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Is BC Ready for Smart Meters?

BC Hydro is preparing to roll out smart meters in every home. The tech industry is ready to jump on board, but are government and citizens prepared?

By Colleen Kimmett, 19 May 2010, TheTyee.ca

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Vancouver's Pulse Energy measured electricity use at eight Olympic venues.

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Also in this series:
Cool Tech vs. Global Warming: BC'S Cutting Edge against Climate Change

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The Olympics were a key moment for David Helliwell and his start-up company, Pulse Energy. Eight venues, outfitted with Pulse energy monitoring technology, allowed visitors to view online how much energy was being used at those sites at any given time. It marked the first time that any Olympic site collected and reported energy consumption data, and it attracted a considerable amount of media attention as part of Vancouver's 'Greenest Games' billing.

The high-profile project led to more lucrative deals for Pulse -- Helliwell says the London 2012 Olympic organizing committee is now interested in tracking energy use at its venues -- and also pushed smart meters into the public sphere.

The potential for business development around smart meter deployment is huge, says Helliwell and other industry experts. But as utilities roll out these programs around the world, they are being met with public opposition and concerns about privacy, reliability, and cost.

Smart meters are coming to B.C. – but are we ready for them? And what can we learn from those jurisdictions that are ahead of the curve?

'We need to change our behaviour': Campbell

Smart meters are where consumers plug into the smart grid of the future. Smart meters relay real-time energy use data to utilities and customers, and can also communicate with home appliances, opening up opportunities for tighter demand-side management and increased conservation, especially during times of peak demand, when electricity is most expensive.

In 2007, Premier Gordon Campbell told delegates at the annual convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities that within five years, 1.7 million homes and businesses in B.C. would have a smart meter.

"We need to change our behaviour and when we do, we will all save money," Campbell said.

But the implementation never happened, and smart meters fell off the public radar -- until the Olympics, and, not long after that, the GLOBE conference on business and the environment. There BC Hydro's Bev Van Ruyven (now its executive vice president) reiterated the province's commitment to smart grid technology and announced that Hydro would be "substantially complete" its smart metering program by 2012.

Clean Energy Act 'changed the whole picture'

And not long after that, the provincial government released the Clean Energy Act, in which smart meters and smart grid infrastructure were a cornerstone. Not only that, but, under the act, these and other "marquee" energy projects do not have to obtain approval from the BC Utilities Commission.

This "changed the whole picture" for the industry, says Ludo Bertsch, president of Horizon Technologies. Bertsch has spent the last two decades designing smart grid hardware and software, and now mostly does consulting work.

"The B.C. Clean Energy Act was very important in that it laid out the foundation to say we are not going to pull it, we are going to move ahead with smart meters.

"Before, we were getting the message out there that this [smart metering] is important," Bertsch says. "But leading up, we were concerned that government was going to pull it. It's a lot of money."

BC Hydro has budgeted $660 million for the entire program. That includes the smart meters, telecommunications system, data management system, in home feedback tools and conservation rates.

Smart meter carrots and sticks

If a smart meter is the carrot to encourage customers to conserve energy and shift time of use, rate structuring is the stick. BC Hydro's conservation rate, also known as a tiered or graduated rate, came into effect April 1, 2010. Under this rate, residential customers get, over a two-month billing period, 1,350 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity at 6.27 cents per kWh. Every additional kWh after that costs 8.78 cents.

Some utilities have also introduced peak pricing; during times of high demand, the cost per kilowatt hour is higher to encourage people to switch activities to off-peak times.

In 2006, BC Hydro launched an experiment in peak pricing with its two-year Advanced Metering Initiative. Roughly 2,000 households in the Lower Mainland, Fort St. John and Campbell River were set up with smart meters and monitoring software.

The goal, according to one BC Hydro report, was to "determine whether customers respond to pricing signals and information on energy use and to determine the magnitude of the responses."

In one test group, participants were charged 23.5 cents more per kWh for electricity used during peak hours (8 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 9 p.m.).

According to an executive summary of the first year of the project, residents in test groups used on average 11.5 per cent less electricity during evening peak periods, compared to the control groups that had no difference in rates.

'1.7 million customers leads to a lot of business'

Part of Bertsch's work has been to help manufacturers respond to demand-side management by making appliances smart grid compatible. Whirlpool recently announced it will release one million 'Smart Dryers' by next year, which will have the capacity to automatically shut off or go into no-heat mode during peak hours.

"This is huge," says Bertsch. "The industry in B.C. is starting to come to terms with the opportunities to come. There's going to be a huge industry installing [smart meters], implementing them, you'll have home automation, you'll have smart phones. . . 1.7 million customers leads to a lot of business."

Burnaby-based Clevest Solutions Inc. is supporting the deployment of more than 8 million smart meters in the US, China, Europe and Philippines.

Bill Lee, Clevest's marketing manager, says errors can happen when smart meters aren't deployed properly. When an old meter is swapped out for a new one, the existing billing information must be recorded correctly, and the new meter must be correctly identified with the appropriate residence.

"Clevest enables field technicians to collect data and verify the installation before they leave the site," Lee wrote in an email to The Tyee. "With a single mobile handheld device powered by Clevest, a technician can perform a smart meter installation with a barcode scanning of meters, photo capture of old meters to verify last meter readings, and collect GPS coordinates of the installed meters."

When utilities are swapping literally hundreds of meters a day -- as may be the case if BC Hydro is to achieve its smart metering goals -- there is a lot of potential for error.

Just last week, California's PG&E issued an apology to customers for poor customer service related to the installation of its smart meters. According to a report in the San Jose Business Journal, PG&E said it "would also begin posting weekly information on the number of smart meters having problems and will increase the number of "side-by-side meter tests" to 300, comparing data from old meters to new smart meters."

This was only after a group of citizens in Bakersfield, California, launched a petition against and later sued the investor-owned utility, alleging they were overcharged.

Privacy, security concerns at forefront

Security is also a major concern with smart meters.

According to one security analyst report, smart meter networks are open to hacking, which leaves the grid vulnerable to attack and customers vulnerable to privacy breaches.

This is where federal government regulators must come in to develop smart grid standards, says Bertsch.

Bertsch sits on a newly-formed task force, part of the Standards Council of Canada, that is looking at how to address privacy, security and other issues, and is also involved with a smart grid task force in U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology.

"Privacy is a big one," he says. "In the states they are very concerned with privacy. It is a top issue that is being dealt with."

Although Canada has been "a little bit slow to the mark," its making progress as more smart grid technologies are deployed. As he sees it, where the U.S. goes, so goes Canada.

"Eventually, it's going to happen here," Bertsch says. "We have common links between our electrical systems, and you can't have that kind of action going on in the states, with that kind of money, and not follow it in Canada." [Tyee]

Colleen Kimmett writes about renewable energy and green business. This story is part of an occasional series produced by the non-profit Tyee Solutions Society, research and reporting made possible with support from the Bullitt Foundation.

24 Comments:

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  • mariner

    1 year ago

    More Campbell screw ups ???

    What Gordon Campbell does not consider is that a lot of people, not too long ago, went to "all electric heating" - after a concerted BC Hydro campaign.

    Now we have a large number of people in the northern interior, whose two monthly electricity bill would be about 4400kWh for an average winter - more if the the weather got really cold.

    Under the new regulations, these home owners are now being unfairly penalized because of Campbells cockeyed actions. For these people to change from all electric heating to either gas or wood represents are fair sized outlay for new equipments. To make the best of a bad thing and go with geothermal is even worse with a system costing around $20,000 installed.

    There is nothing new in Campbells ideas - it is all about money and business. Installing these smart meter theoretically is good. To use these meters to punish home owners for high electricity use is not good. As mentioned above, the chances are the homeowner is a victim of government approved selling campaigns that are now turning around to bite the home owner in the proverbial butt.

    Of course conservation is good - but why don't they legislate 6" or 8" thick walls and 24" loft insulation for new buildings? Make homes more energy efficient to start with - don't penalize home owners for having all electric heating (the heaviest use) in their homes.

    Thank you.
    Thanks

  • Curt

    1 year ago

    Another consumer ripoff to

    Another consumer ripoff to fill this government's general revenue fund for their poor policies and economic turmoil created by them themselves. (What happend when the global economics were supposedly good? They blew it and now we owe 2 billion???+) And they supposedly have the experts working for them. If these are experts, heaven help us? This government is not and has never governed for the good of ALL British Columbians; only their corporate interests. (In this case, private power contracts that have already been guaranteed set amounts of dollars.) Shame on them all!!!!

  • Bobbi

    1 year ago

    Pay More Get Less

    "We need to change our behaviour and when we do, we will all save money," Campbell said.

    Hah, no we pay more, and then get an annual cost of delivery increase approved by the BC Utility Commisssion, for ongoing maintenance and other 'unforseen costs.'

    Personally, I start my dishwasher at night, but with a large(ish) household can do up to 3 loads of laundry per day. Yet since we live in one building my overall useage per person is lower, but I'll be dinged for peak hour use, because doing laundry takes time, and there is only so much of that in a day. The point is time is inelastic, and perfect time management only gets person so far, Campbell is disingenous at best to pretend otherwise.

    As for the top quote from Campbell, there is nothing here to back that up, everything is about customers paying more. I would love to see a link to how cutting back peak hour use lowers the overall cost of energy for everyone. Do we have a capital plan in place for more delivery systems? How do we subsidize one user over the other already, creating unfairness in the system? If the physical system is too fragile to handle peak use now, how will it handle sustained use with population growth? How does more expensive energy create better jobs, more economic activity?

    And when is the brigade of poverty apoligists going to point out, that higher power costs disproportionately affect the bottom line of low income households? - Time is the only commodity the poor share equally with everyone else. Minimum wage already judges the poor's time less worthy, peak pricing presumes that with less money to start the poor have the same time flexiblity at the wealthy.

    Maybe I'll buy a bond when they are issued to finance Site C.

  • Van Isle

    1 year ago

    All this 'Smart Metering' is

    All this 'Smart Metering' is about is so us Hydro customers will allow BC Hydro to pay 12 cents per KWh (wholesale price)to the run of the river operators. I just did a calculation applied to my April Hydro bill; an increase of 58%. Thanks Gordo.

  • cboo44

    1 year ago

    Energy Conservation is "The Answer"

    OK, so all the greenies who are against building power projects, from little ones to Site "C", ALL drag out "conservation" as the #1 alternative. Soooo NOW, BC Hydro begins to institute the PROVEN conservation tool(average reduction 11+ %)and the move becomes a right-wing, political conspiracy ? Remarkable!
    I guess "conservation" is just fine, unless it affects the self-righteous, of course. NIMBY

  • freebear

    1 year ago

    And yet we are prodded/coerced/manipulated to choose to consume

    more electrical products and so more electricity consumption overall!

    Candles for sale, get you alternative energy here, candles for sale!

  • Fish-counter

    1 year ago

    BUT THE IMPLEMENTATION NEVER HAPPENED...

    "In 2007, Premier Gordon Campbell told delegates at the annual convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities that within five years, 1.7 million homes and businesses in B.C. would have a smart meter. "We need to change our behaviour and when we do, we will all save money," Campbell said. But the implementation never happened"

    THE IMPLEMENTATION NEVER HAPPENED. This is also true of the famous promise by (I think) Glen Clarke in the 1990's that "By the year 2000, all municipalities in BC will have secondary sewage treatment. HA! It was a great idea but THE IMPLEMENTATION NEVER HAPPENED.

    That should be the slogan for BC in the future: THE IMPLEMENTATION NEVER HAPPENED.

    It should replace the previous one which is:

    "OWING TO APATHY, TOMORROW HAS BEEN CANCELLED"

    Smart meters are a good idea because we will be able to track down e.g. vampire circuits and see the difference they make to our energy consumption. It will be an education for all of us.

    We will have to unplug our clock-alarm-coffee makers and our DVD players and TV's and (OMG NO!) our computers to conserve energy. Life will not be as convenient, but we will save money and possibly the Peace River uphill from Site C.

    Thew toughest part is that WE WILL HAVE TO MEAN WHAT WE SAY AND DO WHAT WE SAY. Canadians, and British Columbians are the world's worst liars, because we lie to ourselves.

    We call ourselves Beautiful British Columbia and market ourselves as Super Natural but our orcas are the most polluted marine mammal on Earth. We pretend it is the American's fault. They look at our sewage treatment plants and laugh all the way to the bank because they can steal tourism from right under our noses.

    We need good sewage treatment plants, with secondary treatment as a minimum. we need traffic roundabouts instead of more and more and more traffic lights. They save on fuel, time and they calm traffic. No one ever runs a red light on a roundabout, because there are none. Getting that message to our retarded traffic engineers is a major career goal for someone.

    I hate Gordon Campbell's guts, but I do respect him for introducing the carbon tax. That is the one thing he got right.

    Smart meters - bring 'em on! Here endeth this morning's rant.

  • 2010 Surrey

    1 year ago

    Hydro does'nt have quality plan or ombudsman for meter cutover

    Through all of this discussion it seems to be lost that BC Hydro will swap meters on homeowners' properties and create an information stream about those same homeowners. So who is representing the property owner in this scenario? Where is the homeowner to turn if his property is damaged or his information abused? Are we to believe BC Hydro (or their contractors) will install and cut-over 1.7 million meters without concerns or incident from the homeowners? I suspect the majority will install smoothly but what about the exceptions? In my opinion there should be a third party ombudsman to address the property owners' concerns. BC Hydro should also be required to publicly publish a quality plan to define the success factors of this initiative. At least homeowners could then audit the swap by being present and satisfy themselves that the success factors were met and his property and information have not been abused. Where is the watchdog? Certainly not the Utilities Commission. Certainly not our present provincial government.

  • chronos

    1 year ago

    the carbon tax grab

    im not sure how one can respect Campbell for introducing the carbon tax when its been almost 2 yrs and where are the results? gas sales haven't dropped,theres more vehicles on BC roads than there were in 2005 so sales must be up in the new and used markets. but lets look at what Mark Jaccard said about the tax, unless it was increased to around .24 cants a litre over a 10 year period the tax would be ineffective. heres what the finance minister said in feb 2008-"all money collected through the new tax will be returned through a package of tax cuts and credits." making it revenue neutral she also said "We have to find a way that we can work towards improving our environment" if paying the carbon tax can solve BC's pollution problem they would have had this tax years ago as well as a cancer tax an education tax a baldness tax.......................

  • G West

    1 year ago

    @Fish-counter

    The 'Carbon Tax' surely not.

    That's the Campbell Tax - it's a money spinning machine, not a carbon tax - remember, it's revenue neutal (except it actually isn't since it's running at a LOSS) and it hasn't reduced GHG emissions one gram.

    You can check it out.

    So far Campbell hasn't gotten ANYTHING right - except the promise to make sure his friends in business are richly rewarded.

    He knows the price of everything - but the value of nothing.

    He deserves no credit - and most of the blame.

    The only folks more dishonest about the Campbell Tax are the so-called environmentalists who sold their souls to Campbell by helping him promote the damn thing.

    May they enjoy the long hot summer as they choke on smog and pollution in bumper to bumper traffic.

  • seth

    1 year ago

    Offpeak

    BCHydro dumps power during the day and refills its dams at night and weekends.

    There is not a nickel saved by moving power to offpeak except for by moving as much run of the river power purchases from peak to offpeak reducing contract payments to the pirates. As if that is going to happen.

    Nope this is just a way to cover up a massive rate increase.

    If the $.6B low ball cost estimate was spent on nuclear power it would increase BCHydro's capacity by more than the $10B Site C dam - between 5 and 10% - depending on when the nuclear build took place. This is a much better return than the miniscule 3% return on investment Californias PG&E is expecting from Smart meters.

    Other than saving a few bucks laying off its meter readers, the main benefit to British Columbians would be an almost free 1 Gigabit a second broadband link into every home and business in BC. The cost of overlaying the Smart meter communication channel with 1 gigabit/sec broadband would amount to less than $100 bucks one time per power meter.

    Unfortunately, all that would do is allow Gordo to stuff his pockets with campaign donations by using it as a threat to gouge Shaw and Telus.

  • mariner

    1 year ago

    Campbells faults

    Well guys,

    I have to say that there is very little that Campbell got right - most things he screwed up or screwed around with first and then screwed up.

    The whole scenarion doesn't do anything for me - spending $660 million for these meters and services just doesn't make sense in and of itself. Using the data as a means to further screw the customers is more like what the whole exercise is about. Even a simple nightly cheap rate that most of the rest of the world seems to use, would be a good start. This will help level demnds a bit but there should be other considerations like:

    help for the poor or low income earners

    help for pensioners and those on low fixed income (sick, handicapped etc.).

    This really is just a political ploy to justify the river run projects - none of which were needed in the first place - ONLY IN SCAMPBELLS MIND. It would have been so much easier to have done it without the backroom planning with industry, to make private companys rich at the expense of the public purse. Yes, you have got it - let the little guy fund the big, fat, rich companies.

    Thanks

  • freebear

    1 year ago

    Grow, grow, grow, but

    conserve?

    Sounds like more of the same to me!

  • bilgladstone

    1 year ago

    Can I sell power back to the Utility?

    BC is a late-bloomer when it comes to distributed power generation. If the "smart meter" will allow me to generate my own electricity and reverse-feed it to the grid to reduce my net electricity expense, I'm for it. If not, I'm agin it!

  • jnewcomb

    1 year ago

    Gimme smart meter!

    Yep - I'm ready for a smart meter, and to be part of the BC smart grid. About time, when so many other countries and states are way beyond us on getting smart meters installed and operating well.

    However, does pay to be a "late adopter", taking advantage of some mistakes made by the venturesome
    early adopters. Can't wait too long - we've got to pull out all the stops to effectively reduce energy consumption - and to catch illegal grow-ops too!

    Bring it on!

  • YCSTS

    1 year ago

    Smart Grid = Price Gouging + High CO2 production

    There is no way on Earth all this Hype on the Not-so-Smart Grid is justified, except as another bait-and-switch SCAM to misdirect efforts, capital and expertise away from Real Solutions.

    I expect the pseudo-Greenies of the Al Gore persuasion, look forward to another opportunity to skim billions off of Electricity Sales by using Market Pricing to gouge more cash out of the already impoverished lower & middle class. Al Gore having already made a cool $billion for himself on Renewable Energy Subsidies and Carbon Trading. To get a good look of what is to come, read this article:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis

    The really big profiteering will occur with Wind Energy, when it goes to nil, power prices will skyrocket, enforced rationing of power will occur, since the less wealthy consumers will not be able to afford the high market power price. And the high peak prices and open grid (ISO) will encourage CO2, Smog Emitting, Low Efficiency Diesel & NG OCGT's to sell electricity profitably, rendering the entire Smart Grid concept a fossil fuel gobbler. And encourage industry to install their own fuel guzzling peak power generation.

    Get Real folks, it is far more sensible and cheaper to use home battery systems to reduce peak demand, than smart metering. And using Nuclear Energy for baseload plus stored or pumped Hydro for Peak & Shoulder load is far more economical than Smart Metering / Renewables. Make Electric Power Generation the servant of the people rather than the master, as Smart Grid & Renewable advocates want.

    While these renewables ideologues push their Smart Grid Scam, the entire Grid is exceedingly vulnerable to the next big Solar Storm, which will fry Smart Grid electronics. Instead of the “Smart Grid”, what we need to focus on is the Robust Grid, which has low vulnerability to Natural Disasters, Solar Flares and EMP weapons. If the 1859 Solar Storm recurred, as it may in 2012, we will face the collapse of our power distribution system, which would take years to repair, and this wonderful Smart Grid, with Wind Farms, Solar Power plants and Run-of-River Hydro spread out over thousands of sq. miles WOULD BE TOAST!

    The coming Solar Storm:

    http://newpapyrusmagazine.blogspot.com/2010/03/solar-storm-of-century.html

  • Mooney

    1 year ago

    A meter that works

    B.C Hydro would have all of us believe that their millions of existing meters are all acurate beyond question. I don't believe that and I've tried to get mine replaced.

    Five years. And I'm still waiting

    I don't need no stinkin smart meter. I just need a meter that is accurate and that can be verified by myself or a private electrician that it is accurate.

  • crankypants

    1 year ago

    Social engineering at its finest

    In my mind this is just another attempt at social engineering. This smart metering will be ignored by the well off of our society, who per capita use way more resources than those that struggle just to get by. Meanwhile the majority of the population will have no choice but to spend more of their money on what we consider a necessity than they should.

    Also, consider this. If they estimate the cost will be $660 million to implement this, you can bet the final cost will be much, much more.

    I'm still trying to figure out how BC Hydro came up with 675 kwh/mo. as a ceiling for the lower rate. They must have assumed that everyone is living in a studio apartment. I would be surprised if anyone that lives in a single detached dwelling can keep their hydro usage to this amount or less. As a matter of fact, I think it is incumbent for BC Hydro to release some information such as how many homes are able to are actually able to keep within the lowest tier.

  • Toobad

    1 year ago

    Smart meter dilemma...

    Problem 1) 1.7 million smart meters...price tag, $600 million dollars, that works out to roughly $650 dollars per meter including instalation, that price will never be met, that $600 million dollar price was from 3 years ago...The price for meters will be closer to $2 billion dollars.

    Problem 2) 1.7 million smart meters, how long would it take to install 1.7 million smart meters?

    Problem 3) Let`s say Seth gets the first installed smart meter, lets say I get the last smart meter, three years have elapsed since Seth got his smart meter then I get mine, when does BC Hydro start charging the premium peak rate?

    When Seth gets his smart meter? Or when the last one is installed?

    Would Seth be happy paying a premium rate for three years before I start paying?

    Problem 4) So now everyone has smart meters and are getting whacked for Hydro use at dinner time, families in panic mode force kids to do homework outside, laundrey is done at midnight, wash only, clothlines are strung up all over the city, houses are pitchblack in the evening.

    Sales of electronics fall off a cliff because of hydro fees.

    Promblem 5) 9:01 pm every night as soon as peak time ends the city lights up, laundrey, dryers, everything, the whack of juice needed would be enormous.

    Problem 6) people in BC pissed off with hydro bills revolt and conserve 70% of their power, BC Hydro is stuck with excess power they can`t sell, excess power because the same rip-off is happening from Fort Nelson to Southern California, excess power is everywhere, electricity prices collapse across the board.The public rejects electric cars because gasoline powered cars are cheaper to buy and run!

    The smart meters aren`t coming, we already have a two tier hydro rate.

    The HST revolt is like the tea party movement in the states, minimum wages are frozen in BC, as are wages, you can only get so much blood from a stone, gouge away on Hydro and the rest of the economy will suffer...Expect more hydro thefts, expect hackers to get into the meters, expect neighbors stealing power from neighbors.

    Be careful what you wish for, it`s a good thing that Gordon Campbell is resigning this July.

    It`s a good thing the BC Liberals won`t be government for much longer...

    Let me know how that smart meter works out Seth.

    Time for a home windmill for 10,000 dollars, LED lighting, and firewood!

    Cheers

  • Peter Dimitrov

    1 year ago

    Distributed versus centralized power

    Bilgladstone you hit the nail on the head. Unlike Germany which has a distributed power system allowing homeowners and businesses the generate power via solar or wind and net-feed it back to the power utility at rates better than BC Hydro is authorized to provide, we have a centralized power system with huge subsidies provided to heavy commercial and industrial users under the Heritage Contract provisions and huge subsidies to the IPP sector causing in excess of 30 billion debt (seth what are the latest figures on that debt now?) to BC Hydro which we as all ratepayers have to pay-back. Then the reality is that most appliances in the home are 110-115 Volts, yet BC HYdro's drop line to each home/condo supplies 120 power- because they are using an incorrect drop line wire guage. Conclusion, put a 'smart meter' on Hydro, ease the subsidies under the Heritage Power contract by and provide incentives by employing smart meters for heavy commercial/industrial users, and lastly make the IPP contracts fully transparent, stop the outrageous subsidies to them, likely in violation of NAFTA, and on an experimental basis install smart meters on all the elected politicians (provincial and municipal) homes and see how they do on them; and if, in the final analysis they will be installed on all BC homes- some good legislation is needed to protect consumers. I don't see any of this happening under Campbell, as for the NDP -your call on that.

  • offended

    1 year ago

    Sit in the dark

    I guess that's what we'll have to do to save money on our Hydro bill. Two of us, both retired. Small home.
    We always hit the 2nd tier of Hydro billing. Off peak hours with the smart meter will be between 11 am and 4 pm? Guess what? Everyone's at work then. Or it's not dark outside. Between 9PM and 8 am? Yeah I'll make dinner at midnight.

    This would appear to be another method to suck yet more money out of users to help pay for Gordo's wallet sucking projects.

  • dave49

    1 year ago

    How about looking at the results in Ontario?

    Ontario replaced every electric meter in the province about two to three years ago. There must be some interesting stories to dig out there.

  • snert

    1 year ago

    The Horror

    http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/connie_woodcock/2010/05/07/13872281.html

  • Bob Watts

    1 year ago

    Why

    OK so my home heat system is electric.
    What I really need is thermostat I can program.
    I do burn wood too, but I wonder if Campbell can send me a tape measure so I can keep track of my wood supply.
    My home is at 70F 24/7 I'm disabled so no I'm not turning anything down.
    Sent me a programmable thermostat, that one idea will cut my use by about 25% during the night.
    NEVER, NEVER ASK THE PUBLIC WHAT IT NEEDS!!!
    If It Makes Sense Forget About It!

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