Ontario ordered to remove 5,400 smart meters over safety concerns
National Post Staff | January 22, 2015 2:07 PM ET
Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority has ordered local hydro companies to remove 5,400 smart meters because they pose a safety risk.
The administrative body that acts on behalf of the Ontario government carried out a “due diligence safety review” of the province’s smart meters after Saskatchewan removed 105,000 Sensus Corp. smart meters following a series of fires last summer.
The ESA ordered Ontario to remove all iConA Generation 3.2 remote disconnect meters manufactured by Sensus by March 31. There have not been any “serious incidents” reported in Ontario involving these devices, the ESA said.
“Even though the probability of a serious event in Ontario is low, nonetheless we have taken the proactive and prudent step and directed LDCs to remove these meters from service in order to eliminate any risk,” ESA’s president and CEO David Collie said in a statement.
The majority of Ontario’s 4.8 million smart meters are not affected by the recall.
Last month, the province’s auditor general criticized smart meters in her 2014 annual report, saying the $2-billion program has so far spent double its projected cost and has not led to the government’s electricity conservation goals being met.
The Ontario environmental commissioner has said the gap between peak and off-peak prices needs to be much higher in order to encourage people to conserve.
Saskatchewan’s recall is expected to cost $15 million and take six to nine months. The province decided to go back to an older model last July after reports of eight smart meter-related failures — fires contained to the meters — in just two months.
An investigation in Saskatchewan found that rain water and contaminants getting into the meters appeared to contribute to them failing.
“The concerns are significant enough that we believe that, any time families are at risk here in Saskatchewan, actions have to be taken, and that’s why we have directed SaskPower accordingly,” said Bill Boyd, minister responsible for the Crown corporation at the time.
With files from The Canadian Press
