Metering Installs near Completion

PUD contract metering crews are in the home stretch of installations, finalizing the county-wide effort to modernize electric metering.

To date, PUD metering staff have replaced approximately 16,400 electric utility meters countywide, with 5,100 meters planned for changeout in the coming months. Remaining homes will receive a postcard notification of the upcoming meter changeout (which does mean a momentary loss of power), as well as an automated call from the utility. The changeout process often takes less than 10 minutes, providing metering staff a chance to test the meters components to ensure all is in safe operation.

The switch from the aging traditional analog meters and iTRON brand digital meters has been underway since 2022 when the PUD began installation of broadcast meters from Vision. Switching to a single meter platform allows greater visibility for both the customer and for the utility to track usage across the county and better manage loads, especially during peak usage times.

A Bit of History

All meters in Jefferson County, whether the spinning wheel analog style or digital models, were retrofitted in the 1990’s by PSE to broadcast electrical reads. This data was sent locally to collectors in and around neighborhood and small regions. For billing, a contract meter vehicle would travel read routes and collect the data remotely. The PUD inherited the $300K/yr contract for the metering data collection, while staff also replaced approximately 450 damaged or malfunctioning meters per year. Each year, the contract amount remained the same, but the number of reads was reduced as meters aged out and were replaced. Older broadcast meters were a one-way street, meaning the meter could only project the power usage out to be collected. New meters offer two-way communication–a valuable tool in the event of an emergency!

New Meters: What they can (and cannot) do

Switching to a single-meter platform has helped the PUD (and our customers) on many fronts, including:

• Advanced meters help us deliver electric services more efficiently and put our customers in greater control of their energy use.
• They provide faster outage detection and restoration without having to wait for you to call, and more accurately pinpoint the problem area for our crew.
• Reduce environmental impact by not having to send out employees to read meters saving thousands of miles of travel and carbon emissions.
• Allow customers sign up for energy alerts to let them know when energy use is greater than what they budgeted. This can help you detect if there is an issue with an appliance or equipment such as a hot water heater or a heat pump.
• Improve billing accuracy, eliminating misreads or inaccurate readings.
• They allow the utility the ability to disconnect power during an emergency like a fire–this allows fire crews to extinguish the fire faster without risk of electrocution!

Contrary to many online discussions, the new meters do not allow the utility to see beyond the meter. Two-way communication with the meter allows for remote-disconnects, and the accuracy of the digital meter does improve the accuracy of the read (in kWh), which are sent our way via our secure network every 15 minutes. The improved accuracy and ability to see home usage so quickly, means you have control over what is happening in your home. For example, did your child remotely turn on the oven while using your phone while you are out of town? (And yes, this does happen often with bluetooth-enabled devices.) Though you won’t be able to see what is causing the increased usage, you can see the usage via your SmartHub account.

Cost Savings

The new meters also provide efficiencies for the PUD, creating cost savings that can help stabilize rates. In the future, advanced metering will be able to tell us how much electricity is being used and where it’s going. This will help us better understand the power grid and more efficiently manage the distribution system.

While some customers will see little to no change in their individual usage and billing, customers whose residences currently have faulty or underperforming meters may see changes to their bill when a new advanced meter is installed and reading and reporting usage data accurately.

Opt-Out Meters

Customers who do not wish to have a broadcasting meter may opt-out for a small $5 monthly fee. The fee helps us offset the costly expense of a truck roll along a read route each month. Please note that by opting out our staff will need to access the property and have clear access to the meter each month. You can learn more and find the opt-out applications here.