A Linky meter, installed a fortnight ago in a Loiret pavilion, reportedly exploded on Saturday. The fire did not hurt. But the controversy around this "smart" counter deployed by Enedis could be revived.
"It is the explosion of the meter that caused the fire," assured the police station Chalette-sur-Loing (Loiret), where occurred the accident Saturday in the late afternoon. The fire did not hurt but it seriously damaged the pavilion, occupied by a retired couple, who was relocated to his son.
The husband was in front of his computer when a power interruption occurred. "Naturally, I got up to go and operate the switch. It was then that I heard fainting noises and the Linky electric meter, installed for only a fortnight, exploded and caught fire. "
In a few seconds, the corridor burned and the flames spread quickly up the stairs and upstairs and to the roof.
Firefighters traveled to the site with a breathable air compression cell and quickly managed to control the fire. They also recovered the still intact furniture as well as some of the couple's personal belongings that neighbors agreed to store in their garage.
In a comunicate, Enedis says that an electric meter "can not explode or catch fire spontaneously" . and recalls that there is nothing to determine the origin of the fire. Enedis is therefore waiting for the results of the independent expertise that will be conducted to determine the precise causes of the incident.
A counter that always provokes controversy
Deployed at a rate of 30,000 per day, the anis green color counter now equips 11 million French households. The legislator requires Enedis, a subsidiary of EDF, to cover the territory, some 35 million meters by 2021.
The equipment of the hearths however faces the controversy. Linky meters are part of the generation of "smart" meters, which regularly communicate electricity consumption to the supplier. Although this broadcast is not done through waves (unlike mobile phones or a box wi-fi) but powerline (via the electricity network), many French people fear an impact on their health. This although all the scientific studies carried out prove that it is not so.
Other consumers believe that monitoring electricity consumption over the course of the day is an intrusion into their privacy, or that it opens up a vulnerability in their computer equipment.
A deployment wanted by Europe
The installation of smart meters - likely to promote the economy of energy - obeys a decision of the European Union, which aims to equip 80% of homes in 2020 and 100% in 2022.
France is one of the countries well placed to achieve the goal, despite the many local polemics. These could go well.
Since September 11, the case law has changed. The administrative court of Haute-Garonne has indeed given reason to the municipality of Blagnac (suburbs of Toulouse) for giving the right to his fellow citizens to deny access to their housing technicians Enedis (subsidiary of EDF) responsible meter installation.