West Vancouver resident resists smart meters by locking up analogue meter

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“B.C. Hydro will not be changing my meter anytime soon, unless they bring some serious tools,” West Vancouver resident Peter Ferlow told the Straight. “I locked up my analogue meter good.”

Ferlow sent the Straight a picture showing how he has encased his analogue meter in metal and locked the casing with thick chains and U-locks.

“The whole street has been done now,” Ferlow said. “Basically, I’ve walked down the whole street and I’ve talked to the people, or most of the people that were home, and left them some literature about the smart meters.”

One older resident four houses down already had a piece of wood covering his analogue meter, Ferlow added.

“I said to him, ‘What do you know about smart meters?’ ” Ferlow said, referring to his neighbour. “He said, ‘I don’t want one.’ Okay then. That was pretty funny. And then there’s another lady about halfway down the street. I was talking to her because I sell solar collectors as a little hobby thing on the side, and she was looking at that. She also put the notices up, and she hasn’t got one yet.”

By year’s end, the provincial utility plans to install 1.9 million meters, and has already put in over 1.1 million of the wireless devices, according to a May 4 B.C. Hydro news release.

Ferlow said he is convinced that 98 percent of the people he’s spoken to still have no idea what the program, budgeted at $930 million, is all about.

“It was almost like they [B.C. Hydro] were just hoping to slam these things in before anybody knows any better,” he said.

Ferlow was at Vancouver City Hall last week to voice his support for Green councillor Adriane Carr’s successful motion asking B.C. Hydro to allow Vancouverites to opt out of the program.