Smart meters come to Jean Marie River
Bells and whistles include e-mail, text alerts in hopes of pushing for conservation
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 9, 2015
TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER
Residents of Jean Marie River will soon have access to a new intelligent metering hub that may make power users more aware of their consumption habits.
Jean Marie River Chief Gladys Norwegian spoke during the Dehcho Annual Assembly on June 24. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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"These meters provide information to help everyone in the community manage their electricity use more effectively, and for (the Northwest Territories Power Corporation) to manage the electricity grid better," said Teresa Chilkowich, Deh Cho community energy co-ordinator for the Arctic Energy Alliance.
"They have the capability for two-way meter communications to manage other household appliances and alarms. For example, if their thermostat is equipped with appropriate communications functionality, the customer can set it to alert them by e-mail or text if power should go out, if the temperature in the house drops below a set temperature or if a fire alarm is activated," said power corp. spokesperson Pam Coulter.
Those features will be introduced at a later date, Coulter said, although she did not specify when.
The measure is a collaboration with the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, the GNWT, Natural Resources Canada and the Arctic Energy Alliance to replace old automated meters in the community with new "smart" meters.
"This information will also make it easier to integrate renewable technologies such as solar electricity or wind power into the grid," said Chilkowich.
She added that the alliance and Jean Marie River will be working together to address energy conservation and renewable energy.
The meters, which have already been purchased at between $240 and $285 apiece, will be distributed to the entire community and all 42 customers will have access to them.
In total, the project will cost $80,000, with the territorial government funding $49,000 of that.
Jean Marie River Chief Gladys Norwegian said she had a teleconference scheduled for the afternoon on July 7 to learn more about the project, but could not comment at press time.
In a June report titled GNWT Response to the 2014 NWT Energy Charrette Report, the government said the meter project will "support the use of distributed renewable energy with a view towards developing a solar array for (Jean Marie River)."
-with files from Shane Magee
