BC Hydro meter readers

[deepforest]

for you guys that still get your meter read manually (im not sure if they do it any other way in BC??? dunno but mine is old school) are the meter reader guys a worry to you??? apparently BC hydro says they only come around every 4-6 months if your in a rural area, but still i have never seen the guys i have no idea when they come etc. ps im not in an EFSI area, do i have to worry about excessive electricity consumption, aka 8kw + a/c + fans = probably running 9.5kw 24/0 for two weeks veg then 12/12 for flower? i know bc hydro as a company snitches to LEO but i thought that was only in the lower mainland and when the cops inquire to them. what i mean is, do they go around reporting people's high electricity consumption all the time or just when the cops ask? and if so, does this stand for all of BC or just the lower mainland?

 

[Quick]

Not all of the lower mainland, currently Surrey has this problem, Delta does not (they border each other).

 

[arcticjake]

I don't know about the meter readers but many of my former aquaintances who stole power received sentences (if caught) of 2 years, 1 for cultivation and possession for the purpose and 1 for theft. These were grows in the 10-18 kW range in Alberta.

Jake

 

[Quick]

There will always be 'circumstances', but the article was printed in the local papers not too long ago and it stated that BC Hydro is reporting use in excess of 93 Kw hours per day.
It seems the average house uses less than that, big house, small house, hot tub, welder, it all makes a difference, but regularily use over 93 Kw's a day and expect the RCMP to do a flyby using FLIR to see if there are hotspots/heat evacuation from your place.

BC Hydro reps have been known to leave 48 hour inspection notices on doors (they knock) if they are suspect, the RCMP have even attended in some circumstances. This has been deemed illegal in Ontario (the police attending proves that the Hydro is acting as an agent for the police) and thrown out of court.
However, in BC they state that 'Your consumption is dangerous and they want to inspect for safety, if you refuse we can cut your hydro off', there is not a law allowing them to do this and it is in part a scare tactic, they have no grounds to enter your premises and you should tell them to leave and face a civil lawsuit if they leave your family in the cold by cutting your hydro.
A better idea is to keep your consumption below the threshhold and not have to worry about it....

 

[Norrath]

There will always be 'circumstances', but the article was printed in the local papers not too long ago and it stated that BC Hydro is reporting use in excess of 93 Kw hours per day.
It seems the average house uses less than that, big house, small house, hot tub, welder, it all makes a difference, but regularily use over 93 Kw's a day and expect the RCMP to do a flyby using FLIR to see if there are hotspots/heat evacuation from your place.

BC Hydro reps have been known to leave 48 hour inspection notices on doors (they knock) if they are suspect, the RCMP have even attended in some circumstances. This has been deemed illegal in Ontario (the police attending proves that the Hydro is acting as an agent for the police) and thrown out of court.
However, in BC they state that 'Your consumption is dangerous and they want to inspect for safety, if you refuse we can cut your hydro off', there is not a law allowing them to do this and it is in part a scare tactic, they have no grounds to enter your premises and you should tell them to leave and face a civil lawsuit if they leave your family in the cold by cutting your hydro.
A better idea is to keep your consumption below the threshhold and not have to worry about it....

thanks for the informative post mate!

and by threshold, you mean 93kwh/d? hmmm, i figure i have a ways to go; it just seems as if the police investigation benchmark should be much lower....

perhaps the benchmark is just that, a designated cut off line where there ARE actually many houses above 90 odd KWH/D operating and anything lower than that would be chancing an investigation on an innocent high watt user.. i do not know, ive hijacked this thread enough with my tom foolery.

*thumbs up*

 

[deepforest]

oh , so the 93 kw/h EFSI level is used by other municipalities too?

 

[Norrath]

http://www.crimereduction.surrey.ca...B0ABEAB/50531/SurreyMGOLeadersHandbookWeb.pdf

they say surrey has its own bylaws regarding THEIR EFSI team...and surrey has accomplished an 81% decrease from 04-09 while other muncipalities had a dithering 67% during the same time...so they have their own

i guess that would mean the other municipalities are uneffected by surrey's trial with this..i hope we can find out what the threshold for other districts is set at..

 

[deepforest]

well my bros running an 8kw flip on the grid (well not really a flip, just 1x8kw room and 2x 4kw rooms on timers , seperate ballasts) and he seems to think since hes in middle of buttfuck nowhere he will be a-ok. i hope so too. a/c too. so thats alotta juice. 200amp service tho its like the house was built for growing.

 

[antimatter]

live somewhere in the middle of nowhere with no EFSI team?

page 19 and on has some good info about EFSI teams http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/PubDocs/docs/378581/marijuana_grow_op.pdf

- If the EFSI program isn't adopted by other jurisdictions displacement of the problem could be another issue. For the project to be successful on a widespread basis, it must be applied universally or at least regionally. Otherwise grow operators will simply move to non EFSI communities.

BC Hydro could face another displacement. Grow Operators who formally paid for power might opt to bypass the system and start stealing power to avoid detection by EFSI team

... but the problem with that is obviously the EFSI team follows up on tips so if they find you bypassing electrical your even more fucked then if you were using to much electricity because of grounds for a warrant to enter. That pdf has the step by steps on how they go about following up on a tip.. so very good info for anyone using more than average and concerned of a bust.

 

[Norrath]

thanks for the link antimatter! i read through some of that, i really dont like the FOIPP(freedom of information) shit.

tsk tsk bc hydro. you snitch

 

[JJScorpio]

This site does not condone stealing electricity nor do we allow it to be discussed on our forums.....