TAKING A shower at midnight?
Laundry at 2 a.m.?
Pot roast in the oven at 3 a.m.?
Dishes at 5 a.m.?
These might seem like the actions of a shiftworker or someone with nocturnal habits.
But it could become the norm for more and more people as the government reaches into the homes of otherwise unsuspecting citizens and controls yet more behaviour.
At issue here is BC Hydro’s so-called “smart meters” which are meant to tell homeowners how much electricity they use at any time of the day.
Eventually, when the crown corporation has installed meters in every residence, it will put in place a new rate structure so that you will pay more to use electricity during peak hours of the day.
The idea is to even out demand so that there is less strain during certain times of the day and less chance of having to import power from outside the province.
It’s going to cost $1 billion to put in smart meters with the expectation of a net savings of $500 million over the next 20 years. Of course, these are just numbers. The reality is often quite different as anyone on the receiving end of a government program gone rogue can tell you.
It’s something to think about as we get used to the idea of huddling in darkened living rooms waiting for the “smart meter” to tell us when we can turn the lights on.