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Smart meter costs don't add up when you compare B.C. to Idaho

Dear editor, BC Hydro wants to force wireless smart meters on us.

Dear editor,

BC Hydro wants to force wireless smart meters on us.

There are some health concerns, as well as other concerns, with this wireless system. Let's compare B.C. to Idaho, which went with a much-safer wired system. These numbers are from the Idaho Power and BC Hydro websites.

Idaho has 495,570 meters. B.C. has approximately 1.8 million meters.

Idaho spent $94 million. B.C. estimates to spend $930 million.

Let's do a little math.

Idaho cost/meter = $190. B.C. cost/meter = $516.

Something looks fishy. Why does a potential hazardous system cost 2.7 times more than a safe one?

Hydro claims savings by eliminating 400 meter reader jobs. Wait a minute, their website says: “The program has already created approximately 700 jobs both within and outside of BC Hydro.”

Perhaps BC hydro might consider salary cutbacks. More than 2,600 BC Hydro employees make over $100,000 per year, more than 100 Hydro employees make over $200,000 year, and more than 15 employees make over $300,000 a year.

A 10-per-cent reduction in these salaries would save $28.45 million per year. Over a 20-year period, the same time BC Hydro says it will take to pay for the smart meter system, the savings in salaries would pay for over half the cost.

If B.C. went with a system like Idaho, the entire cost could have been paid for by a 10-per-cent salary reduction.

Do you think you would work for $90,000 or $180,000 or $270,000  per year?

Hydro claims they will save $100 million a year by eliminating theft.

I think the crooks will just get smarter and hack into the meters, as was done in Puerto Rico. After infiltrating the meters, crooks modified the settings for recording power consumption. This will make theft a lot easier and safer for the crooks.

If you can't see the health effects, at least you can see Hydro is lining their pockets, not ours.

Stop this assault now, before it's too late. It took years to learn smoking was harmful to you and second-hand smoke was to others. Let's not make the same mistake with electro smog.

Ron Henderson,

Royston