Nanaimo's Underground Industry?

4,000 Nanaimo Homes Have
High Hydro Consumption

The local Daily News is reporting that under the Freedom of Information Act they obtained records indicating that in the month of May nearly 4,000 Nanaimo homes consumed large amounts of hydro.

By definition BC Hydro considers residential consumption exceeding 93 kwh per day to be 'high consumption'. This quantity is three times what the average home uses on a daily basis.

While appliances such as air conditioners and swimming pools can increase individual consumption to well beyond the 93 kwh figure it still looks suspicious when a home is using high amounts of hydro.

As we all know large hydro consumption is also associated with the production of that crop British Columbia is known for, commonly referred to as BC Bud.

I have often wondered what some of the drivers of the local ecomony might be, what with the disappearing fortunes of the forest industry and the small industrial base we have in the Harbour City.

Could it be that a few thousand residents either supplement their income, or perhaps are totally supported by the underground agricultural business commonly referred to as a grow op??

When I first moved here I presumed a lot of people must be growing their own veggies based on the popularity of the hydroponic suppliers in the area. :^)