MoveUP Takes Meter Readers’ Concerns to CKNW
October 3, 2011
On Saturday MoveUP President David Black and Meter Reader Bob Brown appeared on Sean Leslie’s CKNW radio show to talk about the government’s forced implementation of Smart Meters. The topic has received new interest in the wake of a resolution by the Union of BC Municipalities calling for a moratorium.
“Our position is that this is a billion dollars that is really, sadly misplaced,” Black told Leslie.
“The unfortunate fact about Smart Meters is that wherever they’ve been installed in the world they’ve had, at best, a negligible impact on conservation. But unfortunately we know that everywhere else they’ve been installed they’ve had a big impact on rates,” Black noted.
“Our meter readers – and there are about 400 across BC – have been told they will be losing the jobs in the new year,” Black added, recognizing that the move to Smart Meters will impact jobs as well as consumers’ rates.
Black noted that the Minister of Energy had promised on the Bill Good Show that BC Hydro would attempt to re-train meter readers, but that BC Hydro has said they received no such instruction from the Ministry,
“I’ve asked the Minister for meetings many times…and to date we’ve had absolutely no response, nor have the people who are being impacted.”
Sean Leslie interviewed meter reader Bob Brown next. After working more than eight years for BC Hydro/Accenture, Bob talked about the total uncertainty he and the other meter readers are facing.
“We have no idea [what will happen to our jobs]. We’re going to lose our jobs but that’s all we know, but the uncertainty is about when,” Brown said.
“We would like our jobs to stay. We’re people supporting families. We’d like other jobs at BC Hydro or Accenture,” Brown told Leslie.
Sean Leslie thanked David Black and Bob Brown and told David he would try to get the Energy Minister to clarify his previous statement to Bill Good regarding re-training.
If you’d like to listen to the full recording of the interviews, you can download it here: