Protesters gather to fight smart meters

By Andy Ivens, The Province February 29, 2012

Local actor and movie maker Joely Collins — daughter of Phil Collins — is opposed to the proliferation of radio microwaves. “I can feel them and they make me sick,” she said.

Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider , PNG

A small group of protesters opposed to the installation of smart meters demonstrated outside the corporate offices of B.C. Hydro in downtown Vancouver Wednesday morning.


Lower Mainland resident Una St. Clair said the new meters, which emit radio waves similar to cellphones, are a health hazard.
“We’re calling for democracy and full public hearings [on smart meters],” St. Clair, executive director of the Citizens for Safe Technology (CST) Society, told The Province.


St. Clair launched a class action with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against Hydro two weeks ago alleging smart meters create “an environmental sensitivity resulting in an inability to be well while residing in a residence . . . in which a wireless smart meter has been installed.”


“This is for people with medical diagnosis of a condition that could be negatively affected by microwave radio frequencies,” said St. Clair.


The Clean Energy Act, passed in 2010 by the Liberal government headed by Gordon Campbell, exempted the smart meter program from the oversight of the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC).


St. Clair said her group also has filed a complaint with the BCUC.


“The wireless component is outside of the exemption of the Clean Energy Act,” she said.


“The Clean Energy Act speaks to smart meters, but there’s no provision for wireless.”


The CST is also undertaking other unspecified legal action against Hydro, a Crown corporation, she said.


Lending glamour to the demo was actor and filmmaker Joely Collins, who said she is opposed to the proliferation of radio microwaves.
“I can feel them and they make me sick,” said Collins.


“I’ve become very sensitive to electromagnetic frequencies — WiFi and all sorts of things. I’ve got smart meters at my place of work and they make me feel sick.”


Hydro plans to replace all of its 1.8 million analog meters with wireless smart meters.


Hydro spokeswoman Jennifer Young said Wednesday the corporation has installed 843,000 new meters.


Dr. Perry Kendall, provincial health officer, said the radiation emitted by smart meters “is similar to [cellphone] radiation, but the exposures would be a lot lower with smart meters.


“We don’t think there’s any health risk from smart meters in terms of carcinogens,” he told The Province last year.


Gary Murphy, chief project officer of Hydro’s smart meter program, said in a prepared statement: “The new meters are a necessary part of our infrastructure — like poles, wires and substations.”


They will keep B.C.’s hydro rates “among the lowest in North America,” he added.


“I want to ensure our customers that safety is B.C. Hydro’s top priority and we would never put the safety of our customers at risk.
“Provincial and national health authorities and the World Health Organization have confirmed that wireless meters pose no known health risk,” said Murphy.


St. Clair, Collins and other opponents of the program are demanding Hydro allow its customers the option to opt out of having a smart meter installed, allowing them to keep the old, analog device, which is wired to the network.


Smart meter opponents in California have the right to opt out, after widespread complaints were heard by the local electrical utility.


aivens@theprovince.com


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