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REGINA — The provincial government has instructed SaskPower to remove all installed smart meters because of safety concerns.

“The concerns are significant enough that we believe that, any time families are at risk here in Saskatchewan, actions have to be taken, and that’s why we have directed SaskPower accordingly,” said Bill Boyd, minister responsible for the Crown corporation.

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There have been eight smart meter-related failures — fires contained to the meters — in the past two months. The provincewide installations were put on hold on July 12, and SaskPower initiated an investigation into the cause of the malfunctions.

Boyd said the safety concerns propelled the government to order the replacement before the cause of the incidents has been determined. The investigation is continuing.

“It looks like there’s a series of events that resulted in the failures,” he said.

“There’s no conclusive evidence that there’s one thing that resulted in the failures.”