Close X
Friday, September 20, 2024
ADVT 
National

Hydro One Can't Get Wi-Fi Signal From 36,000 Smart Meters; Will Read Manually

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jan, 2016 12:22 PM
  • Hydro One Can't Get Wi-Fi Signal From 36,000 Smart Meters; Will Read Manually
TORONTO — Ontario's opposition parties say it's no surprise that Hydro One has to manually read thousands of electricity smart meters because the devices can't get a wireless signal.
 
Hydro One says 36,000 smart meters in rural areas cannot get a strong enough Wi-Fi connection to transmit usage data, so service people will have to physically show up to read those meters, and the customers can't take advantage of time-of-use pricing.
 
Instead, they'll revert to the old billing system, with one rate for the first 600 kilowatt hours of electricity used in summer — or 1,000 kwh in winter — and pay a higher rate for any extra power above the first threshold.
 
It cost about $2 billion to install 4.8 million smart meters, double the original budget, and the Ministry of Energy says it's heard "loud and clear from many Ontarians in rural areas that the system faced challenges."
 
Progressive Conservative energy critic John Yakabuski says the government was warned there would be problems getting a Wi-Fi signal in some rural areas with lots of hills.
 
New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns says the government should "absolutely" have known there would be problems getting the smart meters to work in some areas.
 
"They never thought this through," said Tabuns. "They never thought it through on the big scale and they never thought it through on the small scale."
 
The Liberals were warned the smart meters program was a waste of money, added Yakabuski.
 
"We said it was a boondoggle from the start and this just proves that we were right," he said. "They failed to listen all along."
 
The money invested in smart meters would have been better spent helping people insulate their homes and upgrade their furnaces and light fixtures to lower their electricity usage and bills, added Tabuns.
 
"We could have taken a big bite out of peak energy consumption in Ontario, but the Liberals weren't interested," he said. "That money is gone."

MORE National ARTICLES

Nipigon River Bridge Closure Blocks Trans-Canada Highway In Northern Ontario: Ontario Mayor

Nipigon River Bridge Closure Blocks Trans-Canada Highway In Northern Ontario: Ontario Mayor
Damage to a newly built bridge cut traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway in both directions Sunday and it wasn't clear when it could reopen, said the mayor of a Northern Ontario community.

Nipigon River Bridge Closure Blocks Trans-Canada Highway In Northern Ontario: Ontario Mayor

Justin Trudeau, Canada On Agenda For International Meeting Of Economic Elites

Justin Trudeau, Canada On Agenda For International Meeting Of Economic Elites
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will head overseas at the end of the month to sell his economic policies to international leaders and some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people.

Justin Trudeau, Canada On Agenda For International Meeting Of Economic Elites

Transit Workers Reject City Offer, Vote In Favour Of Strike In Fredericton

Transit Workers Reject City Offer, Vote In Favour Of Strike In Fredericton
Ralph McBride of CUPE says the 43 members of Local 1783 voted 73 per cent in favour of a strike over the weekend. 

Transit Workers Reject City Offer, Vote In Favour Of Strike In Fredericton

Woman Dead Falling From Party Bus In Vancouver

Woman Dead Falling From Party Bus In Vancouver
Sgt. Randy Fincham says police received a report around 9:30 Saturday evening that a woman had fallen from a moving party bus at Burrard and West Hastings Street.

Woman Dead Falling From Party Bus In Vancouver

Alberta's Rachel Notley Says Document Shredding Ban Continues At Environment Department

Alberta's Rachel Notley Says Document Shredding Ban Continues At Environment Department
EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says a ban on document shredding will continue in the Environment Department until she is sure no more documents are improperly destroyed.

Alberta's Rachel Notley Says Document Shredding Ban Continues At Environment Department

Firefighting Funds Depleted: Record Number Of Wildfires In National Parks

Firefighting Funds Depleted: Record Number Of Wildfires In National Parks
Wildfires scorched a record amount of Canada's national parks last year — the latest in a number of long, hot summers that have almost entirely depleted Parks Canada's firefighting reserve.

Firefighting Funds Depleted: Record Number Of Wildfires In National Parks