Enedis Linky meter surge damages heat pump in Haute-Savoie, Digi Mart USA News (Haute-Savoie, France): A couple in Haute-Savoie had their heat pump and several household appliances destroyed after a Linky smart meter was installed at their home. The cause was a voltage surge that sent roughly 400 volts into their equipment, which was operating at 230 volts.
The Thonon-les-Bains judicial court ordered Enedis to compensate them more than seven years after the events.
The sequence began on April 6, 2019, when Enedis commissioned contractor 5COM to replace the electricity meter in the couple’s house with a Linky meter. Six days later, the heat pump failed, and Enedis sent 5COM back to the site.
According to the judicial expert assessment, the surge occurred during this second intervention.
Three days later, insurer Groupama launched a first expert assessment. According to the judicial expert, the cause was cable connections around the meter that were manipulated without cutting the line circuit breaker.
As a result, the electronic devices received “approximately 400 volts instead of 230 volts.”
Several fixed installations and household appliances were destroyed, as was the heat pump, whose compressors and electronic boards were damaged. The home’s fixed electrical installation was not damaged.
The heat pump could not be repaired because replacement parts were unavailable, and a full replacement would also have required changing the diffusers installed in the house.
The expert set the cost at 23,751.64 euros for the heat pump, plus 2,246.30 euros for the destroyed electronic devices and 3,964.40 euros for wall restoration. Enedis disputed the link between the intervention and the damage, but the court found a “direct, certain and personal” link between the fault and the loss.
The judge ordered Enedis to pay 25,391.05 euros for material damage. The owners also endured several winters without their heat pump, so the court awarded 4,500 euros for loss of comfort and 500 euros for inconvenience during the works.
Enedis will also reimburse Groupama 4,901.50 euros, which had already compensated its policyholders.
This is not the first such case for Enedis. In August 2017, a very similar incident occurred in the Tarn department.
The company explained at the time that an incorrect maneuver during installation of a new meter caused a surge. In that case, the home received 380 volts instead of 220 volts, and, as with the Haute-Savoie couple, several electronic devices were destroyed.
