Advanced Metering Unlocks Better Service, Savings
You may remember a time when a friendly neighborhood meter reader came to your home every month to read your electric meter—or going back further to when you had to read those spinning dials yourself and send the reading in on a postcard.
For most members of WCEC, those days are behind us. Yes, we still have meter technicians out there pounding the pavement and back roads, but they no longer have to visit every meter every month. And that’s thanks to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
Advanced metering has taken over for those old spinning metal discs, enabling a revolution in power delivery that electric cooperatives are proud to be a part of. AMI systems allow WCEC to distribute electricity more efficiently, reliably, and safely. And that means we can serve you better than ever before.
Our advanced meters have allowed us to read your meter remotely, track outages, respond more quickly when the power goes out, and more easily spot and troubleshoot problems for years now. They also enable accurate, up-to-the-minute readings, empowering members to track their use daily through our SmartHub web portal and mobile app.
In the last few months, we have been adding new remote connect meters to our system allowing us to connect and disconnect power from the office. The new meters can be strategically placed at locations that are remote to cut down on fleet mileage, in areas that may be dangerous to crews to increase employee safety, and at sites that may need to connect or disconnect frequently to save time for the member and our crews.
Safety is our priority so while the new meters can automatically disconnect power, an extra step is required on the member’s part to reconnect.
“We want to ensure that once a connect signal has been sent to the meter someone is at the location to make sure that it is safe to power the property back up,” says WCEC Manager of IT/Metering Keith Beal. “Each of these meters is equipped with a connect button that the member must press to allow the meter to energize their home or business.
“Not all locations will have the new meters. We are slowly phasing them in as supply is available.”
Advanced metering including the new remote connect meters is just another way of ensuring that the hard-earned money our members spend to keep the lights on and their house comfortable is used in the most efficient way possible. We’ve been doing this for 80 years and technology will help us keep doing this—well into the future.