Abbotsford News Friday, December 27, 2013
Fees persuade most smart meter holdouts By Tom FLETCHER Black Press
BC Hydro’s imposition of manual meter reading fees has persuaded most holdouts to accept a wireless smart meter. BC Hydro imposed a $35 monthly fee starting Dec. 1 for customers who refuse to part with their mechanical electricity meters, after offering the 68,000 customers who still had them the option of accepting the new meter
with the radio transmission function on or off. BC Hydro reported the results this week to the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC), which is reviewing the fees. More than 48,000 customers chose the smart meter to avoid the meter reading fee. Another 450 chose the radio-off meter, which comes with a $100 setup fee and $20 a month starting April 1 to cover costs of collecting readings. Another 6,270 cus-
tomers chose to keep their mechanical meters, and 13,110 more did not respond to BC Hydro’s letters, so they will have the $35 fee added to their bills until they choose another option. BC Hydro reports that 99 per cent of its customers now have the wireless meter. Claims of health effects from wireless
meter transmissions have been rejected by health authorities, and also by the BCUC in a review of FortisBC’s wireless meter program. BCUC found that the radio frequency signal from a bank of smart meters is less than 10 per cent of the natural background level, and a tiny fraction of the exposure from a cellular phone.
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604-854-6397 abbotsford hospice society
CELEBRATING OVER
25 YEARS IN ABBOTSFORD
LEFT TO RIGHT – LENA PETERS ABBOTSFORD MISSION ALPEN CLUB, MARION KEYS AHS DONOR RELATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, AND GERDA RUS, AM ALPEN CLUB TREASURER
On November 13th, 2013, the Abbotsford Mission Alpen Club presented a cheque for $300 from their local fund raising efforts. Debbie Lehmann, AHS Executive Director, said “Once again, a small community group puts forward a great effort for our Society. We thank you so much.” The Mission Alpen Club was founded in 1975 in Mission, BC for those interested in German culture, traditions and customs. The founders were: Hermann Schreiber, Hans Wolfsgruber, Harry Toby, Erwin Meier, Josef Kunze, Peter Theurer and Herbert Kreis, who are still active in the Club. In 2001 the name changed to: Abbotsford-Mission Alpen Club. The club hosts many events: • The very popular monthly “Kaffeestube” for informal chatting • A Christmas Sing-Along • A May Dance with a live band, entertaining with German music • A traditional Oktoberfest with a live band • Organized bus tours: 1 – 3 day trips • A summer picnic on a farm
Abbotsford Hospice Society 604.852.2456 abbotsfordhospice.org
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Citizens for Safe Technology, one of the more active opponents of the wireless grid, was represented at the FortisBC hearings by Donald Maisch. BCUC rejected Maisch’s claims of health hazards, noting that Maisch’s “consulting livelihood depends on public fears and concerns about radio frequency exposure.”
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