B.C. Updates the Grid

With the introduction of smart meters, British Columbia is moving its grid into the 21st century.

This month, BC Hydro begins the roll-out of its installation of smart meters in residences in the South Lower Mainland and Northern Interior of B.C. By August 2012, all the homes and businesses throughout the province will have new meters, and B.C.’s grid will finally come into the 21st century.

The shift to smart metering is a big deal for this province. It’s a significant investment of over $900 million, and is an important development in BC Hydro’s 50-year history.

Let’s think back to the time when BC Hydro was created and the meters that currently adorn the dark corners of our houses were installed. At that time, my parents fought over whose turn it was to get up and change the channel, my mother typed my father’s doctoral papers on a manual typewriter, and my great aunts lived in fear of not having the strength to dial 0 in case of an emergency.

Fast-forward 50 years: Giant plasma high-definition home-theatre systems have replaced 11-inch black-and-white TVs; fast personal computers have displaced manual typewriters; and smartphones have made dial-ups obsolete. Add to this things like automated kitchen appliances, outdoor hot tubs, electric lawn mowers, and myriad other electronic conveniences, and it’s a wonder our grid hasn’t collapsed under the pressure of all the increased demand.

Although the smart-metering program was conceived years ago, BC Hydro is only now in a position to implement the program. Ten years of rate freezes legislated by the provincial government have meant that investments in the electricity infrastructure have not kept pace with our rate of growth. Consequently, BC Hydro is now trying to play catch-up to modernize the grid so that it can support new innovations like electric vehicles and solar panels.

The introduction of the smart-metering program will not put BC Hydro on the cutting edge (most global utility companies made the switch years ago) but the broader program roll-out is unique. In addition to replacing the near-obsolete electromechanical meter with a digital smart meter, BC Hydro is introducing four other major initiatives.

1. BC Hydro is upgrading its technology and telecommunications infrastructure to enable two-way communications. This way, when there is a power outage, BC Hydro won’t have to wait to hear about it from a frantic customer; it will know immediately, and will be able to isolate and manage the problem right away. The new, modernized grid will also allow for a two-way flow of electricity, support micro-grids and distributed generation, and enable BC Hydro to integrate meter-reading with load-forecasting and outage-management systems.


2. BC Hydro is providing incentives for customers to purchase in-home feedback tools to help them get real-time consumption and price information. I know my daughter will want a digital display unit in our house so that she can show me how wasteful I’m being when I keep the lights on or run unnecessarily small loads of laundry.


3. BC Hydro is introducing a new conservation website that will provide real-time and comparative information to its customers about their energy consumption. It is also developing a modernized communication system with its customers using a variety of modes of communication, including social media. Soon, you’ll be able to receive power-outage messages directly to your smartphone (perhaps something like, “Don’t bother coming home for dinner tonight, because lightening has struck a poll and the electricity is off in your house”).


4. BC Hydro is implementing new theft-analytics software, which will indicate when and where someone has tampered with the electricity along the grid. Currently, when a “grow op” or other operation steals electricity, the other BC Hydro customers pay for it. According to a study by Darryl Plecas and Jordan Diplock, “electricity theft and ‘illegitimate’ power purchases by indoor marijuana growers is costing BC Hydro customers $154 million per year.”