Why Smart Meters Are Needed in New Brunswick
Much has been said in recent weeks about NB Power’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure or Smart Meter program. More than a few New Brunswickers are probably asking why NB Power needs these smart meters. For NB Power, the answer is straightforward – more customer control and improved customer service while we reduce our debt and our carbon footprint.
We know that electric power systems across the globe are experiencing unprecedented change because of advances in technology, changes in customer expectations, and the effects of climate change. As a result, NB Power needs to evolve to meet the future needs of our customers in a safe, reliable, and cost-effective way.
We believe that smart meters are essential to building a smarter, cleaner, more reliable, and efficient power grid, and these meters will also provide immediate benefits to our customers.
First, these meters will give our customers more timely information about their electricity consumption. This information will allow customers to make more informed decisions on how they use energy, which could help customers reduce their bills.
Right now, customers receive a bill at the end of the month without being provided information about their energy usage. This is like customers going to the grocery store and buying groceries without knowing what the prices are, and only getting a bill for those groceries at the end of the month.
The lack of pricing information would make it very difficult to budget or to make informed choices. Just like the prices in the grocery store, data from a smart meter provides information for our customers to make choices about their consumption and better control their bills.
Smart meters will also provide a reliability benefit for our customers. These new meters will have the capability to alert NB Power of an outage at the time that it occurs. Customers will not have to notify us of the outage as these alerts will be immediate, resulting in more efficient power restoration, especially during major storms.
In addition to these immediate customer benefits, smart meters also provide long-term benefits.
One significant benefit is that we expect our customers will use smart meters to determine how to use their energy more efficiently. Our investment today in smarter technologies will lead to energy efficiency and as a result NB Power will not have to build expensive generating plants in the future to supply New Brunswickers with electricity. Avoiding an expensive generation build would result in a$1 billion plus (net present value) savings for our customers and sustainable debt reduction for the utility.
RELATED: Smart Power Meters Will Save Us Money and Reduce Carbon Emissions
We must also assist New Brunswick, our entrepreneurs and citizens in building a competitive, innovative growth environment that includes business and community development projects that grow the renewable energy sector. In order to do this, New Brunswick needs a modern electricity infrastructure.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure will lay the foundation for this modern infrastructure by replacing older, and in some cases obsolete, meter technologies. This communication network that supports advanced metering will lay the foundation for many of the long-term customer benefits that we will deliver through our Energy Smart NB program.
Some customers have expressed concerns about meter safety. We are confident that smart meters are safe. Health Canada and the World Health Organization have concluded that exposure to radio frequency from these new meters does not pose a public health risk. Exposure to radio frequency from devices such as microwave ovens and cell phones is significantly higher than from a smart meter.
Other customers have expressed concerns about privacy. Be assured that NB Power remains steadfastly committed to protecting the privacy of our customers and maintaining the confidentiality of all information collected – whether it is personal account information or data from a smart meter. We have no intention of sharing customer information with any third parties nor do we have the legal right to do so.
We have heard your concerns and are listening. In the coming months, we will continue to reach out to our customers to hear your thoughts on our smart meter program. At the same time, we will be sharing more of our thoughts on the benefits of these smart meters.
In the future, with smart meters and smart grid technologies, customers will have much more control which will help them reduce their usage and costs. We will be able to respond more quickly to outages resulting in improved reliability for our customers. Avoiding expensive new generation builds will allow NB Power to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to New Brunswick’s financial sustainability.
Gaëtan Thomas is the President and CEO of NB Power.
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