SMART METERS A GOOD INVESTMENT

Editor:

More than $100 million worth of electricity is stolen from BC Hydro
every year, with much of it stolen to power marijuana grow ops.

As an honest BC Hydro customer, it makes me more than just a little
unhappy to know that people are stealing electricity. It makes me even
more unhappy to know that the cost of all that stolen electricity gets
added to the hydro bills of honest BC Hydro customers like you and
me.

That's why I'm glad BC Hydro is finally installing smart meters and
putting an end to preventable electricity theft.

Smart meters will let BC Hydro zero in on electricity theft quickly
and accurately and shut down the perpetrators. The old mechanical
meters BC Hydro has relied on since the 1940s and 1950s simply can't
do that. All they can do is measure how much electricity has gone
through them, and they only get checked manually every couple of
months (long after the opportunity to catch electricity thieves has
passed).

I doubt that most people are still using the same appliances, phones,
TVs and radios that were around in the1940s and 1950s. So why would
anyone want to use metering technology from 50 or 60 years ago,
especially when smart meters can detect electricity theft and save BC
Hydro customers $100 million per year?

Investing in smart meters is well worth the cost. And preventing the
theft of $100 million a year will basically pay for the meters in just
10 short years.

Mike Taylor

Port Moody