1) A member, through much effort and finally some FOIs, managed to get some certification showing expiry dates. Another member, some time ago, got the form “scan 3” from Measurements Canada and it showed that his meter was not expired.
https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Scan-2.jpeg
[BC Hydro Electricity Meter Certificate Compliance Sample]
https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Scan-3.jpeg
[Measurements Canada Electricity Meter Seal Expiry Date]
2) I AM ASKING FOR HELP, AGAIN.
I am convinced, as you know, that these $$meters are fire hazards that should be recalled. So far, the BCUC has not provided its report on the piles of evidence I submitted nearly a year ago. It appears that the pressure is on to stifle the information, and continue to deny. You may have noticed that there have been no reports in the media of $$meter fires per se for some time. That doesn’t mean they haven’t happened, and I am asking for your help to find them. If you hear of a “suspicious” fire near you, and by suspicious I mean one that started on the outside of the home, in the car port, or in a place where a smeter could be, please try to get to the place and see if the meter or the meter area was burned. If it was, try to take a photo of that area. Try to talk to anyone who might be able to give you information. If you can’t get to the place, get the address and name of the owner, if possible, and a copy of any newspaper article and send to me. I will investigate. It takes weeks and sometimes months for the fire report to be available, and then the digging starts.
Soon I will share with you more of the info I’ve learned about how the information is being handled or not. There are major systemic flaws that are making it easy for the fires to be hidden from us. Please help me uncover it.
3) For those who are sensitive or who wish to protect families from the ever-increasing level of RF radiation from exterior sources, a possibility is shielding a home. This extremely sensitive person built a home and shared how he did it – it seems to have worked for him.
http://www.eiwellspring.org/emc/HighlyShieldedHouse.htm
Letters:
A great stream of emails, please read from the bottom up. (note: I was able to change the serial number of the meter – so could BC Hydro!)
From: X
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 10:04 PM
To: smartmeters@bchydro.com
Jessica: Based on your reply it’s clear I require you to provide me the contact email for someone of far higher authority within BC Hydro for me to communicate with. I need to take matters to a higher level as it seems you and your department are only able to provide prescribed form letter responses given to you to use with customers.
My last letter makes very clear my instructions and repeating them to you again is unnecessary. A smart meter of any type will not be installed on my home for all the reasons laid out in my many emails to BC hydro recently and in the past. I do not provide consent. My reasons are valid and I am not willing to assume the risk associated with smart meters when viable alternatives exist to meter my electricity that BC Hydro is choosing to ignore.
Unlike analogue meters, BC Hydro smart meters are made of Combustible materials, have Lithium batteries, Thinner blades, and unbelievably have no surge arresters. All of which leaves my home and family vulnerable. I’m sure BC Hydro will argue that there is no increased risk, but when smart meters have been implicated elsewhere it remains my determination to make as to what risk my home and family is exposed to, especially when very easily avoided.
An analog meter in no way infringes on the efficient delivery of electricity and the very existence of the meter choices program shows that smart meters are not essential equipment. The 420$ per year fee associated with the choices program (albeit exorbitantly high versus other jurisdictions) is paid to allow your customers to avoid a smart meter and not just a non-sending/receiving smart meter. So as I have saved BC Hydro the cost of a far more expensive smart meter please use a portion of its cost to acquire a meter that meets my requirements I have previously laid out. This will therefore not be a financial burden to BC Hydro to honour the full choice of the meter choices program and continue to keep ‘legacy type’ meter available.
Measurement of electricity in almost real time with a smart meter is completely unnecessary to meter and bill. Instead it exposes your customers to unnecessary risk as this information can be used maliciously. If you look at the example smart meter graph below you can clearly see when occupants are least likely to be home and when asleep.
Electrical Power Consumption in 15 Minute Intervals for Naperville Resident (April 26/27, 2013)
Multiple days of this data can be used to predict occupancy and activity. I consider this detailed level of data gathering surveillance a clear and unnecessary invasion of privacy and a threat to both personal security and the security for home and property. When I signed up to obtain electricity from BC Hydro, I did not consent to have a surveillance like device attached to my house and I do not consent now. Since I am on a fixed rate pricing program for electrical energy usage, there is no business basis for BC Hydro to collect thousands of data points per month. BC Hydro only needs one data point every 2 months to be able to calculate my monthly bill. I can already easily tell when I’m using electricity and my energy bill motivates me to conserve, so extra data points to measure my usage will not improve my conservation, just add unnecessary risk.
There is no line in the tariff that forbids me requiring an appointment from BC Hydro. Further, appointments are common place for BC Hydro for meter reading and servicing for some customers. My reasons for requiring an appointment for such an uncommon event as a meter change is again well laid out in my last communication. Most important of which, I do not consent my meter to be disconnected under load because of unnecessary risk to my person and property. I have also clearly communicated reasons why I require my personal electrician to be present during a meter exchange.
It may be BC Hydro policy to try to avoid appointments with its customers but you do make them when required, so again you have been notified that BC Hydro is required to make an appointment for meter exchange on my property.
If BC Hydro lacks the planning and forethought to retain, recertify, or acquire non-smart meters for a well-known number of its ‘legacy meter’ paying customers my family should not be made to bear any consequence by being forced to accept a smart meter especially when Bill Bennett made it very clear “no one will be forced”. BC Hydro needs to keep the full scope of ‘choice’ in the meter choices program by continuing to use non-smart meters, otherwise there is no real choice left in the program. So, as BC Hydro has once again been notified to not attempt to install any smart meter type I therefore will not be made responsible to pay any non-installation fees as BC Hydro is clearly aware to not have anyone show up unless an appointment is made and a non-wireless capable / non-smart meter is made available for this customer. It is the duty of a public corporation to find solutions that do not infringe on civil liberties, health and welfare of individuals when it comes to the sanctity of my home.
Please provide me with an email address I requested above so I may communicate with a decision maker within BC Hydro.
X
= = =
From: smartmeters@bchydro.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2016 1:15 PM
To: X
Dear X
Thank you for your March 7, 2016 email about the planned meter exchange at your home. A copy of your email has been forwarded to me and I have been asked to reply.
The replacement of time expired meters is a standard operational activity. We are legally obligated to ensure grid equipment, including meters, meet all applicable standards and requirements. As a Measurement Canada Accredited Service Provider for electricity meters, BC Hydro maintains all records for its meter population, including the Measurement Canada seal expiration date.
The meter currently at/for your residence has the following expiry date:
BC Hydro Meter Information – Meter # – Seal Expiry Date
Meter certification expiration dates are maintained in a database. There is no official certificate available
We’ve always said that if an old meter breaks or the accuracy seal expires we would provide a replacement old meter as long as existing stock lasted, and that once the stock was depleted Meter Choices customers could chose radio-off or smart meters. This is supported by 4.2.3 (c) of the Electric Tariff.
We don’t have any legacy meters left in stock, and we aren’t buying or recertifying any more.
Since you have a legacy meter that needs replacing, it will be replaced with a radio-off meter.
We can’t accommodate appointment requests because we have to coordinate work across the province. However, as a courtesy we’ll ask our authorized installer to contact you at (xxxxxx) the day before they visit. We can’t guarantee this call, so please ensure that there’s free and clear access to the meter at all times. Providing unrestricted access to our equipment is a service requirement. Please make sure our worker can complete this necessary maintenance.
One of the conditions of our service is ensuring there’s free and clear access to our equipment, so please remove the cover on the meter. When you request service from BC Hydro you agree to the terms and conditions of our Electric Tariff, including the obligation to provide access to your property so that we can read, maintain or exchange the BC Hydro meter. If we are denied access to our meter, or prevented from completing a planned exchange, a $65.00 failed installation charge will be added.
The fee has been approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission. It ensures the expense of sending a crew to the property is recovered from the customer who prevents access, rather than all customers. Further, section 9.5 of the Electric Tariff states that preventing or obstructing access can eventually lead to service disconnection.
To access a copy of the Electric Tariff, please go to bchydro.com and search Electric Tariff.
If you have any further questions about this meter exchange, please call us at 1 800 409 8199.
Sincerely,
Jessica | Smart Metering Specialist, Smart Metering Program
BC Hydro
= = =
From: X
Sent: 2016, March 07 12:56 AM
To: Customer Metering
Cc: john.horgan.mla@leg.bc.ca
Subject: BC HYDRO RESPONSE REQUIRED: REPLY to BC Hydro letter dated March 1st, 2016
Importance: High
March 6, 2016
From: X
RE: REPLY to BC Hydro letter dated March 1st, 2016
To: BC Hydro VIA email CC: John Horgan
BC Hydro: I am in receipt of a BC Hydro letter dated March 1st 2016 which I received Friday evening March 4th. Below is my reply. The Author of the letter Daren Sanders provides no contact information for reply so I have emailed the smart meter program instead which is the only email address I could find on the BC Hydro website. I expect a timely reply to this email so please confirm receipt of this email and have it forwarded for answer by someone of appropriate authority within BC Hydro. I also expect no attempt be made to exchange the meter at my property until an agreement is reached on meter type and installation requirements as outlined in my letter below.
In BC Hydro’s letter the following statements are made:
A. “The Measurement Canada certification on the meter at your property will soon expire”
B. BC Hydro would like to be notified “if access could be a problem”
C: “BC Hydro no longer has a stock of legacy meters”
A. As BC Hydro claims certification will expire I request re-certification or extension of certification versus replacement: My present analogue meter is less than 10 years old and therefore has decades of life left in it. I know BC hydro has re-certified many analogue meters in the past as long as they remain functional. If you deny my request for recertification or simple extension of certification please quote the specific section of the tariff and measurement Canada where it specifically states I am not allowed to be granted such a request and/or BC Hydro is prohibited from extending certification.
If my meter is refused under specific wording in the tariff to be recertified or extended, BC hydro’s only alternative option is to provide a replacement meter that does not have any wireless capability. That does not mean a smart meter with antenna turned off! It means no part of the meter will be allowed that has wireless capability to either send or receive. As I have mentioned in multiple communications to BC hydro over the years a smart meter or any wireless type of meter is not to be used to meter my electricity. I am well within my rights to refuse such a meter and I am currently forced to pay ‘legacy meter fees’ to keep a non-wireless capable meter. Further, On July 18, 2013, Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines, made the following statement by way of press release announcing BC Hydro’s Meter Choices Program: “As we have said, nobody will be forced to take a smart meter. I believe that this is a fair and reasonable solution for all British Columbians.” Therefore I am holding him and BC Hydro to this statement that I will not be forced to take a smart meter.
B. Please note meter access is currently an issue at my home, not for reading but for replacement. For this and other reasons I require BC Hydro or its agents to book an appointment with me to re-certify, extend certification, or replace my meter. I have multiple reasons why BC Hydro is required to make an appointment and some are listed below. If BC Hydro claims they are not required to do so then please provide specific wording in the tariff that specifically forbids me from requiring BC Hydro to make an appointment with me.
I require an appointment for the following reasons:
– In order to have any replacement meter inspected by my personal electrician to verify that the model is not a smart meter nor does it have any wireless capability.
– I run multiple computers and other electronic devices at my residence and do not want an un-foreseen power interruption leading to avoidable un-necessary data loss and/or hardware damage. During storms I disconnect these devices as a precaution and I will need an appointment to do so ahead of any installer visit.
– To ensure BC Hydro has access to the existing meter.
– Also, with fires being linked with meter exchange BC hydro has made it clear that the meter base is the responsibility of the home owner but I have no authority to remove a meter to inspect it, so the appointment will allow my electrician to be present to inspect the meter base along with BC Hydro as I cannot have it inspected in any other way. As your installer’s status as a qualified electrician will be unknown to me, as will his best guess on the status of my base plate, I require my electrician present in order for me to protect the health a welfare of my family in our own home.
– As there has been fire risk associated with smart meters elsewhere like in Saskatchewan that lead to their mass removal I also need my family protected by expert verification that only a certified meter of the non-Smart meter type is installed and one that has no wireless capability.
C. If BC Hydro does not have sufficient inventory of non-wireless capable meters and my analogue meter is not to be re-certified or extended then BC Hydro will be required to purchase a non-wireless capable meter for my residence. This will not be a financial burden to BC Hydro as I am saving BC Hydro the cost of a more expensive smart meter and a portion of that savings can be used to purchase an acceptable and less expensive non-wireless capable meter, plus I am paying 420$ per year in extra fees to keep such a meter. Also, as my meter is less than 10 years old replacement this early in its life would not be financially responsible for BC Hydro to replace a meter with many years of useful life left. BC Hydro should have had the foresight to not destroy all of over a million of perfectly functional meters removed during the smart meter rollout before the end of their useful life. BC Hydro should have retained enough of them to take care of known customers who fought off BC Hydro long enough for a smart meter opt out to be offered. The fees of the BC Hydro smart meter opt out are far greater than the vast majority of other opt out jurisdictions, so this fee I pay should be used by BC Hydro to honor the opt out and keep an acceptable ‘legacy type’ meter on my home.
If BC Hydro was to install a smart meter against my will now, or I simply capitulated, I could be deemed to be consenting to current and future applications of the smart meter! I don’t consent to the collection of my electricity on an hourly basis and its broadcast by a smart meter. Hacked hourly usage history can be used to predict when my home has no occupants. BC Hydro’s claim to protect our personal information is essentially just an “attempt” limited to the extent that their systems and inherently vulnerable smart meters allow. Many corporations make the same claim that their networks are secure, however history clearly shows many have been hacked and BC Hydro cannot be predicted to be any exception or uniquely immune*. I also do not consent to any meter that has an embedded 2nd wireless transmitter (like the additional ZigBee radio transmitter in BC Hydro smart meters) that can communicate with, monitor, and perhaps remotely control my appliances. I also would never consent to a smart meter if one day it was part of a Wi-Fi network like the one that has already been put into use in Santa Clara California**. Nor do I want to participate in time of use billing that is in use in Ontario and mentioned in BC Hydro’s business case^. I know that BC Hydro will assert these future smart meter uses are not part of their ‘current’ plan, but smart meters are capable of these and other applications that might appear in future BC Hydro plans or by government executive orders. I therefore may be giving up my future right to refuse these future applications by allowing a smart meter now, so I cannot capitulate.
** Silicon Valley city offers free Wi-Fi via smart meters: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57576712-93/silicon-valley-city-offers-free-wi-fi-via-smart-meters/
^ As stated in BC Hydro’s ‘business case’: “Smart meters capture information that will enable BC Hydro to design new rate structures that encourage conservation during peak periods”
*FBI cyber-intelligence bulletin (May 27, 2010): A series of hacks against smart meter installations over the past several years have been reported. “The FBI assesses with medium confidence that as Smart Grid use continues to spread throughout the country, this type of fraud will also spread because of the ease of intrusion and the economic benefit to both the hacker and the electric customer.”
As reported in the Star Newspaper (July 29, 2009) “Toronto police have launched an investigation after as many as 179,000 Toronto Hydro customer account numbers were illegally accessed…”
As reported by Business week in (May 2010) “90% of corporations have been hacked.”
Our individual rights and freedoms in our own homes supersede the ambitions of a corporation especially when the metering of electricity has modern viable alternatives beyond the narrow scope BC Hydro has chosen to offer in its latest letter. Despite the liberal government using both legislation and non-democratic executive orders to neuter the BCUC, the very agency the public relies upon to protect itself from a monopoly corporation, an opt out was finally won and should be honored. If BC Hydro lacks the planning and forethought to retain, recertify or acquire non-smart meters for a well-known number of its ‘legacy meter’ customers my family should not be made to bear any consequence by being forced to accept a smart meter when Bill Bennett made it very clear “no one will be forced”. So, as BC Hydro has once again been notified to not attempt to install any smart meter I therefore will not be made responsible to pay any non-installation fees as BC Hydro is aware to not show up unless an appointment is made and a non-wireless capable non-smart meter is made available for this customer.
X
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
A: Free radicals damage DNA
B: Non-ionizing radiation creates free radicals.
C: Therefore, non-ionizing radiation can damage DNA
DAMAGED DNA CAN LEAD TO CANCER.