Town of Osoyoos councillors have found out quickly that smart meters are not going to be a popular subject in this community – and many others across Canada and British Columbia – for many months to come.
Local senior Virginia McQuarrie managed to get 80 signatures on a petition in only four hours last week. That petition was discussed by town councillors at Monday’s regular meeting of council.
Mayor Stu Wells said he already knows smart meters are going to be controversial and opposition to them has likely only started.
Representatives from FortisBC are going to be making all sorts of claims about how wonderful and safe these machines are, but the reality is very few Canadians know enough about them and those who do, are, in the majority, vehemently opposed to them.
The ultimate decision about whether FortisBC will be able to bring smart meters to the South Okanagan and Osoyoos will ultimately be decided by the British Columbia Utilities Commission.
Numerous communities across the country have already adopted a policy where individual property owners can “opt out” of having to have a smart meter installed on their property.
Don’t be surprised one bit if Osoyoos councillors consider this option as many people think the current system works just fine and will never want anything to do with smart meters.
This issue is sure to ruffle a lot of feathers over the next few months.