EPCOR’s meter project sparks concern
Manufacturer linked to ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians
Edited by KAREN MYKIETKA & MARILYN GRAY
A public utility’s choice to use an Israeli supplier for an equipment upgrade is causing concern among some community members.
EPCOR is installing new water meter technology in Edmonton homes and businesses. The rollout is happening in different neighbourhoods at different times, and is currently underway in the Alberta Avenue area.
In July 2024, a Palestinian community member with family in Gaza noticed that the device EPCOR had recently installed was marked “Made in Israel”. This led to community conversations, phone calls to EPCOR, and community research to learn more about the company that made the devices.
According to EPCOR’s website, the new device is a wireless data-reader that sends information from your water meter to EPCOR and will replace manual water meter reading.
The device is branded Master Meter, a North American distributor for the Arad Group, an Israel company. The Arad Group designs and makes water technology for sale in more than 50 countries.
The Arad Group was created in 1941 by Kibbutz Dalia, an Israeli settlement built in 1939 near the Palestinian villages of Daliyat al-Rawha’ and Sabbarin. In 1947-1949, members of Kibbutz Dalia attacked their Palestinian neighbours. Similar attacks happened across Palestine. Israelis killed over 13,000 Palestinians, displaced over 725,000, and took over 78% of Palestine.
The Arad Group supplies water meters to Mekorot, Israel’s national water company. Mekorot provides water to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, while depriving Palestinians of access to water in the West Bank, Gaza, and the Naqab. This discriminatory practice has been called water apartheid, and it violates international law.
Fatima Saleh, a spokesperson for the EPCOR Delivers Genocide campaign, says, “It’s unconscionable that EPCOR is putting devices in our homes sourced from companies not only complicit in apartheid and genocide, but actively profiting off the elimination of Palestinians from our lands.”
EPCOR sent an emailed statement when asked how they made the decision to use devices made by the Arad Group / Master Meter.
“We understand that some have concerns with the company that manufactures our AMI water meter reading devices and where components in the device are made. We have met with some members of the community and continue to listen to their concerns and deeply personal stories.”
“The devices we are installing are the only devices on the market that are compatible with our existing AMI technology platform, which we are using for our electricity meters that were installed across Edmonton between 2014 and 2017. Using the existing technology platform was the lowest-cost option for our customers.”
Alberta Avenue resident Leila Sidi, and other community members, met with EPCOR twice to explore AMI alternatives. She says, “EPCOR either failed to do their due diligence in learning about which company they were investing in, or chose to ignore their findings. Either way, it’s unacceptable and they should backtrack and find a better solution.”
“It’s unacceptable for a corporation to defend poor decision-making and claim ignorance,” says Nora Salem, another Alberta Avenue resident who is Egyptian-Palestinian and has family currently in Gaza.
According to EPCOR’s emailed statement, “Customers who receive a notice about an upcoming AMI meter installation can opt out, and for the duration of the project (to the end of 2025) there is no installation fee for a non-standard meter.” After this time EPCOR will charge a $200 one-time installation fee for the non-standard device.
EPCOR confirmed that this opt-out option includes people who already had the new device installed not knowing about the human rights concerns, and now want it removed. Anyone who opts out will have to pay $25 per month starting September 1, 2025. This fee is subject to annual review and may change.
The EPCOR Delivers Genocide campaigners are not satisfied with the option of individual opt-out. “The point is that Palestinans are being forced out of their homes to make way for these genocidal and apartheid-complicit companies situated on stolen land. Until companies like EPCOR and stakeholders like the City of Edmonton understand that and fully divest from Arad and Master Meter, we will be protesting their complicity as well.”
More information about the EPCOR Delivers Genocide campaign can be found on their website.
 |
|
A clear explanation of the subject. Thank you.
This is such an in-depth, important report of the drastic effects of financially supporting the Arad Group. EPCOR, it's time to take this seriously and be on the right side of history.