Frequently Asked Questions
On the Smart Metering & Infrastructure Program
- What is the Smart Metering & Infrastructure program?
- Will everyone get a new meter?
- How are the smart meters different from the current meters?
- How can I sign up for a new meter?
- Why is BC Hydro pursuing this project?
- What are the benefits to customers?
- What is the time frame for implementation?
- Which technology will be used?
- I'm a vendor and I would like to bid on this project. How and when can I go about doing that?
- Are other utility companies changing to smart meters?
- What is the Conservation Research Initiative and how is it related to smart meters?
- Why is conservation important?
- How is the Smart Metering & Infrastructure project connected to the BC Energy Plan?
1. What is the Smart Metering & Infrastructure program?
The Smart Metering & Infrastructure program involves the introduction of new technologies to replace manually read, mechanical meters with automated meters supported by a two-way communications network, databases and systems to transmit, collect and analyze meter data.
2. Will everyone get a new meter?
Yes, approximately 1.7 million BC Hydro customer meters will be replaced, including customers in remote communities.
3. How are the smart meters different from the current meters?
Smart meters will provide customers and BC Hydro with near real-time information about consumption and billing data, enabling customers to make choices about how and when they use energy.
Customers will have access to more detail about their electricity use, which will enable them to adjust their consumption to support conservation and help BC Hydro to optimize energy use. Shifting consumption from peak to off-peak hours, for example, will help reduce demands on the BC Hydro system.
4. How can I sign up for a new meter?
All BC Hydro customers will be getting a meter over the next few years. There is no need to sign up for the program. We will be notifying customers when their meter is to be changed out.
5. Why is BC Hydro pursuing this project?
The Smart Metering & Infrastructure program is a good business decision for the province and for BC Hydro customers. It will make BC Hydro a more efficient electricity provider and encourages energy conservation at home and at work. The Province is committed to being energy self-sufficient by 2016 and to acquiring 50 per cent of BC Hydro's incremental resource needs through conservation by 2020. Implementing smart meters is one technology innovation BC Hydro is using to reach these goals.
The Smart Metering & Infrastructure program could also improve the electrical system's reliability and performance, offering many operational efficiencies and customer benefits.
6. What are the benefits to customers?
Smart meters could potentially:
- provide near real-time information about energy consumption in the home so customers can see how and when the way they use their appliances and electrical devices affect their electricity bill
- allow for more flexible rate options in the future to encourage conservation and make any rate structures more visible to customers; options like "time-of-use" rates during peak and off-peak periods
- allow for quicker notification of power outages and more proactive restoration of power to customers
- allow for more convenient billing options.
7. What is the time frame for implementation?
The Smart Metering & Infrastructure program will require BC Hydro Board approval as well as regulatory review and approval by the BC Utilities Commission. The project timing will also depend on the procurement of technologies. Implementation is expected to begin in 2009 and be completed by 2012.
8. Which technology will be used?
No decisions have been made yet as to which technologies may be deployed. These decisions will result from a competitive procurement process to determine which technologies best meet the established criteria.
9. I'm a vendor and I would like to bid on this project. How and when can I go about doing that?
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued publicly on January 25, 2008. Contact the smart metering team with additional questions.
10. Are other utility companies changing to smart meters?
Yes, BC Hydro will become one of a number of utilities that have already installed or are planning to install smart meters. For example, Pennsylvania Power & Light (PP&L) and Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) have installed Smart Meters. Enel, in Italy, has already deployed 27 million smart meters. Utilities in the initial deployment stages include Ontario's utilities, which will have installed smart meters across the province by the end of 2010, and South Cal Edison (SCE) and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in California.
North American jurisdictions implementing smart metering include Ontario, Pennsylvania, Texas and California. However, in these jurisdictions, smart meters have generally been installed with varying levels of two-way communication infrastructure. BC Hydro's Smart Metering & Infrastructure program would still be considered leading edge, as it is one of only a handful of full-scale implementations currently under way.
11. What is the Conservation Research Initiative and how is it related to smart meters?
The Conservation Research Initiative is an ongoing pilot project to test customer behaviour through time-of-use rates.
The project involves 1,850 residential customers in six communities across the Lower Mainland, Campbell River and Fort St. John. Customers are equipped with smart meters and encouraged to conserve energy and shift energy use to off-peak hours during the winter when demand for electricity is at its highest.
12. Why is conservation important?
Our economy is growing and so is our demand for energy. For years we have been using more electricity than we produce in B.C. The Province has set a goal of achieving electricity self-sufficiency by 2016. Conservation is the first and best choice to help achieve that goal.
BC Hydro needs to provide enough electricity to meet the peak demand – demand on the coldest days of the year at the highest use period of the day (usually 6:00 p.m.).
Conserving or shifting electricity use to off-peak times during the winter helps BC Hydro to get the most out of the electrical system and to keep our system reliable when we need it most.
13. How is the Smart Metering & Infrastructure program connected to the BC Energy Plan?
The BC Energy Plan sets an ambitious target for BC Hydro to acquire 50 per cent of new electricity needs through conservation by 2020. Conserving electricity is the first and most cost-effective choice to help meet the province's growing gap between supply and demand.
