Smart meters coming to Pictou County

Utility says it will mean no extra cost, touts advantages

Pictou County residents can expect to see smart meters measuring their home electricity usage within two years, after the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board gave the go-ahead to NS Power to install them.

The $133 million project will upgrade all existing meters in the province to smart meters and NS Power says it will come at no extra cost to customers. Once the new smart meter network is ready, customers will receive information about their daily energy use, more efficient power restoration during outages and more accurate billing by virtually eliminating bill estimates.

“By 2020 we would expect to be fully deployed across the province,” said Karen Hutt, NS Power’s CEO and president.

The latest smart meter technology will capture customers’ energy use in intervals as frequently as 15 minutes.

This data will be sent several times a day to Nova Scotia Power through an encrypted and private wireless network that will be built as part of the project, whereas current meters require in-person readings.

“Customer privacy and security of information is absolutely central for us,” Hutt told The News.

After reviewing the UARB’s decision and conditions included as part of regulatory approval Nova Scotia Power plans to spend the next year building and testing the secure communication network as part of the project.

During this time, meter installation planning will also be underway and more information will be sent to customers on how best to use their smart meters.

NS Power says that customers will be contacted well in advance of any installation activity, which is expected to begin in late 2019.

According to the UARB, roughly $56.8 million in savings will come over the next 20 years from lower costs of reading meters. The number of staff needed to read meters will fall by about 72 people.

According to NS Power, such savings will help give its customers rate stability.

“We’re really in a very good position,” said Hutt.

Smart meters were also welcomed by the Ecology Action Centre, who said in a release Tuesday that smart meters are “an integral component to Nova Scotia’s transition off of fossil fuels.”

But the EAC added that energy efficiency programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be a part of the transition to smart metering.

The UARB says that customers who do not wish to have new meters installed will be able to continue with their current meters, but there may be a fee for opting out. The UARB directed NS Power to provide details on opting out and how it will inform customers, by Aug. 31. NS Power must also to provide information on health and safety standards relating to the new meters to any customer who asks.

Nova Scotia Power has won approval to install smart meters in homes and businesses across the province, saying they will modernize the system — and allow for cheaper rates for people doing their dishes and laundry during off-peak hours.

“This will allow us to really modernize electricity usage,” Karen Hutt, Nova Scotia Power’s president and CEO, said Tuesday.

The $133-million plan was approved by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, which said the new meters won’t hike power rates.

The utility will save about $56.8 million over 20 years because of lower costs, including a meter-reading staff reduction of about 72 people, the review board said.

It said Nova Scotia Power will save an estimated $27 million by offering cheaper power at times of low demand, as offered in other provinces.

“With the cost of this project ... and the benefit that making this transition will create, there is actually a net reduction of about $38 million in our overall costs to deliver,” Hutt said.

She said there should be benefits for customers who do their dishes and other chores during non-peak hours.

“If we can give them a cut ... we are absolutely interested in doing that because they are providing value back to us and the rest of the customers,” she said.

Smart meters will allow NSP to automatically measure electrical consumption, in intervals as frequently as 15 minutes.

Hutt said the meters will also hasten power restoration after outages, by providing the utility with new, specific data.

Consumer advocate Bill Mahody said the meters will allow consumers to reap the benefits of controlling their electricity use.

“As this technology comes online, consumers will have a real opportunity to save and conserve energy at times when it’s most expensive to supply it,” said Mahody.

Emma Norton, an energy conservation co-ordinator with the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, applauded the ruling. But she lamented the lack of a direct tie-in with existing energy efficiency programs.

“Efficiency programs are very important for consumers to be able to benefit from these smart meters and it needs to be done well and thoughtfully,” Norton said.

It would also be important to protect low-income and small business customers in the setting of time-of-usage rates, she said.

The review board said customers who don’t want the meters will be able to opt out of the program, and the utility will have to provide up-front information on the costs of doing so.

The utility must inform the board by Aug. 31 on what those costs will be.

“We have to design the specifics around the opt-out and that’s part of our follow-up from the board’s decision,” said Hutt.

Installation of the new meters is expected to begin in January and be completed by the end of 2020.