BC Hydro given another year to install remaining smart meters

The deadline to install remaining smart meters has been extended for BC Hydro by the province.

BC Hydro has already installed 93 per cent, or 1.73 million of 1.87 million smart meters. But, the remaining seven per cent have yet to be installed over labour and equipment shortages and customer concerns.

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The extension is expected to give BC Hydro more time to finish the job.

The company says smart meters will help customers conserve energy, give them up-to-date information on their power use, and report outages immediately once the full network of smart meters is installed.

There has been a considerable resistance to smart meter installations around B.C., with some customers raising concerns about the radio waves used to transmit data.

Some home owners have also blamed smart meters for increasing their energy bill and for causing alleged spontaneous fires.