The number of households in New Brunswick declining the installation of an N.B. Power smart meter has surged to an estimated 17,000, which is ten times higher compared to last year. N.B. Power is adjusting its approach for customers opting out of the smart meter program, proposing a triple increase in costs for those retaining their old meters, but the utility denies penalizing customers for this decision.
N.B. Power is nearing completion of the installation of around 388,000 new “communicating” smart meters across the province to upgrade its electrical distribution grid over several years. These changes will enable the utility to electronically gather individual customer consumption data in real-time, replacing the monthly manual readings by meter readers.
Smart meters can communicate continuously with the power utility, facilitating instant outage identification, precise outage location, and enabling customers to monitor their daily electricity usage to make adjustments and prevent high monthly bills. Moreover, the meters will eventually support pricing and service innovations like offering varying electricity rates at different times to align with low and high demand periods.
Although smart meters offer benefits, they have faced controversy. Concerns include disputed health and safety risks, doubts about meter accuracy, and objections to the constant collection of electricity consumption data as an intrusion of privacy.
Residents like Clarence Maillet from Moncton are among those declining smart meter installation. Maillet is skeptical about the technology and displeased with N.B. Power’s proposal to introduce a special fee from next spring to retain his existing meter.
N.B. Power is seeking approval from the Energy and Utilities Board to impose a $4.65 monthly meter-reading fee starting in April for customers who opt out of smart meters. The utility justifies this charge by stating that the standard meter is now a smart meter, and customers choosing a non-standard meter option necessitate manual readings, with the associated costs to be borne by opt-out customers.
The utility’s new opt-out plan deviates from the original commitment made during the smart meter installation approval process in 2020. N.B. Power initially planned for biannual manual readings for customers rejecting smart meters to keep costs low. However, the utility now believes that six readings per year would offer a better service to customers, resulting in more accurate billing estimates and a smoother customer experience.
N.B. Power clarifies that the decision to increase the frequency of meter readings for opt-out customers was not driven by financial penalties but aims to enhance customer service. The change in the opt-out plan follows unexpected resistance to smart meters, with the refusal rate significantly higher than anticipated by the utility.
N.B. Power is optimistic that opposition to smart meters will diminish as people become accustomed to the technology and as efforts are intensified to persuade those declining installation to reconsider their decision.