ZAPPING GROW-OPS

Len Garis is no friend of marijuana growers.

In fact, Surrey's fire chief has been a big thorn in their sides, with
his aggressive initiative to shut down grow-ops through monitoring
power usage.

Now he's going to get a new tool in his arsenal - smart meters. BC
Hydro is bringing in smart meters across the province, which will
allow Hydro and homeowners to monitor power usage on a day-to-day basis.

Municipalities will also have access to that information, and Garis
plans to use it to give the Electrical Fire Safety Institute, a team
of firefighters, police officers, inspectors and bylaw officers, even
more up-to-date information on where marijuana is being grown in Surrey.

The EFSI has been operating for some time and has put a big dent in
the number of grow-ops in Surrey.

It can order homeowners to allow an inspection of the property within
72 hours. If the homeowner does not comply, the city can get a warrant
to search the property. Garis took on the grow-ops because of the
extremely unsafe conditions many were operating in.

In order to steal power from BC Hydro to operate the hydroponic lights
used for the plants, people were putting in all sorts of illegal and
highly dangerous electrical bypasses. Children were often exposed to
dangerous electrical conditions, and many homes themselves were
severely damaged as a result of the moisture and mould.

While the program has suffered a few minor setbacks as some grow-ops
fought back through the courts, Garis has remained unrepentant. He
believes this effort is necessary as a simple issue of public safety.

No matter what your position is on marijuana, and many people believe
it should be legalized, there is no question that the way it is
produced now is very risky.

Smart meters are being brought in to try and get people to reduce
their power consumption. It is part of the provincial government's
green agenda, which is trying to reduce the carbon footprint and
overall use of energy. While almost all of BC Hydro's power comes from
hydroelectric plants, which do not consume fossil fuels, the demand
for electricity is growing steadily each year, and conservation
efforts are very important.

Smart meters have other advantages. They eliminate the need for manual
meter readings, and customers will no longer have to call in to report
power outages.

As far as Garis is concerned, the biggest advantage that smart meters
offer is their ability to aid in shutting down grow-ops.

He would be very pleased if grow-ops in Surrey become
extinct.

He would be happy to have Surrey used as a test case for measuring how
effective the meters will be in closing down grow-ops.

His single-minded focus on the public safety aspect of grow-ops is a
boon to law-abiding Surrey citizens, far too many of whom have been
forced to put up with one or more grow-ops near their homes.

Every home in Surrey should have a smart meter in place by 2012.