required by the Clean Energy Act and without incident, …”

Note that this statement was made by BC Hydro during the same period that incidents involving smart meters were being recorded by Fire Halls and the BC Safety Authority and by BC Hydro.

Based on BC Hydro’s own reports covering the period from 11 September 2011 to 8 September 2014, listing the homeowners’ hundreds of claims for damages sustained due to smart meter installs, there certainly have been, and continue to be many incidents.

So why can BC hydro get away with making untrue statements in official documents?

So when your office does undertake the audit of Hydro’s smart meter program, bear in mind the types of “obfuscations” that will be encountered, if not outright lies.

I would be willing to offer some really interesting questions for BC Hydro and BCUC as part of your audit.

Please let me know when your audit will commence,

 

Thank you for your attention,

XXXXXXXXXXXX

*****************************

Sharon

 “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.