Hydro One pulling plug on 36000 rural smart meters

Hydro One has taken a new approach to pesky smart meters that refuse to send a reliable signal about electricity consumption in rural Ontario.
Give up on them.
The utility, which was ordered by its provincial masters to install the devices, admits it has decided to manually read roughly 36,000 meters instead of counting on the wireless technology.
“Astonishing,” was the reaction from Lanark-area MPP Randy Hillier, who has been deluged with complaints about Hydro One billing and smart-meter suspicions.
“I’ve been banging my head against the wall for the last five years, saying we’ve got problems with smart meters in rural Ontario.” Since first being elected in 2007, no single issue has attracted as much attention in his riding, he said.
One of the main complaints, Hillier explained, is that the terrain in rural Ontario is such that the wireless meters — which send out a continuous signal to permit time-of-use billing — frequently fail. Turns out it’s absolutely true.
The evidence has been in front of us for a long time. It doesn’t work, it hasn’t worked and now (there’s) an admission that it will never work.”


http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...-of-complaints

todays oxymoron

smart meter

Maybe we have an electrician on here who can weigh in.

The complaint I always hear is "there is no way I used that much hydro". I see posts circulating around Facebook about meters reporting usage when the electricity is turned off to the building.

This seems to be saying that the overall usage is accurate, but the time of use data can be wrong. It seems there might be relief for folks who are seeing experiencing odd usage patterns, but there doesn't seem to be any confirmation that the meters are registering more than the actual consumption.

Any thoughts?

My thoughts are they are incompetent crooks and should be jailed.

I second that.....

Shyte. This should only cost a billion or 2, especially if all these folks sue for all the inaccurate bills they have been paying. I know I would be looking to be compensated for overpaying by, ? god knows how much for too long.

My God, the sad thing is..............we will pay for their incompetents.................................. and the decision makers will get a raise....

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Originally Posted by fratri

My God, the sad thing is..............we will pay for their incompetents.................................. and the decision makers will get a raise....

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And really big bonuses too. Libranos like big bonuses.

And now the latest, the VP of distribution is asking for a raise in the neighborhood of $118,000.00 , can you believe this, a raise for incompetence.

I have a smart meter on my house and called hydro last year to ask a question about time of day billing , as it turned out I am not on a time of day billing system , but instead a 2 tier billing system. I have so many kWh at one rate and then once I use all of those up I go to the higher rate. Hopefully they get rid of my smart meter.

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Originally Posted by FishinScuba

I have a smart meter on my house and called hydro last year to ask a question about time of day billing , as it turned out I am not on a time of day billing system , but instead a 2 tier billing system. I have so many kWh at one rate and then once I use all of those up I go to the higher rate. Hopefully they get rid of my smart meter.

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That is my plan also. I was used to waiting until after 7pm for washing/drying, then noticed my bill didn't break down the TOU amounts. I called in a found the same - use up to ~1000kWh(IIRC) at one rate, then it goes up after that.

Overall I would have saved money over the months if my meter had been reporting TOU, but I guess now I can use electricity at all times of day for the same price.

Oh well, at least someone reads my meter 4 times a year now. Zero meter readings in 2015.

I have complained for years about my non functioning meter. Argued with them until they agreed to send someone quarterly to read the damn thing.

They should get rid of them all not just one area.

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Originally Posted by gunter

They should get rid of them all not just one area.

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They should also get rid of some of their "over paid " C E O's.

The CEO of Distribution , is seeking a raise of $118 thousand to $135 thousand, but to top it all of and this is unbelievable, the CAO of the overall Hydro Networks , is being paid a phenomenal $4 million dollars per year, up from $750 thousand , yes that's right a whopping $4 million.
That is an absolute absurd amount, when I hear that it 't enough to make anyone puke, no wonder our rates are high, just think how much they would drop if he went back to making $750 thousand per year.
When our premier [yuke ] was asked about this on a TV interview, her response was "same old questions will be answered by the same old answers, that's the way it is set up and that's the way it is ".
This situation is is deplorable. these people should be "tarred and feathered and ridden out on a rail right out of this province."

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Originally Posted by mooboy76

That is my plan also. I was used to waiting until after 7pm for washing/drying, then noticed my bill didn't break down the TOU amounts. I called in a found the same - use up to ~1000kWh(IIRC) at one rate, then it goes up after that.

Overall I would have saved money over the months if my meter had been reporting TOU, but I guess now I can use electricity at all times of day for the same price.

Oh well, at least someone reads my meter 4 times a year now. Zero meter readings in 2015.

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It used to be that the first few hundred kWh were one price, then the price for the rest was lower....