A group of online customers sued the power company to avoid new electricity meters. However, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has rejected the case.
Lawyer Hugo Matre represented the nine online customers who sued Elvia AS because they believed they were getting sick from the AMS meters. They have now lost the case. The lawsuit has cost them around 8 million kroner. Photo: Fred Ivar Utsi Klemetsen Published: September 30
The background for the lawsuit is a series of health problems that online customers believe are caused by radiation from smart electricity meters.
Smart electricity meters (AMS meters) wirelessly broadcast electricity consumption to power companies. They are currently mandatory to install.
In the spring of 2021, nine online customers took the power company Elvia AS to court to prevent such an installation. They also wanted to prevent the power from being cut off as a consequence of refusing the installers access to their homes.
The online customers lost in the Søndre Østfold District Court and appealed to the Borgarting Court of Appeal. The judgment was made in November last year, and once again the online customers lost on all points. In March, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
The online customers have now had their case dismissed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.
– This has primarily been a disappointing process for the plaintiffs, and it naturally contributes to lowering their trust in the legal system that chose not to address the medical basis of the lawsuit, writes Schjødt lawyer Hugo P. Matre to E24.
He has represented the online customers in all court instances.
This is AMS meters
AMS stands for Advanced Metering Infrastructure, but is also often called smart electricity meters, automatic electricity meters, or automatic meter reading. An AMS meter records and reports your electricity consumption to the power company, down to the hour. This means that you generally don’t have to manually read and record the electricity usage. The authorities have legally required power companies to install AMS meters at all 2.9 million metering points in Norway. There are certain specific exceptions to this requirement. Read more on www.nve.no. The Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom) has measured radiation from AMS meters, and the result shows that the levels are so low that the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) has concluded that they are not harmful to health. Learn more
Critical of the treatment of the case
The Borgarting Court of Appeal found in November 2020 that it is not sufficiently documented that AMS meters cause harm to people’s health:
“The evidence presented during the appeal hearing does not provide a basis for claiming that radiation below the limits is harmful to health. Even though there are researchers and other experts who have taken a different view, this does not seem to be representative of the prevailing view in this area,” the judges write in the judgment.
Matre is critical of the judicial system’s treatment of the case.
– In reality, the litigants did not receive an independent legal evaluation of the main issue in the courts: The District Court stated that it chose to rely on the government’s assessment. The Court of Appeal relied on the District Court and believed that the authorities must be assumed to follow the general opinion. And the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, writes Matre and adds:
– What is special about these meters is that they place a continuous source of highly pulsed microwaves in people’s homes, for people who are extra sensitive to such things, for people who are not, but become so, and for others who do not experience any acute symptoms, but experience a health burden over time. The source cannot be turned off and is shielded to a small extent, writes Matre.
Price tag of 8 million kroner
The lawsuit has been financed by private donors. In total, the case has cost the online customers around 8 million kroner in legal fees, imposed costs, consulting services, and the like, according to Matre.
– Behind this amount are more than 2,000 contributors with amounts from 1 to over 500,000 kroner. A large number have, because of their health condition and experiences, used significant portions of their savings on these lawsuits. They are naturally very disappointed with the legal system, writes Matre.
– Is the case now dead?
– This case is now closed, as it cannot be further appealed. But since this case has always been a pilot case, it is significant for many others, writes Matre.
– Satisfied
Lawyer Aksel Tannum at Haavind represented the power company Elvia in the lawsuit in Norway.
When the Supreme Court rejected the case in March, he stated:
– Elvia was satisfied with the Borgarting Court of Appeal giving the company the right in the legal issues raised by the case. Elvia now notes that the Supreme Court did not find a basis to hear the case on appeal and that the case is finally settled, wrote Tannum to E24.
