SaskPower’s smart meters will make a comeback in 2017.
The Crown has already started reintroducing the digital reader to commercial and industrial customers.
Smart meters more accurately predict power consumption. In some jurisdictions criticism has been directed at power companies for jacking up rates at peak times.
SaskPower CEO Mike Marsh won’t confirm or deny that approach won’t be taken here.
“People can elect to move to have some of their consumption move to different hours and that certainly helps to flatten the overall consumption curve,” Marsh explained. “The consumer will have the ability to know what their consumption is and to be able to adjust as electricity prices continue to move in the future.”
All told, 50,000 commercial and industrial customers will have smart meters installed, with 45,000 on the residential side.
SaskPower first introduced smart meters in 2014 but abandoned the program after 10 units caught fire.
Marsh said smart meters now have undergone more rigorous testing and regulations and are not subject to the same problems.