Smart Meters
We knew it would be coming but just weren't sure when.
Now we know when - "Installation of meters would begin in 2019, with completion of full deployment expected in 2020."
Many of you may not care, but that may be a result of not knowing whats REALLY in store for us - here is how a section called "FAST FACTS" from Nova Scotia Power is trying to make it sound like it's ALL for us, the consumer:
70% of Canadian homes have smart meters. There are nearly 10 million smart meters already installed in Canada.
Empowering customers with information: Smart meters put the power in customers’ hands and enable them to make better decisions on their energy use. Customers will be able to log onto their personal account to see their energy use and set billing alerts to stay on budget.
Improved customer experience: Smart meters will enable better service reliability and billing accuracy. The new meters will alert Nova Scotia Power immediately when a customer’s power goes out, so we can send a crew and restore power more quickly without customers having to call us.
No additional cost to customers: There is no installation fee for customers to upgrade to a smart meter and they will not affect current power rates. In fact, smart meters will save the electricity system $38 million over the 20-year life of the project.
Protection of customer data: Electricity usage data will be encrypted and transmitted to Nova Scotia Power over a safe, secure, and private wireless network. No personal identifying information is included in the data transfer – just the account number and energy usage.
So everyone else has them, we will be empowered, it won't cost us anything, and they promise to protect our data. Where have we heard all this BS before?
Oh, and in case you don't want to read the full news release just ask yourself this: Why would a utility company spend $133 million now to save only $38 million over 20 years-----ya, it must be all for us, the consumer.
Image SOURCE
Here is the full news release:
News Release
JUNE 12, 2018
Nova Scotia Power set to roll out smart meters following UARB approval
HALIFAX –– An innovative, interactive and customer-focused energy future is on the horizon for Nova Scotia families and businesses. Today, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) approved Nova Scotia Power’s plan to upgrade all customers to smart meters, which will provide customers with detailed and timely information about their energy use.
“This is an important step forward that will enable our company to better serve our customers,” says Karen Hutt, President and CEO, Nova Scotia Power. “Smart meter technology will allow us to create a more modern energy grid capable of supporting future innovation for years to come and help drive our objective of providing the best customer experience possible.”
The $133 million project to upgrade its existing analog and digital meters to smart meters comes at no additional costs for customers. Once the new smart meter network is up and running, customers will experience benefits such as access to more information about their daily energy use, more efficient power restoration during outages and more accurate billing by virtually eliminating bill estimates. Over the next 20 years, switching to smart meters will reduce costs in the electricity system by approximately $38 million, which will help Nova Scotia Power continue to provide rate stability to customers.
The latest smart meter technology will capture customers’ energy use in intervals as frequently as 15 minutes. This data will be sent several times a day to Nova Scotia Power through a safe, secure, and private wireless network that will be built as part of the project, whereas current meters require manual readings in-person.
After carefully reviewing the Board’s decision and conditions included as part of regulatory approval Nova Scotia Power plans to spend the next year building and testing the secure communication network as part of the project. During this time, meter installation planning will also be underway and further information will be communicated to customers on smart meters and how they can maximize their benefits. Customers will be contacted well in advance of any installation activity, which is expected to begin in late 2019.
For more information on Nova Scotia Power’s smart meter project, visit nspower.ca/smartmeters.
FOR BROADCAST USE
Page 2 of 2
TODAY, THE NOVA SCOTIA UTILITY AND REVIEW BOARD APPROVED NOVA SCOTIA POWER’S PLAN TO UPGRADE ALL CUSTOMERS TO DIGITAL SMART METERS.
NOVA SCOTIA POWER PRESIDENT AND CEO KAREN HUTT SAYS THAT SWITCHING TO SMART METERS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD AND WILL ENABLE THE COMPANY TO BETTER SERVE ITS CUSTOMERS. SHE SAYS THAT SMART METER TECHNOLOGY WILL ALSO ALLOW NOVA SCOTIA POWER TO CREATE A MORE MODERN ENERGY GRID CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING FUTURE INNOVATION FOR YEARS TO COME.
THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON REPLACING ALL EXISTING METERS WITH SMART METERS. METER READINGS WILL BE SENT SEVERAL TIMES A DAY TO NOVA SCOTIA POWER THROUGH A SAFE, SECURE, AND PRIVATE WIRELESS NETWORK BUILT AS PART OF THE PROJECT, WHEREAS CURRENT METERS REQUIRE IN PERSON MANUAL READINGS.
ONCE THE NEW SMART METER NETWORK IS UP AND RUNNING, IT WILL ENABLE A HOST OF NEW CUSTOMER OPTIONS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR ENERGY USE. UPGRADING TO SMART METERS COMES AT NO ADDITIONAL COSTS TO CUSTOMERS.
INFORMATION WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO CUSTOMERS WELL IN ADVANCE OF ANY INSTALLATION ACTIVITY, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN IN TWENTY NINETEEN.
-30-
About Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc. (TSX-EMA), a diversified energy and services company. Nova Scotia Power provides 95% of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to 507,000 customers in the province. The company is focused on new technologies to enhance customer service and reliability, reduce emissions and add renewable energy. Nova Scotia Power has 1,700 employees and $4.6 billion in assets. Learn more at www.nspower.ca
If your power company is anything like mine, then the phrase
usually means, "We've been collecting the fee for this upgrade from customers for the last 10 years, so there is no need to charge an additional fee."
We probably share the same Power Co. CEO....
Hello friend, Brimax, how are you? I hope that very well. Electrical systems work increasingly closer to their limits of stability, so it is necessary to change to new transmission systems that make the delivery of electric power more efficient. Modernism is essential because, like all systems, adapt to new demands (such as population growth), they become obsolete generating electrical interruptions, avoiding power cuts that generate significant losses in the countries' economies. If, as you detail, one hundred percent is fulfilled and you as a user will have control over your consumption, since online you can see your daily electricity consumption and thus control spending, sounds very beneficial, not only for you as a consumer , but, in general, I want your operation to be very useful for all of you. I hope you tell us how it works with smart meters. A big greeting to all the members of the family, @brimax
The down side is that you will be monitored constantly. They will know when you are cooking, drying cloths, using hot water, when you're not home, and even when you are sleeping. This is why they want everyone to have a smart TV, a smart Fridge, a smart Stove...it's all about control. I don't like it at all.
Reading from that point of view, you are quite right I thought that government was more serious than ours and it turns out that it is an anarchy, I read its publication again and if it is true they will be monitored and they will place more consumption, here we pay, electricity those who live downtown, in the other popular areas steal the light and nobody controls anything. Sorry but I misunderstood the publication. Hopefully not affected, greetings, @brimax
Hello Friend how are you? how is everything on the farm? Candy and the new girls how are you? the public services in each country belong to the government, that is why it is expected that behind everything they do or offer, there is nothing good
They offer a digital light meters with which according to them they will have many benefits but something is behind and we know that
In Venezuela simply services no longer serve, there are many places that do not have internet, light and there are many faults and the government does not do nothing to improve this situation.
You nailed it, it is never good for the public!
Excelente por ustedes en Canadá, espero que ese proyecto se complete en su tiempo estimado y puedan sacarle el máximo provecho @brimax. Saludos
Como puede ver en algunos de mis otros comentarios, no estoy esperando esto y realmente me gustaría que no sucediera. Solo se trata de más control, pero no para los usuarios.
Friend @brimax how are you?
I had not heard anything about these intelligent mediators at the moment, but at some point I heard that they were going to arrive personally, maybe I think they should not give people control over something, although sometimes I think that if this would make them spend money they would use wisely
Now if it seems a bit strange to invest that amount of millions of dollars for only 20 years to save or earn only 38 million dollars maybe all this has a background beyond I hope it is not bad
I agree, it doesn't make sense to spend hundreds of millions now to only reap tens of millions over twenty years. Something is fishy!
Hi friend Brimax how is your wife @anise and Candy we miss the Candy Candy
It seems strange to me all this to invest more than 100 million dollars to just get married less than half I think there is something else here
Also take care of your data if until recently Facebook had problems with millions of users for the theft of information as it is here they will when they also have those very low profits
Everything seems strange to me
It sounds like you get it.....it cannot be good for you anytime they tell you it's good for you!
Hello friend how are you?
Thanks for saying something about science.
I can learn something good from your post.
Continue it.Thanks for your support.
Thanks
Hay sir what's up.... A lot of better post.. Sir i enjoyed watching your post ..
Thank you
Smart Meters are kind of pointless without a smart grid. I assume your power cost is on a contract and you pay $x/kWh like most consumers do.
Now imagine a future where you actually can have multiple suppliers, and your Smart Meter chooses the best rate on a minute to minute basis. A step further is if you have a home battery system, you can charge up when energy is cheap, like overnight or when renewables are putting a lot into the grid (this can even be a negative cost sometimes), and use that power later, or even sell it back to the grid later for a profit!
The problem with that is you are still tied to a handful of 'energy companies' who do nothing except send you bills, and look at your data.
Now imagine a block-chain Smart Meter, where you can trade your energy peer 2 peer with your neighbours, in near real time. Your neighbour has solar panels? Maybe agree to take their surplus energy and find a nice price for it for both of you, or use your batteries to store their energy and trade it back and forth. Your usage data is on the block-chain, but its not like anyone needs your name and address, its really not going to be feasible to tie back to a domestic address with a dynamic IP address.
All we need to do is make Smart Meters properly smart, and make sure energy companies dont get a monopoly on the data they produce...
I like your response, although I believe most people are in debt servitude and are not in a position to set up their own solar setup then sell power to their neighbors. I wouldn't underestimate the power of block chain in this area. We'll keep watching as it develops.....perhaps you are onto something!
There are some really counter-intuitive business models coming out of the current energy space, energy grids are really struggling with managing fluctuating supply/demand and for those who can provide 'balancing services' either through static batteries or electric vehicles, there is money to be made. The issue for such balancing service operators is where to place their kit that is safe and close to where fluctuations occur... too early to say, but I do believe proper democratisation of energy generation/distribution, will significantly reduce the 'debt servitude' as you put it. Its just amatter of how to get there.
I agree, democratization of energy would really lighten the load for many. This is something to stay on top of.
Yes, we need that.
Smart meters are like smart cars?