A Québec woman who resisted smart meter installation for over a decade has been ordered by Québec Superior Court to allow Hydro-Québec to replace her analog electricity meter, ending one of the province’s final disputes over the technology, says Blacklock's Reporter.“The injunction sought will be ordered,” wrote Justice Lukasz Granosik in a ruling against Marie-Reine Calouche, of Ville Saint-Laurent. Calouche had refused entry to utility crews since 2014, citing health and safety concerns over smart meters. Her claim that digital meters violated her rights was dismissed.“Mrs. Calouche flatly refused to replace the meter and did not follow up on requests or letters,” the court wrote, adding that Hydro-Québec cut her power briefly in 2018. The utility told the court the meters are safe and do not emit harmful electromagnetic waves..Of 4 million meters in service across Québec, only five analog meters remain in use by four people, including Calouche. “Hydro-Québec’s view is crystal clear,” said the court. “It is owner of the equipment in question and the applicable contract provides for its right of access and the right to modify any device it owns.”The case echoes a similar dispute in Ontario, where the last analog meter user lost a 2019 Human Rights Tribunal appeal. The province began mandating smart meters in 2004 for 4.8 million customers, predicting $600 billion in savings over 15 years. Ontario’s auditor general later dismissed the claim and pegged the cost of the program at $1.9 billion, with some meters costing up to $544 each to install..A 2017 University of Waterloo study found smart meters had little impact on actual power use, despite charging higher rates during peak hours. “We estimated it was 25 cents per wash, and then what’s the point?” said Professor Catherine Rosenberg of the university’s electrical engineering faculty, describing her family’s short-lived attempt to shift laundry times to reduce costs.
