SASKPOWER CEO RESIGNS FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION INTO SMART METER “CATASTROPHE”. SMART METER FIRES HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED IN THE US AND FORCED UTILITIES TO REPLACE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF METERS.

SaskPower CEO resigns following investigation into smart meter “catastrophe”.  SMART METER FIRES HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED IN THE US AND FORCED UTILITIES TO REPLACE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF METERS.

SaskPower CEO Robert Watson has resigned — without severance — after an investigation into “smart” meter fires throughout Saskatchewan.

As reported in late July, following a series of fires throughout Saskatchewan, Canada, “SaskPower ordered to remove all 105,000 smart meters in the province.”

On October 27th, the Government of Saskatchewan released the results of a scathing review on the smart meter “debacle” which is now commonly being referred to as a “catastrophe.”  The  report concluded that “customer safety was not given enough priority.”

SaskPower CEO Robert Watson resigned his position immediately following the release of the report on the smart meter program.

Findings from the investigation

According to the government’s review:

“The primary issue of catastrophic meter failures which prompted the AMI program to be halted was not identified as an initial program risk.  When additional information about smart meter fires from other sources came to light, the risk of catastrophic meter failures did not prompt an independent reevaluation of the risk related to Sensus smart meters.”

Additional key findings:

Moisture and contaminants getting inside the meters were a major factor in the meter fires.

There is no evidence to indicate the fires were the result of improper installation or hot sockets.

SaskPower did not adequately consider the potential for significant meter failures resulting in damage to homes.

VIDEO: SaskPower CEO Robert Watson resigns amidst smart meter “catastrophe”

Jack Ritenburg, an electrical engineer and head of Ritenburg & Associates concluded that moisture and contaminants inside the meters was the cause of the smart meter fires.  He also concluded that “water intrusion due to holes in meter boxes, ‘hot socket’ conditions in the meter box and over voltage in the distribution system” or other “external factors” were not the cause of the fires as previously claimed by the manufacturer:

Jack Ritenburg, an electrical engineer and head of Ritengurb and Associates, reports on the suspected causes behind the SaskPower smart meter fires.

According to the independent fire investigation report:

“There was significant precipitation in the previous thirty days for all of the fires. There was significant precipitation in five of the fires within the preceding two days. The remaining three fires had light precipitation within the preceding two days.  There is evidence that moisture and contaminants have been getting into the meters and possibly being trapped.”

“Hot socket issues have been flagged as a possible reason for some of the meter failures. … [W]e feel that a hot socket condition resulting in a destructive meter failure and fire are not likely.”

“Sensus has claimed that some of the smart meter fires were caused by utility over-voltage. … We have not found any evidence to support that a significant over-voltage occurred and resulted in a destructive meter failure.”

The photo below shows electrical arcing inside a smart meter that was taken out of service under the category “Display Error.”  This failure is in the same location as smart meters which suffered a catastrophic failure.

The following photo (below) shows a meter that was taken out of service by SaskPower that has staining from smoke and evidence of moisture at the bottom of the meter.  This meter had not yet suffered a catastrophic failure.

The fire investigation report concluded with the following statements:

“In view of the above, we are of the opinion that moisture and contaminants within the meter has been a major factor in the meter failures and ensuing fires.”

“As there is some danger with destructive meter failures and potential resulting fires, we recommend that the existing Sensus Generation 3.3 meters be replaced as soon as possible.  As the existing meter fires have had a close relationship to precipitation levels, SaskPower might wish to consider replacement no later than the end of winter and before the spring thaw and spring rains begin.”

Just to be clear, the fire investigation report reveals that the principal problem is  primarily rain water  (and/or condensation along with other contaminants) that gets into the smart meters themselves, causing arcing across electronic components with eventual catastrophic failure of the meter with a possible explosion or fire.  Furthermore, based upon a review of the investigative report, it is clear we basically have “cheap” meters with a number of design deficiencies which includes uninsulated busbars in close proximity to printed circuit boards and which further allow easy entry of water and dust into the meter enclosures.

Bottom line, … the existing smart meters on people’s homes still present a fire risk in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.  In addition, these types of problems would not occur with traditional analog meters that do not contain fragile electronic components.

Smart meters a catastrophe

As a supplement, this website will quote a portion of an October 28, 2014, article in the Leader-Post entitled SaskPower smart meters a ‘catastrophe’:

“Lest there still be any doubt how badly bungled the SaskPower smart meter debacle was, consider how frequently lawyers, technical specialists and others used the word ‘catastrophic’ in their joint review released Monday.

‘The primary issue of catastrophic meter failures which prompted the AMI (Advanced Meter Infrastructure) program to be halted was not identified as an initial program risk,’ stated the $500,000 Crown Investments Corp. (CIC) report entitled Smart Meter Review.

‘When additional information about smart meter fires from other sources came to light, the risk of catastrophic meter failures did not prompt an independent re-evaluation of the risk related to Sensus smart meters.

An escalation of the risk assessment could have prompted additional investigation, testing and either closer monitoring of installed meters or a pause to the rollout of smart meters until issues were better understood.’

‘Catastrophic’ in Monday’s report refers to not just the eight fires started by the smart meters, but occasions when things like smoking in the smart meters – largely due to moisture or debris getting inside what should have been a sealed casing – might have easily led to fires.  In all, there were some 359 incidents of meter failure, although the majority were for things like improper readings.

Yet according to the review – [comprised] of three separate reports by Ritenburg and Associates looking into technical issues, Robertson Stromberg commissioned to look at legal matters, and PwC asked to review procurement and contract management – little or no thought was ever given to the inherent risk of catastrophic events.”

Fire Concerns Lead PECO to Halt Smart Meter Installations

PHILADELPHIA -

After at least two fires and over a dozen incidents of overheating, PECO is halting its controversial smart meter installation program.

The stunning announcement came Wednesday morning as FOX 29 Investigates pressed the company over a spate of recent incidents, including fires in Bucks County.

PECO had plans to install 1.6 million of the so-called smart meters.

The digital units are designed to conserve energy and help customers monitor their usage.

But over the past few months, concerns and complaints have grown that the installation of these new meters have sparked fires, including two recently in Bucks County.

Now, PECO is stopping installations as it takes a hard look at the meters and prepares to put safety measures in place.

"Is PECO concerned that it has 186,000 meters in people's homes here that may represent a danger to them and their families?" FOX 29's Jeff Cole asked.

"This situation is obviously being taken very seriously," PECO spokeswoman Cathy Engle Menendez answered. "We have 186,000 meters, the vast majority of which are performing well., but we've had 15 cases where there have been issues."

Of the 15 incidents, PECO says it is still investigating nine. Six, they claim, were not caused by the smart meters.

Along with the abrupt halt of the meter installations, PECO says it will install warning and shutdown components on those already in place.

In his video report for Wednesday's FOX 29 News at 10, Cole spoke to some of the property owners who were impacted by the fires.

If you want your PECO meter or equipment inspected, officials there want you to give them a call. The number is 855-741-9011.

PGE replacing 70,000 electricity meters because of fire risk

Portland General Electric is replacing 70,000 residential "smart" meters that run the risk of catching fire, many of them installed at rental properties in East Multnomah County.

PGE says three small meter fires have been reported in its service territory, with minor property damage in one case. It mailed out letters to affected customers this week and aims to have the affected meters replaced by the end of October.

The electrical component failures are limited to a subset of smart meters that it installed between 2010 and 2012. The affected model number is the Sensus 2S Gen3 RD, mostly installed in rental units where PGE needed the ability to turn them on and off remotely. Customers can call PGE at 877-835-1435 or check online at pgemeterexchange.com to check if they have one of the affected meters.

PGE embarked on a major smart meters installation program in 2008, and the other 785,000 meters installed with residences and businesses don't have the same issues, it says.

Bill Nicholson, PGE's Senior Vice President of Customer Service, said PGE first became aware of potential problems in 2013 and hired two separate consultants to evaluate the meters. Its initial testing was inconclusive, but it shared its results with the manufacturer, North Carolina-based Sensus, and asked for help.

"They are not recalling these," Nicholson said. "This is our choice. This is our decision based on our assessment and our tests. We believe this risk is small, but it's totally unacceptable to us."

Nicholson said swapping out all the meters would take three months because PGE and its suppliers don't have adequate replacements in inventory. 

Reports of smart meter malfunctions, explosions and fires, meanwhile, have cropped up around the country and the world, including some meters manufactured by Sensus, a leading manufacturer of the technology. 

SaskPower, a utility in Saskatchewan, Canada, is in the midst of a province-wide smart meter program using Sensus meters. But it suspended that initiative two weeks ago following six fires tied to meters in the last two months.

PECO Energy in Philadelphia also replaced all its Sensus smart meters in 2012 after several of them overheated and caught fire, two of them resulting in serious house fires, according to the Philadelphia Inquirier.

Sensus was also sued in 2010 in Alabama for false claims by an employee who alleged he was fired after refusing to remain silent about the company's defective meters. The suit alleged that Sensus and two electric utilities sought federal grant funding despite knowing the meters were faulty. The suit was dismissed after the employee settled the case in 2011, according to Law360. 

Sensus spokeswoman Linda Palmer did not respond to the Oregonian's query on whether the company felt the meter in question was safe. In an emailed statement, she said it was working with PGE to understand what led to "the issue" and engaging with them on a solution. 

"The industry, as a whole, has experienced meter issues for years." she said. "Given that there are more than 40 million meters deployed to date in North America, the failure rates are very low. 

"There are approximately 10 million Sensus meters in North America operating safely and reliably. We are evaluating the small number of issues and we remain committed to providing safe products..."

Smart meters are touted as a critical technology to modernize the electrical grid, promote distributed generation and help customers use energy more efficiently.  

Ratepayer advocates in Oregon questioned whether smart meter technology was ready for prime time when PGE first proposed spending $135 million of ratepayers money to replace all its meters in 2008. Those reservations had to do with functionality, not safety, however. 

PGE had already been down the smart meter path, installing 3,500 earlier in 2001 that it junked in favor of the new models. Besides slashing meter reading costs, PGE said the new meters, with two-way communications, would provide a platform for future programs to better manage electricity demand.

Data from the meters does allow customers to get on line and check yesterday's energy use. But other, more sophisticated demand response programs, with real time date that allows customers to adjust their usage on the fly, have yet to arrive.

PGE says it is working with Sensus on the meter replacements and it's not clear at this point whether ratepayers, as a group, will be asked to cover the capital or installation costs of the replacements.

"What we're focused on right now is the replacement of these meters," Nicholson said. "The commercial issue with these meters will be an ongoing discussion with Sensus we're keeping the (Oregon Public Utility Commission) informed of what we're doing along the way