SaskPower is testing commercial and industrial smart meters after it was forced to remove a previous batch of smart meters following 10 fires linked to the devices.
About 500 smart meters will be installed on the sites of two industrial customers participating in the pilot project, which launched Thursday. The meters will also be installed at several SaskPower and SaskEnergy facilities.
“The methods and technologies of the past have served us well,” SaskPower president and CEO Mike Marsh said in a news release.
“This next step towards a new, smarter power grid will help SaskPower provide service that is more adaptable and reliable for today, and generations to come.”
SaskPower says it and a third party have completed safety testing on the commercial and industrial meters being installed.
“These meters have been extensively tested in routine and extreme conditions to meet or exceed the highest safety standards. Safety and public engagement are the priority for SaskPower on this project,” said Marsh.
“The meter itself has met a safety standard that goes above and beyond any standard that currently exists in the industry.”
In 2014, the Saskatchewan government ordered SaskPower to remove more than 100,000 smart meters after reports of 10 fires linked to the devices.
There are no plans to install smart meters on homes in the province again until at least 2018 or 2019. SaskPower says it will identify a meter in the meantime that meets the new, more rigorous safety standard.
