Login / RegisterFight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm backs battle against B.C. Hydro’s smart meters
After fighting the harmonized sales tax, Bill Vander Zalm isn’t totally fading into the sunset. He’s turning his attention to B.C. Hydro’s controversial smart meters. But the former B.C. premier won’t play a high-profile role on this issue like he did in the battle against the HST.
“That’s of concern to a lot of people out there right now,” Vander Zalm told the Straight in a phone interview about the Crown corporation’s $930-million program to install digital meters in every home and business, starting this summer. “And I’ll morally support them [opponents of the meters]. They’re on the right thing. But I can’t get in there and do a lot of work for them like I did for the HST. That meant travelling the province, meeting with a lot of people, and organizing, and working at the computer here at home until all hours of the night.”
According to the leader of the Fight HST campaign, many people believe that the meters invade privacy, emit electromagnetic radiation that’s harmful to health, and are part of a “money grab”.
Chris Delaney, lead organizer of Fight HST, is going back to his filmmaking business and tending to his Christmas tree farm.
“If [B.C. premier] Christy Clark calls for an election in the fall or spring, then chances are I probably wouldn’t run,” Delaney, who’s also the spokesperson for the B.C. First Party, told the Straight by phone when asked about his immediate political plans.
Ballots for the HST mail-in referendum must be received by Elections B.C. before 4:30 p.m. on Friday (August 5).
Elections B.C. spokesperson Don Main told the Straight by phone from Victoria that the electoral body sent out a total of 3.05 million ballot packages. Main said that the referendum result is expected to be announced in late August.
The hat lady wants her money back. So does BC.
And you are credible,why?
He is correct regarding meters. They are just another form of tax and have proven to be a health hazard as well.
When will be begin to fight for our democracy in this province.
How can people allow a crown corp and Ms. for Families Clark, place anything in our homes we do not want? Invasion of privacy my rear.
This is invasion of our freedom.
If we do not speak out we are also to blame for the undemocratic actions of government.
I also find it odd that Hydro requested a rate increase to 'upgrade and maintain infrastructure' but didn't need an increase for the billion dollars or so for new meters.
I am hoping to see what information I can discover about these costs/ - but cynical about the real roles played by the courts in such circumstances - not on the side of the consumer.
We polled Vancouver Island residents who very clearly don't want these
Smart meters are the initial step before the time of day tariffs required to disguise the rate increases covering new lucrative IPP contracts, are implemented. The contracts will soon take up 75% of BCHydro's revenue while providing only 20% of its energy. BCHydro requires a 100% rate increase over the next 4 years.
The smart meter program will be spun up as an effort to fight global warming by moving load to the nighttime hours, while it doubles daytime rates and revenue. The idea that folks will volunteer to stay up half the night annoying their neighbours in violation of all kinds of strata and apartment rules doing laundry and dishes and watching their TeeVees will get old really fast.
Initially, BCHydro justifies its' smart meter program on the $110M expected to be saved by cutting off 850 GWh in grow shop power thefts priced at the IPP contract power rate of 12.9 cents a kwh. Since the loss of that 850 GW load will not result in the elimination of a single IPP power contract all of which are surplus to current needs well into the future, the real value would be close to zero - its value on the Columbia grid. That same hypothetical saving could be achieved for less than 2% the money by installing 25K feeder meters instead of 2000K customer units then comparing feeder totals to current monthly customer meter readings. Existing meters could be also modified for about $10 allowing remote reading off telephone or internet lines.
BCHydro's plans to add a 1 watt 900 Mhz wireless unit to your meter is going to unleash a storm of lawsuits from BC's eco sensitive populace. That 1 watt of RF power compares to 10 mw for a typical cordless phone but may be nailed 6 inches away from a child's sleeping head if the bedroom is adjacent to the power meter. Imagine the hapless apartment dweller who's bedroom is a thin wall away from the building meter room.
The cost for additional fibre capable of carrying telephone, television, internet requirements of BC households is less than 1% of the cost of the initial almost zero traffic smart meter fibre cable and installation that BC Hydro will be running into just about every block in every neighbourhood in the province. For a tiny additional less than $2 a month - the smart meter fibre optic network could be expanded to provide 1000 Mb/s internet service to every household in the province giving BC the best internet service in the world at by far the lowest cost. The real fear of the crooked politicians that give BCHydro its orders is that the new Smart meter network could be expanded by the NDP, to offer this best in the world universal internet/IPTV/telephone communication channel to BC ratepayers for less than $2 a month putting lucrative campaign donations from Big Telecom in jeopardy. The fry your brain 1 watt wireless transmitter is the result.
Of course they are mistaken as the NDP is equally beholden to the Big Telecom unions.
This is another price stupefied citizen's are paying for their moronic election of a fascist government.
seth
ps @ Ken Long ..."Mr Campbell got drunk..." Just for the record, that's not a 'sin'.
To part A ... mostly cuz you are afraid you might like them or have your mind changed...
To part B ... you are not equating the action of a drunken state of driving as punishable by law ( which it is ) ... but rather .... by using the word "sin" ... tying it to that dusty 2000 year old book of fairytales ... if so .. nothing you say on whatever subject you apply it to holds any vaild meaning ... hey?... is that your cellphone ringing? .. it must be Warren Jeffs calling to discuss morality with you
SmartMeter or not .. whatever... and next Vanderscam with be on to something else .. my prediction is ship building bids ...go away old man .. you had your shot .... your done ...
As he is the "leader" of this movement, I'd be interested to know--if there is any more--what he said, and not just in a boiled-down paragraph summary. Surely he was on the line for more than two minutes---or did you call him during peak usage hours?
Pages