1) From a member in Grand Forks: a failed $$mart water meter. (I am not including the photos that are mentioned.) Those with these meters inside the home may want to double check to see if there is a similar “fault” with the installation that could cause problems.
THE LATEST: One of the smart water metres installed by the City failed on Saturday and flooded a condo basement of one resident and leaked water into the basement of an adjacent tenant. Already the Operations Manager of the City, David Teed, told one of the tenants (probably both) that it was a faulty install…(of course by one of the unqualified Neptune installers that were working at minimum salaries to do the work when it should have been accredited plumbers).
Luckily the main flood tenant was home that day and discovered the malfunction after a 4″ accumulation of water on the basement floor. The insurance company is already on site with water vacuums, drying fans, and moving things around to get them dry. The insurance people have already indicated they will be pursuing the City for the damages.
WHAT WENT WRONG; The first photo indicates the pex piece of pipe which fractured on the flood tenant’s smart water metre install. The second photo shows the entire plumbing joinery required to get the $$metre in place. It should have been copper as in the third photo of the remediated connection of the flood tenant’s plumbing. Of course the faulty piece of pipe is now with the Operations Manager and bound to disappear in the shuffle. Need I tell you the unqualified installers of Neptune Inc. was raised during the whole debacle on the $$metres in GF. Already the insurance company is waiving the deductible for the tenants in question.
2) Just like BC Hydro, in Australia, the utility has over-estimated power need, spending money on facilities and infrastructure that is not needed. This means having to raise rates and fees to pay for the bad management. Also, the utility is implementing new ways of charging for power that could result in significantly higher bills – once $$meters are installed – and making it difficult for people to use solar power.
At the start of this century electricity bigwigs expected grid demand to continue to grow, just as it had for decades. Instead, electricity consumption peaked and then declined. This came as a shock to the electricity sector which had spent billions of dollars expanding transmission and distribution infrastructure that was now not needed.
Because the regulators allowed them to pass on the costs of their bad investments to consumers, electricity prices soared and many Australians turned to solar to ease the pain of their skyrocketing electricity bills.
Rather than admit their mistakes and attempt to adapt to the new situation electricity generators, distributors, and retailers have instead relentlessly lobbied to make it difficult for you to install solar.
https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/residential-demand-tariffs-add-1000s-bill/
3) In Maryland, a family has power cut off for failing to pay extortion, in the midst of a severe heat wave. It seems that all utilities are immune from any humanity or common sense. These people have paid for their power – they just do not want a $$meter.
4) BC Hydro has “private” concerns about the safety of dams when fracking occurs nearby. Why is this private when public safety is at risk?
A new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives claims that officials at BC Hydro has expressed concerns their dams might collapse due to natural gas fracking operations.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-hydro-fracking-1.3723360
Letters:
From: XXXX
To: “Complaints BCUC:EX” <Complaints@bcuc.com>
Date: August 17, 2016
Subject: Re: BC Hydro Meter Replacement Notification
Mr. Mansbridge –
The response you have provided does not in any way answer my complaint, which In summary is that I don’t think I should be required to pay BC Hydro $32.40/month for each of my two analog meters as an alternative to allowing BC Hydro to install combustible (digital) meters on my meter bases.
My belief is based on the facts that digital meters can and do catch fire (see, for example, Photo 1 below and the evidence submitted by Sharon Noble with her complaint about smart meter fire non-safety) whereas my meter bases are designed, tested, and CSA approved for use with incombustible (analog) meters (only).
Please provide an answer soon – it’s been over two years since I first submitted my complaint and I’m getting increasingly annoyed at having to make these payments for my own safety every month.
Sincerely,
XXXX
= = =
On Jul 29, 2016 Complaints BCUC:EX <Complaints@bcuc.com> wrote:
Dear Mr. XXXX,
Thank you for your patience while Commission staff investigated concerns related to smart meter fire safety. The review is now complete and the Order is available here: http://www.ordersdecisions.bcuc.com/bcuc/orders/en/item/168896/index.do?r=AAAAAQAIRy0xMjQtMTYB
Regards,
Blake Mansbridge
Interim Customer Relations Analyst
British Columbia Utilities Commission
6th Floor, 900 Howe Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 2N3
Website: www.bcuc.com Email: complaints@bcuc.com
Phone: 604.660.4700 | Fax: 604.660.1102 | Toll Free: 1.800.663.1385
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.