2014-07-15 Smart meter fires halt installation in Saskatchewan

This is a Special Smart Meter Update on the topic of Smart Meter FIRES

This is similar to what happened in Pennsylvania, where many fires occurred and Peco, Gary Murphy’s old company, had to suspend installation.

 

Smart meter fires halt installation – Six incidents in past two months

by Natascia Lypny – The Starphoenix – July 15, 2014:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Smart+meter+fires+halt+installation/10030643/story.html
(Please Comment –

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/about-star-phoenix/contactus.html)

SaskPower has imposed a temporary hiatus on its smart meter installations after a handful of fires across the province.

The Crown corporation is in the process of investigating six fires that ignited from smart meters in the past two months. One each occurred in Regina and Saskatoon, with the remainder in smaller centres and rural locations, SaskPower spokesman Tyler Hopson said.

The hiatus, which began July 10, will continue “until such time we’re comfortable with moving forward and ensuring that we’re doing things as safely as we possibly can and that there are no outstanding big concerns,” Hopson said.

In each of the cases, the fire was contained to the meter and went out on its own. SaskPower has launched an investigation of every fire, which Hopson said is the common procedure with every meter malfunction. The burned meters have also been replaced by the older, mechanical style of meters. The corporation has covered the cost of the replacement.

“That’s just to ensure peace of mind for our customers,” he said.

 

Hopson said SaskPower is working with the meter manufacturers to determine the cause of the fires.  He said:

 “At this point, while the investigations are still happening, I can’t really get into speculating on the causes or outcomes, but they are looking at all possible options and actively investigating,”

 

The investigation is expected to take a couple of weeks.

Despite the hiatus imposed by SaskPower, a representative from Saskatoon Light and Power said the city-owned utility company has no plans to follow suit.

“We haven’t had any issues,” said Brendan Lemke, engineering manager at Saskatoon Light and Power. The civic utility has already installed more than 27,000 smart meters in Saskatoon and has not received any reports of fires, Lempke said, adding the SaskPower fires could be related to installation of the meters, not the meters themselves.

He said Saskatoon Light and Power will await the results of SaskPower’s investigation before a decision is made one way or the other.

SaskPower’s installation of smart meters was also stalled in May following a house fire that began when an old meter was being removed. [see below]

At the time, Hopson told the Regina Leader-Post that it was the third meter-related fire in Regina in the past decade.

 “We did make some enhancements to our protocols and procedures around installation and exchange of meters … to further reduce the risk,”

Hopson said of the investigation stemming from that fire.

SaskPower has so far installed 105,000 smart meters across the province.

While Hopson said “there isn’t an opt-out option per se,” customers are allowed to defer the installation once the hiatus ends.
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Fire related items from the internet

Albert & Valerie Kobialko, 1403 Oxford Street [Fires – Regina, Saskatchewan]

Basement fire linked to installation of smart meter

by Austin M. Davis -The Leader-Post – May 15, 2014:
http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Basement+fire+linked+installation+smart+meter/9841203/story.html

Smart meter installation sparks fire in east Regina home

by Andrew Shepherd – CJME 980 – May 14, 2014:
http://cjme.com/story/smart-meter-installation-sparks-fire-east-regina-home/342839

Serious fire on Oxford Street caused by Smart Meter installation gone wrong

by Whitney Stinson – Global BC – May 14, 2014:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1331918/serious-fire-on-oxford-street-caused-by-smart-meter-installation-gone-wrong/

[Electric – Gas – Wireless – Saskatchewan] Sensus Deploys FlexNet AMI Solution for SaskPower and SaskEnergy -Project expected to generate cost savings for the Province of Saskatchewan

– Sensus Press Release – January 27, 2014:
http://sensus.com/web/usca/news/display?news_id=sensus-deploys-flexnet-ami-solution-for-saskpower-and-saskenergy-%E2%80%93-press-release

[Electric – Gas – Opt-out – Saskatchewan]

Smart Meters questioned in Saskatchewan

by Courtney Mintenko – paNOW – December 27, 2013:
http://panow.com/node/419782

Are Smart Meters Hazardous To Public Health?

by Kevin Westerling – Water Online – November 13, 2013:
http://www.wateronline.com/doc/are-smart-meters-hazardous-to-public-health-0001

[Sensus]

Saskatchewan’s Electric And Gas Utilities Launch AMI Programs With Grid One And Clevest Mobile Solution

– Field Technologies Online – November 12, 2013:
http://www.fieldtechnologiesonline.com/doc/saskatchewan-electric-gas-launch-ami-grid-clevest-mobile-solution-0001

[EMF – Health – Opt-out – Wireless – BC – Saskatchewan]

Smart meter electromagnetic field exposure concerns raised

by Terrence McEachern – Regina Leader-Post – November 01, 2013:
http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/Smart+meter+electromagnetic+field+exposure+concerns+raised/9113722/story.html

by Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters

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