More than 5,000 smart meters are being ordered out of Ontario due to fears they could spark fires.
The Electrical Safety Authority announced Thursday that the problematic meters, which represent less than 0.1 per cent of all hydro meters in the province, must be removed by March 31.
Of the 5,400 such meters known to be in the province, 339 were installed by Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro.
“Less than one per cent” of Waterloo North Hydro’s meters also meet the criteria, according to a press release from that organization, while Cambridge-North Dumfries Hydro is not affected by the ESA’s announcement.
According to the ESA, rain water and contaminants can get into the meters – and while “no serious safety events” have been reported, the meters are being ordered removed as a precaution.
It’s a similar fault to the one that caused nine meters to catch fire in Saskatchewan last summer.
The exact model in each of those cases is not used in by local power authorities in Ontario, the ESA says.
With files from The Canadian Press
