N.S. Power begins installation of smart meters

Nova Scotia Power has started the installation of new smart meters – a two-year process that it says will result in technology that will benefit the company and customers.

When the network is ready in 2021, it will allow customers to access information on their energy consumption, notify the power company when power to a home goes out, and enable remote connection or disconnection of electricity without an on-site service call.

Nova Scotia Power is working to allay concerns that there are dangers involved.

Introducing new technologies can sometimes cause doubts, utility spokeswoman Patti Lewis said, and the company wants to keep the lines of communication open with customers.

Not everyone supports smart meters. Groups raising concerns state that the radio frequencies and the power they use can cause health issues; that the meters can monitor what devices are being used in the home leading to potential hacking; that they will cause increased costs for consumers; and that devices can catch fire.

Steve Pothier, in charge of the smart meter project for NSP, said safety is the top priority.

“We would never put our customers or our employees at risk with anything we’re doing, and the rollout of smart meters is no exception,” he said. He said the company is confident in the safety of the meters and that radio frequency exposure falls well below the threshold set by Health Canada.

Health Canada says on its website that the signals emitted by smart meters are of relatively low power, similar to cellphones and Wi-Fi equipment, and that the energy from smart meters is typically transmitted at a much greater distance from the human body.

While there were some fires attributed to smart meters in western Canada several years ago, Pothier said the problems were linked to a specific meter used in Saskatchewan. Nova Scotia Power isn’t using meters from that company. The ones it is using are from one of the largest manufacturers in the world, which has no cases of fires reported.

Pothier said the network has state-of the-art security and data is encrypted, but there is no personally identifiable information being stored or transmitted. He said Nova Scotia Power is one of the last jurisdictions to install the devices, which are already used in 70 per cent of homes in the country. Customers will be able to see their energy usage in 15-minute intervals.

There is an opt-out option for people who don’t want the smart meters, Because that will require someone to read the meter for billing there is a surcharge. About 1,000 customers have requested to opt out.

The company hopes to see the number of customers who opt out be below two per cent.

More information on the program can be found at www. nspower.ca/smartmeters.