BC Hydro is under fire once again just weeks after defending its security policies.
In August, a CTV viewer raised safety concerns after taking several photos of a bucket of keys on the front seat of a BC Hydro vehicle parked in downtown Vancouver. The keys are used for opening gates and utility rooms in condo buildings throughout the city.
When we showed the pictures to BC Hydro back in September, senior staff admitted it should never have happened, but insists there are no identifiable indicators on the keys.
"The employee here did make a mistake by leaving the keys out. It's not something that should have happened and it's not something that will happen again," said Mora Scott, BC Hydro spokesperson.
But it did happen again. Just weeks after the incident, more photos were sent to CTV News. This time they were of a bucket of keys left in a BC Hydro vehicle on the west side of Vancouver.
The latest photos have some critics of BC Hydro sounding the alarm.
“This one particular person in Vancouver has spotted it twice. Where else is it happening? I think that Hydro is being negligent with property with which it should be extremely careful,” said Sharon Noble, director of Stop Smart Meters in BC.
So what does BC Hydro have to say? It declined our requests for an interview. But its general manager of customer care, Keith Anderson, did email us a statement that read, "I am extremely disappointed to see that this has happened for a second time…another incident is simply unacceptable and as a result both employees have been disciplined."
Hydro officials say in most cases meter readers only need a few keys to complete their route and those keys should be kept with them at all times, not left on the front seat of a vehicle. If the meter reader needs a large number of keys for a dense area like downtown Vancouver, the policy is those keys must be stored out of sight and in a locked vehicle.
