Smart meters, electric meters that transmit information about electric usage wirelessly, are controversial. There are some studies that show electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emissions from such devices can harm the health of people and wildlife.
Recently a utility company in Michigan turned off power to customers opposed to having a smart meter installed on their house. But local residents who might think the meter they already have is plenty smart enough can relax. Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) said it has no plans to install smart meters. And the other major power provider in the area, Carroll Electric Cooperative Corp. (CECC), has opted instead for digital meters that don’t use radio frequencies to communicate data usage information.
“Some customers have expressed concerns about radio frequencies,” CECC spokesperson Nancy Plagge said. “We are not communicating with the meter using radio frequencies. We are communicating only across the energized power line. It is not wireless. We actually only communicate to the meters four times a day. Each communication lasts eight seconds, thirty-two seconds in a twenty-four hour period.”
Plagge said benefits to CECC and its members include being able to pinpoint more easily where there are outages and power quality issues.
“Because of communication, we see where the problem is and go out to investigate,” she said. “It provides better information to identify power issues.”
CECC began its pilot program of installing the digital meters in October 2009. By the end of 2012, they had completely converted the system to an automated metering infrastructure.
“We observed AMI technology evolve for about ten years before making a decision to install it for our members,” Plagge said. “We delayed the decision to move to AMI for so many years so that we could use our members’ money wisely and learn from the advancements in this technology. The improvements and benefits gave us great tools to continue improving reliability. We were especially happy the technology chosen for our members was not using radio frequencies to communicate with the meter.”
Plagge said other benefits of the digital meters include:
- Better theft detection
- Reduced meter reading errors, estimated bills and subsequent bill adjustments
- Usage data easily converted to charts for members’ use
- Remote connect and disconnect capabilities (used for special applications such as large apartment complexes).
- Reduced windshield time for linemen
- Ability to monitor and adjust voltages from the offices
- Improved outage verification and restoration
- Reduced meter reading expenses
- Immediately identifies if the meter has failed/stopped, allowing quick turnaround of meter replacement.
At the time CECC started installing the digital meters, there were about 86,000 meters on the system. Today there are 95,000.
“So, we kept sixty people very busy each month driving the roads and reading meters,” Plagge said. “The amount of contract meter readers slowly reduced as we phased in the digital meters over the three-year period and physically reading meters was no longer necessary. We had some very dedicated contract meter readers. It was not easy saying goodbye.”
Digital meters were a substantial capital investment of about $10 million, but one that is expected to have a seven-year payback before the meters start saving money.