July 27, 2011, Victoria, BC –
All jurisdictions imposing blanket
implementation of wireless Smart Meters face citizen backlash. Many have
placed a moratorium on the installation of wireless Smart Meters
pending further study. Others have cancelled their programs.
BC Greens support development of a Smart Grid, of which Smart Meters
may be one small and expensive component. If we are to encourage
conservation, many other things need to be in place long before a
decision is made to purchase a different kind of meter. The type of
meter should be the last part of the plan and only implemented if they
are proven cost effective and safe.
BC Greens believe feed-in-tariffs, time of day pricing, incentives for
conservation, programs and incentives to make homes and buildings more
energy efficient, and a distributed grid must all be in place before
switching meters.
A cost benefit analysis needs to be presented to the
public. BC should not follow Ontario down the road to higher costs and
no net benefit. As well, wireless technology poses a potential risk to
health and the environment and further research that is independent of
industry funding is needed.
Prior to implementation, all aspects of the plan must be placed before
the regulator. The Clean Energy Act has done the opposite and removed
the ability of the BC Utilities Commission to provide oversight on
behalf of the citizens of BC.
“The smart meter program is another example of unsupportable
assumptions based on industry lobbying rather than best practices,” says
Jane Sterk,
leader of the Green Party of BC. “Greens believe all public policy
should be evidence based and founded in the Precautionary Principle.
“BC Hydro’s wireless smart meter program violates that principle. There
are environmental, privacy and security concerns as well as the
potential for adverse health risks. This is an issue that hits at the
heart of democratic rights. Individuals have no ability to opt out of a
program that may impact the health of those with electro-magnetic
sensitivity,” says Sterk.
"The Green Party of Canada, through a resolution of our entire
membership, has called for the current inadequate Health Canada
regulations to be upgraded to the equivalent of the EMF
regulations in Germany,” says Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party
of Canada. “We are entirely too complacent about the growing evidence of
health effects from wireless technology."
“BC Greens believe people should have a right to feel safe and secure in their own homes,” says Sterk. “As it stands now, people cannot opt-out of the smart meter program.
“We favour a
well formulated long-term plan with conservation as the driver. Most
conservation goals could be achieved without replacing any meters. If it
is determined we need new meters, people still need to be able to say
no. With pricing and incentives and technology that has been
demonstrated to be safe, opting in can be made the more attractive
option,” concludes Sterk.
