SaskPower wants return to smart meters for all its electricity customers

By Medicine Hat News on August 21, 2020.

Seven years after reversing course on smart meters, SaskPower says it wants all electricity customers in the province to have them and plans to double their use by the end of 2021.

That province’s Crown power provider stated Monday it plans to complete 27,000 connections by the end of next year, though customers can still decline the machines.

That is on top of 21,500 meters installed for commercial clients through pilot projects over the past three years.

In 2012, the province halted installations and removed units after controversy swirled regarding the possibility of fire resulting from joining new equipment to old connections in houses and businesses.

The meters, which remotely broadcast levels of usage for billing purposes, were reintroduced through a pilot project for industrial and commercial customers over the years.

New meters will complete small business clientele plus change over 3,200 farms and 1,100 residences.

“The meters we have installed have performed as expected with no unacceptable failures,” said Shawn Schmidt, a vice-president with SaskPower.