The recent woes associated with the installation of new Smart Meters in Saskatchewan has become a political issue in the province.
The opposition NDP has now publicly called on the provincial government to address concerns with its smart meter program.
That call came Monday following reports of another house fire sparked by an exploding smart meter in Saskatoon. Later that day, another Saskatoon house fire was reported, bringing to eight the number associated with the new meters.
In an NDP news release, opposition critic for SaskPower Cathy Sproule said a lot of questions were being asked of them about the meters. Among those are whether people can ask SaskPower to remove their smart meter, whether they can have the meter inspected to see if it's installed correctly, and whether the investigation is being led by the government or by the private company that installed the meters.
"Families have questions, and they deserve answers from the government," said Cathy Sproule, opposition critic for SaskPower, in an NDP news release.
"The government has been far too quiet. But it was this government that chose to contract out smart meter installation to an American corporation and it signed an exemption to allow that company to use less-trained workers to install the meters. The government can't be hands-off now that there are problems."
Sproule said all possible solutions have to be considered, and that meters themselves, the adequacy of training for the installers and procedures of the company running the project should all be investigated.
The latest incident comes several days after SaskPower announced July 16 that they were temporarily suspending new smart meter installations.
SmartMeters installation had been going on in Saskatoon and Regina; North Battleford and region were not due to see the meter installation until the fall of 2015.
In a statement released Monday, SaskPower also confirmed that smart meter installations remained suspended and that investigation efforts have been stepped up following the latest incident. According to SaskPower, the seventh incident in Saskatoon saw all damage contained to the meter and the area immediately around it.
"The issue is being taken extremely seriously," said Robert Watson, SaskPower President and CEO. "The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority as we continue our investigation."
There had been a preliminary investigation but the cause of the meter failures had not yet been determined. SaskPower was now working with third parties to conduct a more comprehensive investigation, with results not expected until late August.
According to SaskPower, approximately 105,000 smart meters had been installed.
SaskPower also says that customers with questions or concerns could call SaskPower directly at 1-855-877-0975 or 1-888-757-6937, and that if desired, SaskPower will inspect meters at no cost.
As well, Watson stated in a release that the utility was working with independent parties and the meter manufacturer to identify the issue as quickly as possible.
"We are taking every step possible to ensure the highest level of safety," said Watson. "Like other electronic equipment, a small percentage of all digital and mechanical meters fail, so replacing our fleet of smart meters at this point is not warranted."
