City Begins Installing New Smart Meters
Michael Richardson of the City Electric Department installs one of the smart meters on Panola Street last week. The advanced metering technology devices will allow utility customers to monitor their electricity consumption and save money –Photo by Jack Gurner
Andy Hall (left), Manager of the City Electric Department, Danny Padron, Senior Project Manager for Mueller Systems, and Jerry Johnson, Territory Manager for Mueller, discuss one of the pole-mounted devices used to collect information from the smart meters. – Photo by Jack Gurner
An old mechanical-style meter (above) and the new digital meter (below) which transmits information by radio. The meters use the same base so the switch-out is easy. – Photos by Jack Gurner
Reporter
WATER VALLEY – Installation has begun on the City’s advanced metering infrastructure that will allow utility customers to monitor their electricity consumption and save money.
Electric Department workers began replacing meters on Panola Street last Wednesday and expect to have all of the new technology installed by this time next year, according to Andy Hall, Manager of the Water Valley Electric Department.
The AMI devices – called smart meters – record electrical power usage in intervals of an hour or less and communicate that information back to the utility throughout the day for monitoring and billing purposes.
The smart meters are needed because TVA will begin billing at “time-of-use” rates in October 2012 and will charge the Water Valley Electric Department more during peak use hours. Otherwise, the cost of electricity would have to be averaged and customers who are willing to conserve would be paying for those who are not.
Jerry Johnson, Territory Manager for Mueller Systems, the company supplying the Landis+Gyr metering equipment, explained that the cost of electricity is going up because TVA is limited in how much they can produce and supply to customers.
“The only way to address that is to charge “time-of-use” rates during peak times when most electricity is being used. That’s when they are going to charge customers the most,” he said.
The “time-of-use” rate structure varies between seasons and during different times of the day; afternoon in the summer is the highest cost period, early morning in the winter is the second highest cost period, and spring and fall are the lowest cost periods.
Saving money will require some effort on the part of consumers who will have to change their lifestyle and the way they operate appliances in their home. To help track usage, Johnson’s company supplies software at no additional charge that provides a consumer portal on the Internet. Customers will be able to view their electrical power usage on a daily and hourly basis. They will also be able to get an email or text message when certain levels of usage have been reached.
But, those customers who don’t have the Internet can still save money by using a common sense approach to their electrical consumption. For example, if the customer has been washing and drying clothes during the afternoon during peak usage time, they can move that task to later in the evening – off peak – and lower their cost.
The new system also saves money for the Electric Department by providing readings directly to the business office. No longer will a meter-reader be required to go house to house and utility service can be turned on and off from the office. The system will also report power outages and pinpoint their location.
Hall added that the Electric Department plans a thorough campaign to educate the public on time-of-use rate and what it means.
Eventually consumers will be able to monitor their water consumption on the system as well.
