(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Smart meter issue

City resident with electrohypersensitivity concerned about smart meter

Jul 22, 2021 | 4:22 PM

The City of North Battleford received a request from a resident asking the city to leave the existing water meter in place at their property due to a health issue.

The individual does not want to have the new Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system water meter installed as a family member has an electrohypersensitivity, also known as electromagnetic sensitivity, a disorder resulting in sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation.

The city is in the process of replacing all residents’ existing water meters with new more efficient smart meters.

The city’s director of operations Stewart Schafer says a doctor at a North Battleford medical clinic confirmed the condition.

The letter indicated because of the diagnosis, the person is sensitive to radiation produced by common household items, and suffers from multiple issues as a result.

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But the doctor would not comment on the AMI meters and whether they would affect a patient with the condition.

“If you read the letter submitted, they made it very clear it is the patient not wanting the AMI meter, not them (the doctor),” Schafer said.

City administration says the World Health Organization (WHO) also indicates while the condition of electromagnetic sensitivity does exist, the AMI meters will not cause a health risk.

Administration says Health Canada also states there is no health risk.

As an option to respond to the resident’s issue, the city says KTI Limited could work with the resident to see if the transmitter antenna for the smart meter can be installed outside the home, on a location on the roof of the building for example, to further reduce exposure to electromagnetic frequencies.

Another option is to install a touchpad to the property. The AMI meter would then be placed on the touchpad. The property owner would need to sign an agreement to pay the city each time the water meter is read as a result. The process will be time consuming for staff travelling back and forth taking the readings, rather than being able to gather the data remotely.The total cost per reading is estimated at about $41. As well, if the owner were to move and sell the property, they would need to pay for the meter-point to be changed from a touchpad to a radio transmitter. The city would need to purchase a touchpad for the house as well as a touchpad reader, for a total cost of $3,660 excluding GST.

Council tabled the matter for the time being.

City administration will look into the issue with the resident to further try and find a solution, and return to council to give an update on the issue at a later date.

“We’ll see if we can work with the person. If we can’t, we’ll bring it back to council to make a decision,” city manager Randy Patrick said.

Administration will also look into what other municipalities have done in similar situations.

–

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow