Smart meter plan gets official go-ahead
Individuals are able to buy their way out
Hydro-Québec can go ahead with its controversial smart-meter program but consumers can opt out — if they pay for the privilege — the province’s energy board said in rulings released Friday.
The Régie de l’énergie said it carefully considered “voluminous evidence” tendered during 20 days of hearings before allowing the utility to proceed with the first phase of a $1-billion venture.
The project is “not without risk, particularly in terms of project costs, efficiencies and anticipated technologies” so the board asked HydroQuébec to produce regular reports on the subject.
The board concluded that the radio-frequency emissions generated by the wireless meters is “much less in- tense than those emitted by a cellphone.”
That finding, along with a review of heading evidence and material from public health authorities about the impact of RF emissions on health, led the board to con- clude the meters do not post a health danger.
Various public interest groups opposed to the project participated in the hearings and submitted reports, testimony from experts and written arguments to the board. Key issues were cost, health issues and privacy concerns.
Hydro-Québec customers who wish to opt out of the smart meter program have to notify the utility in writing, pay $137 to have a mechanical meter installed and pay a monthly fee of $17 to cover the cost of meter reading.
The first phase of the project involves the replacement of 1.7 million meters and the installation of new infrastructure in the greater Montreal region between 2012 and 2014.
The cost of Phase 1 is $440.5 million, the board said.
Immediate advantages of the wireless meter system include having fast and precise information about power outages and billing information based on real consumption not estimated consumption.
And meters will no longer have to be read manually by meter readers.
The board’s decisions can be accessed on its website: www.regie-energie.qc.ca.
Among the suppliers participating in Hydro-Québec’s move to a wireless metering system are Landis+Gyr and the German-based Elster, along with Rogers Communications Inc.