We CAN SAY NO to Smart Meters **SPREAD THE WORD**

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by reefermadness

There is no political battle....they want to ...they do. There is no law or legislation needed to add a smart meter and TOU billing. Most people wont make too much noise ...if you do you may delay the inevitable....but it is inevitable.

Hah,... You don't know BC. The media will team up with Vanderzalm, and they can stop (or reverse) anything here...., just to prove they are really in charge. It doesn't matter if it is good or bad for us.

[reefermadness]

no...all im saying is its the future. Electricity production doesnt happen instantly on demand. TOU makes sense and every electicity meter in the world will be TOU smart meter eventual....that and its green. So stick your heels in all you want but eventually you will have no choice.

[Lampshade]

according to the hydro site:

BC Hydro will not be implementing time-of-use rates because we don't need them.

Time-of-use rates are used in jurisdictions with peak demand that exceeds the utility's ability to supply electricity to its customers. They have to buy expensive electricity in order to meet that peak demand. This is very important in jurisdictions that rely on coal or fossil fuels to generate electricity.

In British Columbia, we are fortunate to have a flexible electricity system that is 94 per cent hydro generation, where water flow can be adjusted to match supply and demand as needed. We are also addressing future capacity constraints through expansions to existing infrastructure, such as Mica 5 and 6 and our Integrated Resources Plan.



This is very true, in most places, electricity production doesn't happen instantly on demand, in BC, it does.

[reefermadness]

I didnt realize so much of your electricity was true hydro generation. Maybe your right. I wonder if they would ever have a different rate for different seasons were water flow might cause problems?

I think all provinces and states have bordering grid connections where they can pick up or sell off electricity depending on capacities. IF the electricity is there....why waste it.

Most places need to utilize always on technologies like nuclear, hydro and than comes coal, gas which can be better controlled. But as we move to even more unreliable and intermittent technologies which are the green solar panels and wind turbines.....TOU becomes important.

Anyway....smart meters are used for much more than just TOU.

[Lampshade]

Yeah, BC's pretty lucky with that. Most places do have thermal as their main supply, which cannot follow load well, takes time/money to shut down, etc. BC's lucky since we can supply places like that at peak times when prices are high. Then during the night, buy back electricity at a very cheap rate while we store water behind our dams to sell back again at peak times.

Honestly, i think BC will eventually go to TOU as it becomes more common , it's many years away though. Through the 90's/2000's BCHydro put a lot of money into conservation(remember that lightbulb bee thing? lol), which they claim has paid off in reduced peak demand. TOU would be a large way to reduce peak demand, and with smart meters, would cost very little to implement.

[ongquang21]

Look at this http://www.hydro.mb.ca/regulatory_affairs/energy_rates/electricity/utility_rate_comp.shtml .

We are happily enjoying the lowest electricity price in canada. Now BCHydro is step by step building ground toward TOU. If we copy ON's pricing system, we will be bloodsucked to dead since BC has the lowest income in the coutry.