Smart Metering Program Update
VANCOUVER – As BC Hydro continues with its regeneration program, including modernizing its electricity grid while also keeping rates low, the Smart Metering Program is progressing well and will save customers approximately $70 million over the next three years alone.
Once smart meters are fully installed, BC Hydro will be able to restore power faster during storms similar to the one that hit many parts of B.C. earlier this week and cut power to over 80,000 customers.
1) Installation: 350,000th meter installed
Smart meter installations are underway in communities across the province, and in fact the 350,000th smart meter was installed this week. Vancouver-based Corix Utilities installs 5,000 to 6,000 meters each day. Installation began in July and by December 2012 1.8 million new meters will be installed throughout British Columbia.
More facts:
- Corix has hired and trained 307 employees across British Columbia for the installation.
- Corix has installed 5,600 meters in First Nations communities throughout British Columbia thanks to help from specially-trained First Nations installation liaisons. BC Hydro hosted 18 training sessions in various regions over the summer to train liaisons in the 177 First Nations communities in B.C. that BC Hydro serves. Liaisons accompany Corix installers to answer questions about the new meters and support elders and other community members.
2) Storm season – Smart Meters will ensure faster outage restoration
With storm season fully underway and winds gusting over 100 kilometers an hour earlier this week around the lower mainland, BC Hydro customers are asked to call 1.888.POWERON to report outages. On Monday night alone, over 80,000 BC Hydro customers lost power during one of the first winter storms of the season and in 2010/2011 weather events resulted in 70,000 hours of outages. In future, when the smart metering system is fully-installed, the new meters will pinpoint outages automatically, making power restoration faster and more efficient.
More facts:
- Crews will be dispatched with greater efficiency, especially in rural areas. Right now, a crew drives around looking for the outage source, often in poor weather and hazardous conditions.
- With the smart metering system, the operations centre will tell a crew where to go so they can locate the problem and start work faster, ensuring faster outage restoration, better customer service, and more efficient work practices.
3) Health and Safety – New study confirms no health risk
Planetworks Consulting, a North Vancouver-based telecommunications engineering firm, has conducted an independent engineering study and confirmed that BC Hydro’s new meters are safe. They communicate at a radio frequency power level far below both federal safety limits and the strictest limits established in the world.
The study confirms that at 20 centimetres from the meter, the average field strength of a meter is 0.3795 per cent of Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 limit. Their reports are posted at www.bchydro.com/smartmeters_safety (Planetworks Consulting Corporation – Safety Code 6 Report).
More facts:
- The measurement is a two-day average that also includes the background radio frequency signals originating from other sources, which cannot be isolated.
- The total active transmission time for the meter over a two-day period is only 2.734 seconds.
- The power density of the meter is 2.3 microwatts per centimetre squared. This is well below the precautionary limit of 4.5 microwatts, set by Switzerland, the country with the strictest limits in the world.
Quotes
Ron Bowman, Vice-President, Measurement Services, Western Canada, Corix:
“We’re making steady progress with installation and are on schedule. As the smart metering system is implemented, we’ll help deliver greater customer benefits and support a highly reliable, modernized electricity system.”
Gary Murphy, Chief Project Officer of BC Hydro’s Smart Metering Program:
“Our contracting and delivery strategy was focused on ensuring BC Hydro customers and ratepayers get the best value for this important long-term investment in the province’s electricity system. The work being done today will deliver significant benefits to our customers for many years.”
About BC Hydro
Fifty years ago, British Columbians turned to BC Hydro to build the clean electricity system they count on to power B.C.'s economy, create jobs in every region, and keep the lights on. Now, BC Hydro is building again for the next 50 years. B.C. continues to grow and so has the need for more electricity. That’s why BC Hydro is building and renewing electricity infrastructure, modernizing the grid with smart meter infrastructure and encouraging conservation to meet today’s needs and those of future generations. In 2011, BC Hydro is celebrating 50 years of providing power for British Columbians, and inviting them to help prepare for the next 50 years.
About Corix
The Corix Group of Companies – based in Vancouver, B.C. – specializes in providing field metering services, products and utility solutions for sustainable infrastructure in the water, wastewater and energy sectors for clients across North America. It has over 2,000 employees in 60 locations across North America. Corix is a private company whose primary owners are BC Investment Management Corporation and CAI Capital Management Inc., two large and stable members of the Canadian investment community who specialize in public pension funds. Please visit www.corix.com for more information.
For additional information, contact:
BC Hydro Media Relations
Tel: (604) 928 6468
Web: www.bchydro.com/media
Corix
Jack Touhey
VP, Public & Govt Affairs
Corix Infrastructure
jack.touhey@corix.com
604-697-6710