Jacob and Lydia de Raadt show the generator they use to supplement solar power to their home near Osoyoos. In May, they went off the grid rather than accept a smart meter from FortisBC, which they believe causes serious health problems. (Keith Lacey photo)
Jacob and Lydia de Raadt are living proof that if there’s a will, there’s a way – and there was no way they were going to be forced to have FortisBC install a smart meter on their country home near Osoyoos.
For the past seven months, the de Raadt’s having been living “off the grid” without any electricity being supplied to their home, which is located in the middle of dozens of orchards about one kilometre north of Osoyoos town limits.
The de Raadts moved to Osoyoos from Langley three years ago after both say they suffered serious health issues after smart meters were installed in their condominium complex they were living in in Langley.
When they found out, FortisBC planned on installing smart meters to more than 1,900 residences and businesses in and around Osoyoos earlier this year, de Raadt and his wife insisted they would not allow one to be installed on their home.
They contacted FortisBC officials and told them they would not accept a smart meter and even went as far as to build a protective, locked barrier around their old analog meter.
The result is the de Raadts have been living without electricity since the end of May.
“It has been challenging, but we’re happy and healthy,” said Jacob, a retired engineer originally from Holland.
Lydia agrees there have been some challenges, but they were not willing to compromise their health insisting the waves emitted from smart meters caused her a great deal of physical suffering over the years.
“I don’t have any pain and I no longer have sleepless nights, which wasn’t the case when we were surrounded by smart meters,” she said. “I haven’t had any physical pain at all in the months since we’ve been off the FortisBC grid.’
Life without electricity isn’t always easy, but thankfully Jacob is very handy.
He installed one small solar panel on the roof of his house last year and has since added two more to help generate electric power.
He has also hooked up several high-powered batteries in the basement of his house and has hooked up a small, but powerful generator, which runs two to three hours per day, in his yard.
Between the solar panels, batteries and generator, there’s more than enough power generated to run all of the appliances and lights needed inside their home, he said.
Their furnace runs through natural gas.
One of the items they had to purchase as a direct result of being off the electrical grid is a large fridge-freezer that cost $1,800. They also had to purchase two large batteries to provide power to this appliance that cost $150 each and install two more solar panels.
The generator uses diesel fuel and they’ve only had to fill it twice in seven months.
“With the generator, batteries and solar panels, we get more than enough power to run everything we need inside our home,” said Jacob proudly. “We’re fortunate to live here out in the country, because we wouldn’t be able to run a generator this size in town because of the noise.”
One luxury they don’t enjoy since being off grid is watching television or operating a computer, but that’s a small price to pay, he said.
“Instead of watching TV or being on the computer, we spend more time reading and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Watching TV is not a big deal to us and if I need a computer, I just go to the library and get what I need there.”
Being off the grid in the summer and fall is a lot easier than during the cold winter months, but the de Raadt’s have no worries now that colder weather has arrived and winter officially starting next week.
“We run our furnace, hot water and stove on natural gas, so there’s no worries there at all,” he said.
Jacob is adamant smart meters do cause physical harm and there was no way he was going to allow FortisBC to force him and his wife to have one installed on their home.
“You can’t put a price on your health,” he said. “I have no doubt these smart meters were making me and my wife sick and there’s just no way we were going to be forced to accept one.
“We’ve had some challenges, but we’re living quite nicely without electricity and we want other people to know they can do it too if they really want to.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Back in May, Jacob and Lydia de Raadt refused to allow FortisBC to install a smart meter outside their country home near Osoyoos and they have been living off the grid without electricity from FortisBC for the past seven months. By using solar panels, a generator, natural gas appliances and batteries, the de Raadt’s insist they are living quite comfortably and have no intention of hooking back up to the utility ever again. One concession was purchasing this large fridge-freezer, which runs on large batteries. (Keith Lacey photo)
