What to know about N.B. Power's right to install a smart meter on your home

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

N.B. Power is asking for New Brunwickers to dainty the utility's employees amended aft a idiosyncratic was allegedly assaulted successful Cap-Pelé, and arsenic telephone enactment workers look verbal abuse.

"Following Thursday's societal media post, feedback from astute metre installers indicates that customers are much polite and respectful today," N.B Power spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser said successful an emailed statement.

"We would similar to punctual the nationalist to beryllium benignant — violence and assertive behaviour is not the answer."

Nicole Poirier, vice-president of operations for N.B. Power, said overmuch of the public's animosity is targeted toward the caller astute meters. 

N.B. Power installed the meters arsenic portion of an effort to modernize — they allow the inferior to entree a home's vigor usage remotely — but immoderate customers person precocious blamed the meters for abrupt increases successful powerfulness bills this year.

At a legislature committee earlier this year, N.B. Power executives said that accrued powerfulness usage had likely been caused by colder weather, accrued powerfulness rates and a longer billing period but they couldn't explicate anecdotes of anomalies.

With radical expressing choler about the meters, what rights bash homeowners person if N.B. Power workers travel to instal them?

The province's energy enactment gives the inferior ineligible rights to entree backstage spot to instal oregon support its equipment, which includes meters. 

"Residential spot owners tin opt-out from getting a astute meter, either anterior to installation oregon straight astatine the doorway with the installer," Fraser said successful her statement.

WATCH | 'There are avenues to spell through':

In the weeks anterior to installation, customers volition person written and telephone announcement from N.B. Power, Fraser said. Customers tin besides scope retired immoderate clip to garbage a astute meter, she said.

"There is nary interest to opt-out, nevertheless erstwhile astute meters are installed crossed New Brunswick, a monthly interest volition beryllium charged to customers who person refused a astute metre successful bid to screen the outgo to support older systems and manual processes," Fraser said.

The interest volition beryllium reviewed and approved by the province's Energy and Utilities Board, she said. 

In summation to the meters, the utility's prices for customers are rising 30 per cent successful 3 years. This twelvemonth alone, residential customers look an mean of $244 successful higher charges compared to past year.

That spike has accrued scrutiny of N.B. Power and spurred the government to bid an outer audit of the billing system.

N.B. Power employees who instal astute meters each person information grooming and indispensable walk a written test, Fraser said, which includes de-escalation grooming and identifying assertive behaviour earlier it happens.

The utility's website said astute meters person been installed crossed occidental and cardinal New Brunswick implicit the past 2 years.

Currently the inferior is successful the mediate of installing them crossed the province's southbound and southeast regions. Installations successful the northeast volition instrumentality spot this outpouring done fall.