Posted on Connexion
October 12, 2016

Tiny Dordogne commune of just 160 residents has been taken to court in Bordeaux after refusing to allow Linky smart electricity meters to be installed.

Montferrand-du-Périgord, about 30km east of Bergerac, was taken to court by the prefecture and national grid company Enedis which wanted the suspension of an anti-Linky by-law and the payment of €4,000 in costs and damages.

It is just one of about 270 communes across the country opposing installation of the Linky meters, which are intended to give consumers information on their consumption but also to allow Enedis to make large savings by allowing tasks to be done without an on-site technician.

About 20 of the communes are in Dordogne, where the first of the meters is due to be installed next summer, with Montferrand not listed until 2019.

In court, a lawyer for Enedis (the former ERDF) said about three million meters had already been installed in France and had been working for months without any problems.

Montferrand council passed the anti-Linky by-law in July after complaints from residents about possible abuses of confidential data on their energy usage, fears of danger from electromagnetic waves and the fear of very high bills in future.

Enedis said that there was no possible data misuse as all information was anonymous and the data was transmitted by wire, so there was no aerial and no electromagnetic waves.

After the hearing, municipal councillor Patrick Delègue told reporters the €4,000 damages demanded would be equivalent to eight years of grants for the school library – and he hoped the judge would be understanding.

http://connexionfrance.com/Linky-meter-Montferrand-Perigord-court-Enedis-18515-view-article.html