POWER CUT AFTER SMART METER INSTALLED

A Richmond couple is demanding an apology, compensation and answers
from BC Hydro after the electrical utility cut power to their home
without any notification based solely on a smart meter installer's
suspicion a marijuana grow-op was located inside.

Teresa Tuazon told The Richmond Review on Monday that a smart meter
was installed at their home on Aug. 11, but the following day, power
was for some reason cut to their 100-year-old house at the corner of
No. 7 Road and Westminster Highway.

When Tuazon arrived home from work that Friday, she was greeted by the
hum of a gasoline electrical generator, the noise from which they had
to endure for nearly three weeks until power was reconnected on Aug.
31.

She and her husband Rick Flello were told by their landlord that after
their smart meter was installed, the technician noticed something that
made him notify the landlord there was likely a marijuana grow-op
inside the home.

Without contacting the couple, alerting the police, or giving some
sort of advanced notification, power was cut.

Jim Nicholson, director of customer care for BC Hydro, said the smart
meter installer saw signs of tampering with the old meter, and
notified BC Hydro, who then the following day conducted its own
inspection and then made the decision to disconnect the power supply.

"In this case for us, our primary concern is employee safety and
homeowner safety," Nicholson said. What was discovered could have put
the home at risk of a fire or something else, he said.

But he couldn't explain why BC Hydro didn't try to contact Flello or
Tuazon to inform them of the safety hazard, or why if this was such a
hazard, why it waited an entire day before disconnecting the power.

"We would definitely be happy to speak with the customer about the
incident," Nicholson said.

When it was pointed out that this incident happened more than a month
ago, and BC Hydro still hadn't reached out to the customer, Nicholson
said: "It's really difficult to comment on that."

Flello said he wasn't initially that upset about the power being
clipped. He thought his new home might contain some sort of electrical
fire hazard, and appreciated that BC Hydro was making an effort to
keep him safe.

But when he learned his home's power was disrupted based solely on the
suspicion of the installer and a potential marijuana grow-op, that
made him upset, he said.

"That really pissed me off," Flello said. "If he really suspected
that, why didn't he call the cops? If you want to come and inspect the
house, come in any time. Just call me."

Acting on the installer's advice, the landlord, Kal Mahal, hired an
electrician to conduct an inspection, but nothing criminal was found.

However, power couldn't immediately be reconnected because Tuazon and
Flello had made it onto B.C. Hydro's "bad-boy list"--rumoured to be a
list for suspected grow-op tenants--meaning they weren't
prioritized.

For some reason, in spite of nothing untoward being discovered, their
BC Hydro account was cancelled, Tuazon said.

Aside from the inconvenience of having the noisy generator in place--to
spare their neighbours, they avoided operating it at night--the
contents of their fridge and freezer spoiled.

Timed precisely with the power disruption, their Shaw personal video
recorder stopped working, as did the electronic components to their
stove and their coffee maker seized up.

Flello recalled the faint smell of burning wires at the time the power
was cut, and later realized that the power supply cord to his Xbox
unit stopped working. Luckily, he had a spare that works fine.

Flello and Tuazon believe their privacy rights were ignored by BC
Hydro, which should at least have given them 24 or 48 hours notice of
an inspection.

Asked if BC Hydro would offer them an apology, Nicholson dodged the
question, and said he was committed to getting all the details about
the incident, and sitting down with them and having a full discussion.

"We're sympathetic to the inconvenience," he said, but added that what
could have transpired would have been much worse, such as in the event
of a fire.