The Gateway to Jefferson County
The view is hard to beat 109 feet in the air atop a 2,100-foot mountain on the eastern face of the Olympics.
This is the chosen site of the PUD’s highest-reaching gateway metering device.
In total, the PUD will have up to 20 gateways positioned throughout the county designed to receive read signals from the new AMI meters being installed county wide. Elevation is key for the best signal, with gateway devices being placed on existing water towers, utility poles, and radio towers. The Maynard Peak Radio Site is the latest gateway recipient.
Tower climbers from Seattle-based Harrington Aerial conducted the removal of a defunct point-to-point radio from the Maynard location, replacing it with the far smaller gateway. Almost immediately meter reads began coming in—650 total of more than 7,200 installed so far by PUD staff.
Placement of a gateway is essential. Mapping software helps the PUD identify areas with limited coverage to aid in picking up meter signals from all corners of the county.
The Maynard Radio Site provides a perfect unobstructed vantage for reads from Cape George all the way to the base of Mount Walker outside Quilcene.
AMI meters transmit reads less frequently than existing CellNet meters in circulation throughout the count but maintain the same high degree of accuracy. Reads are sent every 15 minutes (up to 96 per day), compared to every 5 minutes with older meters. Customers can see their power usage via their SmartHub portal.
New gateways, along with our AMI system, result in a secure, accurate, cost-efficient snapshot of power usage throughout the PUD.
