NORTH BATTLEFORD — It was confirmed at city council Tuesday that a more aggressive approach is being taken to convert the remaining water meters in the city over to smart meters.
Environmental Manager Jeff Blanchard spoke on the installation progress to get ahead of social media comments that were circulating.
He told council Tuesday that as the program comes to an end, the city and the company installing the smart meters, KTI Ltd. are becoming “quite a bit more aggressive with our water shutoff program.”
He said for properties that have had “ample opportunity” to book an appointment and have not done so, “we are actively shutting off their water, in some cases leaving it off until they have a meter exchange.”
Blanchard said there were 250 to 300 properties that “we are struggling with at the moment. Some of those are on the contractor’s side and many of those are just for delinquent appointments.”
He noted there was feedback to City Hall to a social media thread that was “quite negative” to the project in general, with comments about an installer that was approaching homes that did not have appointments on the weekend.
Blanchard told council the installers are actively doing this outside their installation appointments because they are “struggling in a couple of different ways.”
“We have some meters where, quite frankly, we have an idea where they are but we’re not certain. So, we need to get physical verification to a home or to where the radio is placed. And then, I would estimate 50 per cent of occurrences, those radios are placed inside the home and they’re not accessible from the exterior. And when they’re inside the home, the only way to verify the meter exchange has been completed is to gain access to the home.
“We also have meters that have fallen through the warranty period where they are not communicating properly to the radio network. Again, the only way to address this is for someone to enter the home to look at both the meter connection and wherever the radio is, whether it’s in the basement or on the exterior of the home, and just make sure the wiring and all the components are working correctly.”
Blanchard also noted a number of appointments are being cancelled or they are not being booked. At commercial businesses specifically, Blanchard said the installers have been told by administration to go to the businesses during normal business hours to try to get the meters exchanged, because frequently when trying to deliver pending shutoff notices, the answer from businesses is to go when they are open.
The KTI installers do have identification, Blanchard said, but their vehicles are marked with magnet decals only.
Blanchard noted some of the social media posts made the point that they didn’t have an appointment and someone had randomly showed up at their house, Blanchard said.
“But there’s a reason why they are doing that, and that’s to get the project completed.”
City Manager Randy Patrick said approximately 92 per cent of water meters have been converted to smart meters to date. He also confirmed the installers were being more aggressive with people being cut off and not being turned on until the meters are put in.
“Everyone’s had a year now,” said Patrick. “We have to finish the project off, and we have to finish it pretty much this month.”
In a news release, the city states that KTI installers will be “approaching residential, commercial, and industrial properties with or without appointments, during the evenings and on weekends to make every attempt to complete the mandatory water meter changeover and avoid service interruptions for our residents, property and business owners. All KTI installers can provide the appropriate KTI identification upon request."
Installers may approach properties to complete the water meter upgrade, for meter verification and warranty work.
“Properties requiring a meter conversion are encouraged to immediately book and keep the scheduled appointment. Failure to book and keep your scheduled water meter conversion will result in water shutoff until the upgrade work has been completed.”
The city also states that a smart meter installation appointment can be booked by calling KTI at 1-833-543-8807 or booking online at www.ktiappointment.com. Your booking password is your utility account number, and is included with the notifications mailed to your address.
