BC Hydro is apologizing, after crews installed a smart meter at a home in Surrey without the owner's permission.

Patti, who did not want to use her last name, says she said no to a smart meter this spring.

But in early July, she says she arrived home to find her granddaughter in tears, saying people had jumped her locked gate and had been in the backyard.

Patti says she went to look and saw a smart meter had been installed.  

"Never thought Canada, they could do things like that -- climb over my gate and just install it."

She says she called Hydro, her MLA and Minister in charge Rich Coleman to complain, but was ignored.

Now, Fiona Taylor, a deputy project officer with the smart meter program, says Hydro apologizes.

"We had a bit of an administrative error and that request to put her meter no hold did not make it through to the crews before they actually attended."

However, Taylor says crews did not climb over the gate because they had found it unlocked.

She also adds hydro will not take down the meter because its infrastructure is almost entirely switched over from analog.