‘Smart meter’ moratorium gets nod by council
Last Updated on Thursday, 26 January 2012 17:12 Monday, 30 January 2012 00:00
by Lyonel Doherty
The Town of Oliver is joining 23 other BC municipalities seeking a moratorium on “smart meters.”
Councillor Linda Larson introduced the motion at the January 9 meeting, responding to all the concerns raised about electro-magnetic radiation.
BC Hydro and FortisBC plan to use smart meter technology that monitors residential power consumption in real time. But opponents argue these meters emit harmful radio waves that impact human health.
Larson suggested a moratorium would be wise until more clearly defined information is available.
But water councillor Rick Machial cautioned council about doing this. He stated that Oliver has implemented the same technology with its water meters and sees the moratorium on smart meters as hypocritical.
“We didn’t ask for consultation (with water meters . . . why now (with smart meters)?”
Machial said there has been a lot of fear mongering over this technology.
Councillor Jack Bennest said he hasn’t seen any report that links the Town’s water meters to electrical meters.
Municipal Manager Tom Szalay said electrical (smart) meters transmit information via radio waves, while the Town’s water meters transmit waves in a similar fashion in “little bursts.”
Szalay said the Town uses this information to detect/monitor any leaks.
“It has ‘smart’ technology, but we don’t monitor every second.”
Councillor Dave Mattes supported Larson’s motion, but not for health reasons.
“We don’t need to spend billions of dollars to put in new technology of questionable benefit.”
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