At the heart of more than one controversy, Enedis’ green box is gradually replacing traditional meters. It is a project already several years old which is not limited to the French borders alone. Indeed, as the specialized site Selectra reminds us, the program concerns the whole of Europe.
The first phase of the deployment began in the early 2000s. In Germany or the United Kingdom, for example, the installation began between 2011 and 2012. But why would you want to change the electricity meters of all the old continent ?
You remember this historic court decision in the fight against the Linky meter. In 2019, Enedis was finally ordered to install filters in thirteen of its customers, all victims of electro-hypersensitivity. They accused the little green box of considerably disrupting their daily lives, recalls La Dépêche and won their case. And this, despite the technology used by Enedis (CPL online currents) to reduce the supposed impact of waves on everyone’s health.
This decision comes well before the dissemination by Enedis of the latest figures relating to the dangerousness of the smart meter, continues La Dépêche today, which nevertheless underlines that this new study could not convince the most skeptical… It would indeed seem that the device does not be not dangerous. The EDF subsidiary goes so far as to affirm that its device is among the most neutral in the house and would have “no impact on the electromagnetic environment of the habitat where it is installed”, write our colleagues.
In concrete terms, 50 cm from the meter, the level of the electric field released by Linky is 0.1 V/m. This is less than a low consumption bulb (3.6 V/m) or a computer (0.47 V/m). For comparison, an induction hob releases 30 V/m when used, while for a wifi box the measurement is 2.8 V/m. A microwave oven or a cordless telephone are also less well rated with 3.1 V/m and 0.4 V/m respectively.
As a reminder, the regulatory limit value is set at 87 V/m.
Once again, the Linky counter is used by crooks who want to attack your money, alerts the town hall of Trans-en-Provence. Var-Matin, which covers information, therefore calls for vigilance.
Two people are currently circulating in the village, claiming to have to update the little green box. They would then solicit the signatures of their victims to force them to opt for a new, supposedly advantageous distribution contract. With monthly payment… “in cash”. Attention.
On the night of June 14 to 15, 2020, a Linky meter exploded in Avignon. According to information from France Bleu, it was in the Pont des Deux Eaux district that the Germon couple was awakened by the explosion around 4 a.m. The explosion, in addition to creating a fire, deprived the accommodation of electricity. According to Alain Germon, nine neighbors were already on site and had contacted the firefighters when he left his house: “There were flames three meters high, a neighbor told me. The firefighters feared that it would spread to the houses. They stayed for a long time,” he says. According to the director Enedis of Vaucluse, this incident probably comes from the storm which had hit the town that night.
In Saône-et-Loire, a local collective is launching a new legal action against Enedis. 283 plaintiffs came together via the Stop Linky collective to denounce a “major risk of questioning” of their freedoms. The “fight is more topical than ever, in the race for all-digital, accelerated by the current pandemic”, declared Edouard Raffin, their lawyer from Lyon, at the microphone of France 3 Bourgogne Franche-Comté.
The anti-Linky thus fear “a major risk of questioning of (their) freedoms”. During the confinement, a proposal from Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, made the situation worse. The city councilor wanted the meters to be used to check the occupancy of second homes during the holidays. If the Enedis unions opposed it, this request provoked anger and fears. Users are worried that the meter serves as a “snitch, to monitor all the devices that work in a house and thus know if it is occupied or not”.
To avoid the lawsuit, the lawyers of Enedis and master Edouard Raffin are working to find a point of conciliation. The anti-Linky hope to be granted respect for customers’ refusal to install a smart meter. Their lawyer also requests the withdrawal of those already posed.
Do the wave emissions from smart meters respect the rule yes or no? According to the latest annual study published this Thursday, May 14 by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), the answer is yes. It declares in fact via a press release that the level of exposure to waves emitted by smart meters is much lower than the regulatory limit values. In 2019, “287 places were measured near a Linky meter and took place indoors and mainly in urban areas.
All of the measurements carried out respect the regulatory thresholds for public exposure to waves set by decree no. 2002-775 of May 3, 2002″, details the agency.
The report, carried out on nearly 300 measurements of exposure to the waves, specifies that “the Linky meters do not emit in a constant way: for half of the measurements, no CPL radiation (power line carriers, editor’s note) Linky did not detected despite an average measurement time of one hour”.
The ANFR also noted that when the boxes emit, the maximum values are 20 times lower than the regulatory limit values. The average values are even 90 times lower. Measured 20 centimeters from the counter, these values drop dramatically as the distance increases, details the agency.
It was in 2009 that the European Union adopted the third energy package, which states that member countries are required to deploy smart meters on their soil. Three of them have also completed this mission: Italy, Finland and Sweden. In all and for all, 200 million models must be installed by the end of the year, “among 72% of electricity consumers”, specifies the site specializing in the comparison of energy-related services.
If France has also decided to switch to the Linky meter, it is in particular to modernize its network. Furthermore, it is also a question of facilitating the information of users. Moreover, as illustrated by the law on energy transition for green growth, which protects the deployment, the new Enedis box also aims to allow more responsible consumption.
Above all, recalls La Dépêche, it is necessary to keep in mind the primary utility of the Linky meter: it communicates, by itself and directly, the consumption of the equipped customer to the information system of the network manager. Once installed, the green box makes any trip by a technician, if he is supposed to take a meter reading, obsolete.
In theory, continues the regional daily, this new device therefore allows more precise invoices, “the performance of remote operations” and it would facilitate general management by Enedis.
To achieve all this, the new model of electricity meter relies on Power Line Carrier (CPL) technology. This means that it transfers the collected data to a hub through the electrical cables. Therefore, it is not supposed to generate more electromagnetic fields than the devices that came before them.
After this first step comes a second. From the concentrator to the central system of the manager, it is the mobile telephone network which provides the relay.
As a reminder, specifies the Prix-Elec service of the Selectra site, it is the same technology as that used by the WiFi network, or which today makes it possible to send the signal from off-peak hours to older devices.
Naturally, the Linky meter is installed with a user manual, detailed by Enedis on the following PDF. Several things are important to note:
© Enedis
© Enedis
© Enedis
For months, the Linky meter has been debated. Already in 2019, Notre Temps recalled how much this new device was decried. However, the first phases of the pose go back much further. Little history.
The initial project, explains Prix-Elec, began in 2007. At the time, ERDF (future Enedis) began to study solutions likely to meet the challenges of balancing its network. With the idea of enabling better control of user consumption and facilitating the integration of renewable energies.
To ensure the deployment of the Linky meter, Enedis called on six European companies: Itron, of Italian origin, Maec and Sagemcom, both French, but also Landis and Gyr, two Swiss companies, Ester, based in Germany and Ziv from Spain.
In practice, much of the work is done, but many enclosures still need to be installed. To French people and French people who are curious to know when the deployment planned for their municipality will take place, Enedis is dedicating a page on which it is possible to enter your postal code. Once the manipulation has been carried out, the site details the steps in progress.
The agent commissioned by Enedis to install the meter does not show up unannounced, as Planet has already explained. On the contrary: before the installation, an official letter, containing the necessary information. This is sent 30 to 45 days before the arrival of the technician.
One of the companies, among the 6 mentioned above, is then responsible for the installation. It is she who contacts the individual concerned and who agrees on a date as well as a time for the appointment. On D-Day, it is possible to recognize the agent by the “Partner Enedis for Linky” logo that he wears on his clothes. The installation should not exceed 30 minutes.
Between 2014 and 2024, the deployment of meters provided by Enedis will have cost more than 5 billion euros. A heavy sum, recalls Le Monde, which could well allow large savings for the company in the long term. In 2018, the Court of Auditors also denounced the cost of the program. However, the smart meter must have some advantages for its installation to be protected by law? Summary.
The Linky counter, indicates L’Internaute, is not without assets. First, it benefits from a non-paying installation, since Enedis does not charge for it immediately. Then, it theoretically allows a better control of its consumption, without forgetting the simplification of the steps that it generates, in the event of moving. Generally speaking, it puts an end to any need for a physical meeting.
Specific offers, ensures Selectra, emerged after the installation of the first Linky meters. The specialized site cites, for example, Mes Jours Zen, offered by EDF, which makes it possible to achieve large savings.
In addition, unlike previous meters, Linky allows a bill closer to actual consumption, insists Que Choisir.
However, in practice, consumers are perhaps not the most advantaged by this new meter.
Mechanically, the network manager benefits from the installation of Linky and Gazpar meters, for example. And for good reason ! It should lead, in the long term, to a significant reduction in the costs it bears today. “Grid operation itself is improved by this new technology in that power quality monitoring is more accurate,” Selectra writes.
Not to mention the 500 million euros in savings mentioned by the Court of Auditors in 2018, which estimated at the time that the agreement reached on the installation of the Linky meter was made to the detriment of consumers. The Energy Regulation Commission (CRE), which did not wish to impose this additional burden on individuals, opted for a deferred tariff system. The interest provided to reimburse Enedis once the last meter has been installed could allow it to pocket half a billion euros. “Enedis’ remuneration conditions are generous and should be reviewed,” the institution said at the time.
UFC-Que Choisir, for its part, has repeatedly underlined the “lack of economic interest in the deployment of the meter” and “has never ceased to criticize the exclusion of consumers in its design “. According to the organization, it primarily benefits energy players.
The communicating meter undeniably makes it possible to take advantage of new tariffs. However, Que Choisir calls for vigilance: the profusion of these new offers could, according to it, create a jungle effect, making comparison work more difficult and mechanically increasing the cost for consumers.
In the immediate future, certain offers such as those of Engie evoke reductions of 30% on electricity during the weekend (from Friday midnight to Sunday midnight). Figures which correspond to those put forward by EDF for its program My Zen Days, which is however extended to public holidays.
The system of off-peak hours has not been abandoned either, specifies Prix-Elec, since Total Direct Energie offers a Super Off-peak Hours offer, at less than 50%. However, this is only valid at night.
However “free” it may be, the Linky counter has a cost. The latter, reveals Marianne, is estimated at 130 euros. It is this amount that will then be re-invoiced to households. They will then have to pay a contribution of 15 euros for ten years, under the “cost of deployment”.
Fervent opponents of the Linky meter will soon have to pay for refusing to install it. While the massive deployment of the Linky meter is coming to an end, with more than 90% of Enedis customers equipped as of December 31, 2021, as reported by Capital, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has decided to strike hard . In a deliberation published on February 24, the CRE assured that “all customers who still prevent the installation of a Linky meter during this diffuse deployment phase must bear the additional costs generated”.
The CRE decides to hit the refractories on the wallet by choosing “to introduce a specific metering component which will be invoiced to LV users ≤ 36 kVA not equipped with a Linky meter, which did not allow Enedis to installing a Linky meter and not having made their consumption indexes available to Enedis for a year from January 1, 2022”. The Energy Regulation Commission considers that the so-called “residual” reading of consumption indexes for people who refuse the installation of the Linky meter and who do not communicate their index represents a cost for Enedis must be invoiced to them since it is up to the manager to carry out the meter readings himself.
This new specific metering component will apply from January 1, 2023 for customers who have not made their index available to Enedis in the last 12 months. It will be invoiced every two months by Enedis for an amount of 8.30 euros. 3.8 million households are still not equipped with a Linky meter in France and the Energy Regulatory Commission therefore calls on Enedis to continue to “offer the installation of the Linky counter”.
Since the beginning of its installation, the Linky meter has been the subject of significant controversy. He is accused, in particular, of posing health risks, but also relating to the recovery of data that he potentially allows. Explanations.
Linky is notably accused of posing health problems. It would generate harmful waves, especially for electro-hypersensitive people. In some cases, a judge has also exempted some plaintiffs from installing the green box for this reason. However, according to UFC-Que Choisir, it is not dangerous, at least “in the current state knowledge”. The National Health Security Agency (ANSES) concluded, in 2016, “there is a low probability that exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by smart meters, in the current deployment configuration, will cause short or long-term health effects” .
Another regular reproach: the Linky meter would allow the electricity supplier as well as the distributor to know the consumption habits of a user. Again, UFC-Que Choisir explains that this is not the case.
And the organization to explain: the National Commission for Computing and Freedoms (Cnil) has supervised the collection of data in a way that could not be more strict. Only three types of data can be retrieved: consumption indexes, the load curve as well as those relating to the power quality and security of the meter.
In 2019, one of the main charges concerning Linky was his alleged responsibility for the outbreaks of fire noted by residents. Some supported their remarks with videos, recalls LCI.
Enedis obviously denied its responsibility in the context of these fires. “We do not have cases where a Linky meter is directly at the origin of a fire and we would like to point out that these cases of accusation on the part of customers are extremely rare”, indeed specifies the company to the news channel. She blames such situations on the bad installation of the box more than on the box itself.
Contrary to what one can read on certain sites, the refusal of the Linky counter is not possible and, when it is done, it is not without risk. As UFC-Que Choisir reminds us, the distribution of electricity is a public service mission and the law requires the implementation of metering devices.
To oppose it therefore means to oppose the performance of a public service mission, even beyond what is stipulated in the contract signed with the chosen electricity supplier.
Like the Covid-19 coronavirus, scandals never seem to take a vacation when it comes to the Linky meter. Indeed, in full containment, the communication teams of Enedis still had to react to certain rumors that were sometimes a little crazy.
Indeed, some people think – or have thought – that the little green box actively participates in the spread of the virus, in order to justify the ban on gatherings and other demonstrations, in particular of “yellow vests”. Fake news, which may have been invented by the Easy Conspiracies parody account, but which Linky nevertheless had to deny…
This is far from being the only significant moment, for Enedis, that occurred during the epidemic. And for good reason ! At the request of certain elected officials, such as Christian Estrosi, the Linky counter could perhaps be used to track the movements of everyone. At least that’s what the mayor of Nice would like… To limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, which requires France to be put under a bell jar.
In a column in Le Monde, four electricity experts suggested offering individuals “a paid contract if they reduce their electricity consumption during peak periods”. This is the case of industry professionals who are paid “if they stop their consumption on the instructions of the Electricity Transmission Network (RTE), when the latter needs it to balance supply and demand”.
The system could therefore be extended to individuals thanks to the Linky meter, which would inform the energy supplier of good user practices. The supplier would send an alert to its customers in the event of overheating on the national grid in order to avoid consuming too much electricity at the time of the peak, suggesting that they postpone their washing machine, for example. Good gestures could be rewarded with a lower bill or preferential rates.
