HYDRO IDENTIFIES HIGH 'POT'ENTIAL

New B.C. Hydro numbers suggest Langley's biggest cash crop may be
marijuana.

Langley may have the second-highest per captia ratio of marijuana grow
operations in the Lower Mainland, according to B.C. Hydro.

Under a new law introduced last year, the electricity supplier can
supply municipalities with a list of all addresses with unusually high
power consumption.

High power use is often an indicator of the use of high-powered lights
for hydroponic marijuana growing.

According to information obtained by the Vancouver Sun, six
municipalities have so far asked for the data from B.C. Hydro,
including the Township. The others are Abbotsford, Surrey, Chilliwack,
Pitt Meadows, and Vancouver.

While Vancouver and Surrey were first and second in numbers of
suspicious homes on the B.C. Hydro numbers, Abbotsford and Langley
were at the top when the data is looked at on a per capita basis.

Abbotsford has 82 suspicious homes for every 10,000 residents, while
Langley Township has 76 and Chilliwack has 74.

With the Township having recently passed the 100,000 population mark,
that would mean there are 760 suspicious homes in town.

Vancouver has just 24 per 10,000 and Surrey is at 35.

How many of those homes are actually marijuana grow operations and how
many are simply using too many lights, computers and baseboard heaters
has yet to be determined.

Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis said an initial analysis of his city's
Hydro list suggests about one-quarter of the high-consumption homes
are legitimate users - with the remaining three-quarters suspicious.

Surrey, which was the pilot site for the bylaw, already has a special
bylaw enforcement team to shut off the power where there is a possible
danger.

Property owners then have to submit to an inspection and pay fees to
get the juice flowing again.

Langley Township Fire Chief Doug Wade is preparing a report on the new
information for the council.

He plans to make recommendations sometime next month, according to
Bill Storie, the head of bylaw enforcement.

Those recommendations may include the creation of a team to check out
the suspicious homes.

The Township council had supported the creation of the new anti-pot
law in 2005. Only retired councillor Muriel Arnason opposed the law,
saying pot should be legalized instead to prevent violence by the growers.