By SCOTT SIMPSON, Vancouver SunAugust 3, 2012
Smart meter installations are the suspected cause
of an “unusual” number of fires similar to a recent electrical fire at a
home in Mission, according to a recent investigation by the Ontario
fire marshal’s office. BC Hydro is in the
process of a $1-billion installation of the meters, which use wireless technology to transmit information about electricity consumption to
power utilities, following the lead of provinces and states including
Ontario and California. There’s no evidence to
suggest that the meters themselves are overheating and catching fire,
but it appears from an Ontario fire marshal’s report, dated June 15,
2012, that the base plates, or four-pronged sockets that meters plug
into, can become compromised and start to burn if they’re old or suffer
rough handling during installation. “It’s like
everything else, once it’s installed and intact nothing usually
happens,” said Surrey electrical contractor Bill Strain, a former
president of the Canadian Home Builders Association. “A
lot of times, when you pull something apart, if it’s been there for 30
years it’s probably going to be rusted in or hard in. So they have to
give it a little bit of a jerk or a twist. That jerk or twist may be
what sets the whole thing in motion,” Strain said Friday. If there’s a
problem, he added, it’s possible that a contractor without formal
electrical training may miss it. A resident of
Mission, Trish Regan, recently lost her home in a fire that the
district’s fire department said appeared to originate from a broken base
plate that became overheated and caught fire a few hours after an
employee of Corix, the company contracted by BC Hydro to install the
meters, plugged one in at her home.
According to the marshal’s report,
“During our initial research of the new meters we encountered an
unusual amount of fire incidents involving smart meters. After
discovering these incidents our main question was, were they one-off
incidents or was there a similar systemic root cause “Anecdotal
information supported [the fact that] problems occurred after the old
analog meters were updated to the new digital smart meters.” The report noted the possibility of a fire resulting from “a loose connection in the meter base.” “What
could be the reason for this? The old meter base connections may not
have been in a condition for seamless exchange to a new meter. New
meters may have defects that cause electrical failures or misalignment
with old meter base. Careless installation during changeover.” Meter
changeovers are not unusual; before the smart meter project, Hydro was replacing about 40,000 old analogue meters per year with new ones. In
0.5 per cent of cases, Hydro installers noted a faulty meter base and
replaced it, according to smart meter deputy project officer Fiona
Taylor. That’s more or less the same base plate replacement ratio that’s arising from the smart meter installation, she said. Cindy
Verschoor, Hydro spokeswoman, said that unless a homeowner notices
problems after the installation — such as lights flickering on and off,
or dimming and brightening — there’s no need to worry about a problem
with the plate. “If you notice anything unusual
of course give us a call or arrange to have an electrician do an
inspection,” Verschoor said. “You can tell by your lights. That’s the
best indicator.” Verschoor said Corix
installation supervisors are certified electricians and they’re always
on standby to effect any plate repairs noted by the installers. (more)
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Fire guts home after smart meter installed BC Hydro says owner is responsible for ensuring safety
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