Gurn Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 http://www.theprovince.com/technology/Hydro+admits+meter+problem/6427141/story.html "And now B.C. Hydro is admitting - for the very first time - that one of its celebrated new smart meters was grossly over-charging a customer for electricity." " But now that B.C. Hydro admits Cameron's smart meter was overcharging him in Kamloops, the spin is changing. "Like any kind of electronic equipment, you're going to get some that just go weird," Nicholson said. He said Cameron's smart meter is the first with a confirmed malfunction out of one million meters installed so far. Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/technology/Hydro+admits+meter+problem/6427141/story.html#ixzz1rZQTVewH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 They're gonna be changing mine in the next couple weeks apparently, a little nervous to see if my bill will go up or down. It's obvious there are going to be some defective meters, it inevitable with any project of this size and the amount of meters being replaced. The fact it has taken Hydro this long to admit there is a problem just shows there arrogance about the fact we as consumers really have no other viable alternative to electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Brown Burrows Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Damn. We have our original meter still - we aren't letting Hydro change it without our consent (not going to happen for a while). We have a sign. ^ been working so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverpig Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Not a big surprise that a few were messed up. It's a fixable mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoorKnob Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Here comes the "SEE? Told you they were defective! They're ALL defective!" crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouria Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 SEE? Told you they were defective! They're ALL defective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfterMath35 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 i live in a small bach suite, an just recently had the smart meters installed in our buildin and my hydro has jumped from $60 every 2 months too $110 so i can understand why ppl are not liking these meters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magikal Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 My hydro in my 3 bedroom house went from $70 every two months to $320. I'm asking Hydro for an investigation but I doubt I will get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 B.C. Hydro has been so crushed with complaints about over-billing smart meters that CEO Charles Reid sent out a company-wide email in a bid to calm things down internally. "Many of you will have seen media coverage claiming that our new smart meters are causing customer bills to go up," Reid wrote last Tuesday. "I'm sure you are getting many questions from friends and neighbours about the stories they've read in the media. "We've been looking at this very closely. Our Customer Care team investigates every complaint about a high bill and we have yet to find a single case that has anything to do with a new meter." Reassuring talking points for Hydro staff being bombarded with questions and complaints about smart meters. But unfortunately, Hydro knew in February that a smart meter had overcharged a customer in Kamloops, as revealed in the Sunday Province. So why did the CEO of the company keep telling his staff and the public that everything was fine? Why did Energy Minister Rich Coleman call overcharging smart meters "an urban myth" and a "bottom of the barrel" issue? According to Hydro's director of Customer Care, it's because nobody in the highest ranks of the company and government were aware that a smart meter had malfunctioned at the Kamloops home of Trapper Cameron, who was sent a bill for over $1,000. "Only parts of the organization knew there was a problem with this meter in February," Hydro's Jim Nicholson told me. "It did not get escalated to me." He said the information also did not get "escalated" to Coleman or to Reid or to Hydro's media-relations department. "We should have heightened awareness," Nicholson said. "It should have made its way to people who are communicating [to the media]." All of which makes you wonder if there are other smart-meter problems that haven't been escalated to the Hydro brass. In the case of Cameron's wonky meter in Kamloops, Nicholson says the malfunction was so "off the scale weird" that it would have been immediately red-flagged once the new smart-meter system is fully operational. "That's the beauty of the smart grid," Nicholson said, arguing any humongous charges from a malfunctioning meter will be instantly caught by staff when all the smart meters start broadcasting to the Hydro mother ship later this year. But Hydro customers still have reason to worry, especially if a smart meter is overcharging a customer by only 10 or 20 per cent. That wouldn't raise any red flags, and customers would still get burned. That's why it's up to Hydro to fully investigate all customer complaints, and the discovery of any more over-charging smart meters should be "escalated" up the line and made public. Read more: http://www.theprovin...l#ixzz1rfN7z59Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoItForRaymond Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 This is weird. I read this yesterday and today the idiots came and installed one, they didn't even notify(knock on the door) me that they were shutting the hydro off, a holes....They seem to be subcontracting a company called "Croix" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillooet_Hillbilly Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 i catch them on my property im releasing the hounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyJoeJoeJr. Shabadoo Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I called hydro about my old meter when I got a bill for $450 last December. They told me that they would test the meter by removing it and taking it to a test facility. The sevice cost $90 which would be covered if the meter was found faulty, if not I would be on the hook for the bill. I was then informed that in the 20 years only one meter had ever been found to have malfunctioned leading to over charging. Apparently most were found to under register hydro use and those people were propmtly equippped with a shiny new meter and a bill. I wonder if the protocol has changed with regards to smart meters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbean30 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Damn. We have our original meter still - we aren't letting Hydro change it without our consent (not going to happen for a while). We have a sign. ^ been working so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Brown Burrows Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Hydro will change it when they get around to it, it's not a choice if you get the new smart meter. It's hydro's property and they are allowed to change their meters when they choose to. Nothing you can really do about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Hydro will change it when they get around to it, it's not a choice if you get the new smart meter. It's hydro's property and they are allowed to change their meters when they choose to. Nothing you can really do about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbo Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 What is with everyone's phobia with change? Electronic metres are obviously a way more efficient and better option. If one in a million malfunctions, that's life, the mistake can be fixed. Take off your tin foil hats, everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbean30 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Post a letter saying they have your permission to read their meter but not do any work or to replace the meter.Many have done this and I've yet to hear of anyone having their meter replaced after posting the notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Post a letter saying they have your permission to read their meter but not do any work or to replace the meter.Many have done this and I've yet to hear of anyone having their meter replaced after posting the notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brahma Bull Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I sense another XBOX 360 RROD . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Brown Burrows Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Yea you can try to do this, but the fact is they don't need your permission to work on the meter or replace the meter. The meter is their property that you are renting from them, they will change it when they feel they need to. Everyone who has done this, probably hasn't had their meters changed because their area hasn't had the change yet. Not because of a letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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