SMART METER INVESTMENT WORTH THE COST

Dear 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 the1940's and 1950's. 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 ten short years.

Mike Taylor

Port Moody, B.C.