SaskPower ordered to remove all 105,000 smart meters in the province

Excerpt;
The minister quoted in the article stated that the utility customers would not be on the hook for the cost of removing the smart meters, which is expected to take 6-9 months.

BREAKING: SaskPower ordered to remove all 105,000 smart meters in the province
30 July 2014 at 7:16pm
by Shaun Knox, Global News
http://(link tracking not allowed)/1n7Bfda

[snip]

The minister responsible for SaskPower Bill Boyd said the utility company will be taking out all 105,000 smart meters around Saskatchewan.

“I think the concerns about safety are paramount here, the concerns are significant enough, anytime families are at risk in Saskatchewan, actions have to be taken and that’s why we’ve directed SaskPower accordingly,” said Minis

SaskPower ordered to remove all 105,000 smart meters in the province

Surprising news out of Canada! I never thought it would happen in Saskatoon first, but hoping this ripples out to other cities.

Here's the link to the original story out of Regina Canada.

globalnews.ca...

I was about to post and ask Why?

But at the bottom of your linked article, I found this:

Earlier this month SaskPower temporarily suspended its installation of smart meters around the province after half a dozen caught fire.

They are being removed due to a possible fire hazard.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
I was about to post and ask Why?

But at the bottom of your linked article, I found this:

Earlier this month SaskPower temporarily suspended its installation of smart meters around the province after half a dozen caught fire.

They are being removed due to a possible fire hazard.

There's other reasons they ought to be removed!
1. Many people are RF sensitive, unfortunately many of them never realise why they feel so crappy.
2. Privacy! I may buy their product, but its up to me how I use it, and I do not think they should have the right to spy on me in this way.

a reply to: eriktheawful

I guess they will replace them with "smarter" meters, then?

a reply to: intrptr

I would hope the power companies don't move any faster than they ever have in implementing new tech, so NO. Smarter meters would probably be a long way off.

The exploding thing is bad. Bad design, bad components, whatever. The fact is since when is it ok for the company to have the ability to control your consumption remotely? The general agreement in delivery of services is they provide it, you pay for usage. Not we'll supply what we want when we want.

I understand some people have had sensitivities to the meters as well.

a reply to: Caver78

The fact is since when is it ok for the company to have the ability to control your consumption remotely?

I'm aware of their meddlesome behavior into our affairs with these things. I agree with you about that, I was just trying to be funny.

They can also analyze our habits like work schedule (or when we are away).

Burglars might be interested in that info being beamed out of your house.

a reply to: VoidHawk
1/ Rubbish - there's more RF from microwave oven and any cell phone in your house than a smart meter - and smart meters typically transmit for less than 1 minute per day!!
2/ Rubbish - if you use their power they are entitled to know how much so you can get billed. "Smart meters" actually involve LESS invasion of privacy because no-one comes onto your property!!

The smart meter beatup by conspiracy nuts is one of the more insane ludicrous theories!!

a reply to: intrptr

apologies....I read your post 'wrong".

Have a beer on me!

a reply to: Aloysius the Gaul

Your missing the point. Having the ability to turn off your utility without due process is over reach. I'm not saying people who gauge the utility companies aren't scum, but the contract you normally have with a power company doesn't include a clause where if you are a customer in good standing they can just flip a switch and cut you off.

If you look at the other applications?
Hmmmm.....over reach.

a reply to: Caver78

No apologies. Sorry about my humor. Its not really humorous when you consider they play us with that "smart" term. Like smart phones, smart weapons and smart meters.

Beam me up…

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
a reply to: VoidHawk
1/ Rubbish - there's more RF from microwave oven and any cell phone in your house than a smart meter - and smart meters typically transmit for less than 1 minute per day!!
2/ Rubbish - if you use their power they are entitled to know how much so you can get billed. "Smart meters" actually involve LESS invasion of privacy because no-one comes onto your property!!

The smart meter beatup by conspiracy nuts is one of the more insane ludicrous theories!!

You believe whatever you want. As a sufferer of rf I know your wrong, even got a doctors certificate for it! and there's millions just like me.
As for only transmitting for one minute per day, they transmit periodically throughout the day and night in bursts. For people living in large apartment blocks the meters are often housed in one location thereby multiplying the rf output.

As for the privacy. Your ignoring the fact that they inform the supplier of a great deal of information.
Most appliances are very recognizable by the way they use power.
They can know when you boil the kettle in the morning - therefore know roughly what time you get up.
I could list dozens of appliances that can easily be recognized by smart meters but there's little point is there, your mind is made up.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
2. Privacy! I may buy their product, but its up to me how I use it, and I do not think they should have the right to spy on me in this way.

So you're more comfortable with them walking onto your property without notification to gather information?

I mean, honestly, how do you think they charged you for power usage before smart meters? You think they just made up a number and sent you a bill?

originally posted by: links234

originally posted by: VoidHawk
2. Privacy! I may buy their product, but its up to me how I use it, and I do not think they should have the right to spy on me in this way.

So you're more comfortable with them walking onto your property without notification to gather information?

I mean, honestly, how do you think they charged you for power usage before smart meters? You think they just made up a number and sent you a bill?

Just like some others, you ignore the real point and carry on as if others cant see it

Knowing how much to charge you is one thing, knowing when you boil the kettle, knowing when you shower, knowing what time you go to bed! etc etc is quite another thing!

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
a reply to: VoidHawk
1/ Rubbish - there's more RF from microwave oven and any cell phone in your house than a smart meter - and smart meters typically transmit for less than 1 minute per day!!

This one minute per day idea is total bull crap, use an RF meter next to those "smart meters" and you will see that it sends information a couple times per minute.

Oh and, some people like me don't use microwaves and cell phones are probably bad for our health. Yet, those are choices. Smart meters is pretty much forced down our throats.

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
2/ Rubbish - if you use their power they are entitled to know how much so you can get billed. "Smart meters" actually involve LESS invasion of privacy because no-one comes onto your property!!

Face palm moment.

In a typical RFID system, individual objects are equipped with a small, inexpensive tag which contains a transponder with a digital memory chip that is given a unique electronic product code. The interrogator, an antenna packaged with a transceiver and decoder, emits a signal activating the RFID tag so it can read and write data to it. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
The smart meter beatup by conspiracy nuts is one of the more insane ludicrous theories!!

Every conspiracy theories seem insane for you so what's new?

Another useless opinion from a chicken.

Smart Meters hooked up with Energy Star = Agenda 21.

Just another method of future control and rationing.

Get ready to pay for your own time.

ENERGY STAR Approaching Smart Grid

a reply to: VoidHawk

Oh my god! You're right! How dare they provide me with accurate information on my power usage so that I can then use that information to save myself money each month! They then have the gall to aggregate that data to gauge when more energy is required to keep the system working?? Those bastards!

Obviously working with the EPA to charge me for all the coal I burn in their plant.

Actually: Welcome to the 21st century where power grids are controlled by computers so that power consumption demands can be met.

Power that is generated by a power company is not generated and full blast and sent down the line. Doesn't work that way, and has not worked that way for many, many decades.

Power companies have to watch power demands and be able to met them, less you, the public, ends up suffering from brown outs, surges or complete power interruption.

In the past, humans would sit and watch. As power demands during the day, night, cold, heat, etc, changed, they would have to change things to met those demands (or back off when the demand is not quite so high).

Computer systems cost a lot less than a person that needs a salary, benefits, vacation time, sick days, etc. They also can react a LOT more quickly than humans can. They are a lot more efficient and changing things, and help keep power failures down as far as literally wearing out a generator makes for a very expensive repair.

Power companies do not really care what kind of electrical equipment you have, nor do they really care to know when you, and individual is putting a kettle on to boil.

What they do care about is being able to meet the power demand that you put on them, so that YOU do not end up blowing a transformer by making a high power demand, and they don't know when to give it to you.

Knowing when most people are getting up to put that kettle on to boil, by seeing the increase in power demand, allows for the computer system to increase the power available to everyone, that way when you do put your kettle on after a whole lot of other people have also done this, you don't suddenly see your lights go very dim....and then hear a loud BOOM as a transformer blows...normally followed by you standing in the dark, and suddenly realizing you're not going to get your hot water anytime soon now.

Smart meters can help with all that. Done right, they can even help you and others keep the power on, when otherwise it would go out.
Say Sam down the street has a problem with his electric stove, but it's problem he's unaware of. Let's say Sam turns the oven on and there is a short.
A HUGE surge of current will surge. The main breaker to the house should trip.....but sometimes they don't (because they are old, stuck or just defective), and what can happen is the power transformer that feeds his house could blow or be damaged.
That might cause a complete outage on your street. Now YOU are without power because of Sam's stove....and because the Smart Meter, if designed right, could have auto shutdown the power, the moment the current surge went too high (therefore protecting the transformer out on the street).

But instead, due to people being paranoid about being spied on by their power company, we're all sitting in the dark, not getting our hot coffee because of Sam's stove.......and too much paranoia.

Seriously: the power company really doesn't care about when a single person puts on a kettle. They care about when a LOT of people do it all at once, at a certain time of day, or when they wash cloths, or turn on their driers, or when the heat or air conditioners kick on.

Further info on the fires caused by the meters.....which are made in the USA
home.mytelus.com...

a reply to: links234

If you needed a smart meter to tell you not to do laundry in the hottest part of the day you have bigger fish to fry than just disagreeing with another poster. By chance did you sleep thru the 70's?