NEW POWER USE LAW TARGETS MARIJUANA GROW OPS

SURREY - Heavy users of electricity will be reported to police under
new B.C. legislation.

Near the end of this month, municipalities will have BC Hydro records
on demand, data which will be turned over to police to determine
whether spikes in power use were caused by a marijuana grow operation.

Marijuana grow ops require high power consumption, typically three to
10 times the amount used by a normal home.

"This amendment will help local authorities target and shut down
marijuana grow operations more quickly and more efficiently,"
Minister of Public Safety John Les said in the legislature Thursday,
as he introduced Bill 25.

"With these amendments, municipalities will now be able to obtain
information from electricity companies about residences with unusual
power consumption."

The names and addresses of the account holders will now be given to
local authorities to investigate whether their homes contain a grow
operation, he said.

It's the latest tool in a new program used by the Surrey and
Abbotsford fire department that sees high energy users put on notice
for inspection.

Non-compliance results in power to the home being shut off.

One of the main impediments to the program, investigators say, has
been the time-consuming process of acquiring BC Hydro information
through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOI).

To obtain an FOI request, the city first had to have tips from neighbours.

Now the investigation process will be reversed: power records first,
then assessment.

"A key trigger for the inspections was unusual electricity
consumption, but obtaining that information at the time was a
challenge," according to Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis.

"The greater availability of energy consumption information is
expected to greatly expand the ability of these inspection programs
to disable marijuana grow operations in our neighbourhoods."

Launched last year, the Electrical Fire Safety Initiative (EFSI)
involved fire, police, bylaw and building inspectors tracking high
energy use and posting a notice that the home will be inspected in 48 hours.

"The pilot (program) results exceeded expectation," notes Garis.

"The Surrey EFSI team processed 420 police tips and rendered safe 119
grow operations."

Garis acknowledges the new legislation will be controversial.

"The new program may be viewed by some as an infringement of privacy,
however it is believed that the public's safety is more compelling
and outweighs any privacy rights," Garis said.