Dear Editor:

We would like to provide our customers with the facts regarding our Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project currently underway in the South Okanagan.

Recently the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen passed a motion calling on the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to halt advanced meter installations.

This motion does not take into account the extensive public regulatory process that included a variety of expert witnesses.

The BCUC concluded the advanced meter project was in the public interest and that the meters do not pose a health risk to our customers.

FortisBC is continuing with advanced meter installations as the project has met all of the regulatory, legal and industry requirements.

Wireless advanced meters make it less costly for FortisBC to deliver electricity to our customers by reducing theft and reducing meter reading costs.

Utilities throughout North America have been challenged with finding ways to continue providing safe and reliable electricity service at the lowest reasonable cost, while maintaining and upgrading the reliability of the electricity grid.

With more than 50 million advanced meters now installed in North America, utilities are turning to modernizing their billing system and the electricity grid as a cost-effective and beneficial step in that direction.

In regards to certification, electricity meters, like all other utility equipment, do not require approval from the Canadian Standards Association because those standards govern consumer products. Advanced meters are owned and operated by the utility and are certified by the appropriate regulatory and certification bodies for these types of devices, such as IEEE, ANSI, and Industry Canada, and approved by Measurement Canada.

Some people have raised questions about the wireless signals.

To put this in context, the EMF emitted from FortisBC’s advanced meters are far less than many common wireless consumer devices, including baby monitors, Wi-Fi routers and cellphones.

The wireless signals from the meters are also well below the recently revised Health Canada guidelines – and most other international standards. Customers who remain concerned may select a radio-off meter.

There are some customers who would prefer to keep their old meter. This is not an option. However, our customers still have the choice of either a standard wireless advanced meter or a radio-off advanced meter with the wireless signals disabled. The radio-off option has associated fees approved by the BCUC to cover the additional costs of providing this choice.

Whichever AMI meter you choose, it will be installed in a safe manner by properly trained personnel.

They will knock on your door before the exchange in case you are home and wish to turn anything off before the brief power disruption. They will then remove the old meter, inspect the meter base and install the new meter.

In most cases, your power will be back on in a few minutes. FortisBC has safely exchanged tens of thousands of meters in this manner for many decades. To date, in our advanced meter project, we have already safely installed over 80,000 meters.

We remain committed to providing you with a safe and reliable electricity service and encourage those who have questions about the meters to call us at 1-866-436-7847 or visit fortisbc.com/ami.

Thank you for allowing me to respond.

Mark Warren

Director

Customer Service

FortisBC