By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Duke Energy has begun to install Smart Meters for its customers throughout Northern Kentucky.
Bob Ries, project manager for Duke’s Midwest Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) department, said the installation process began in the region on August 28.
“We are changing a customer’s electric meter and installing a gas module as part of Kentucky’s AMI deployment, Ries said. “It’s about a 13-month project and we plan to change roughly 140,000 electric meters and install about 100,000 gas modules, our entire service territory in the state of Kentucky.”
Duke Energy officials say the new meters will benefit the company and its customers.
“For Duke, obviously, we no longer need to send a meter reader by once a month. We can complete some routine orders, “ons and offs” on the electric side, without sending a tech to the customer’s premise,” Ries said. “On the customer side, we’ll have some benefits coming up – pick your own due date, usage alerts – things along those lines and also customers will be able to check their usage on a daily, weekly and monthly basis once the meter is reading through the new system.”
Duke Energy customer Robert Horine of Covington, who had the meter installed in his home Wednesday, said he had heard about Smart Meter technology being deployed around other parts of the country.
“I was excited to hear that Duke was employing the latest technology to improve the efficiency of their system and deliver our electric service,” Horine said. “That sort of makes life a little easier, not having to worry about whether the door was open or whether they have the key. My in-laws, in particular, it’s a little disruptive for them when the meter reader comes each month, so it’ll be a good thing to be able to do it remotely.”
Postcards will be mailed to customers prior to making an attempt to change the meter.
“The tech we are sending, we are using mostly a contractor, Grid One Services, they are required to knock on a door and attempt to make contact with the customer,” Ries said. “If a customer is not home and the meter is safely accessible, they have permission to change the meter.”
If the meter is not accessible and the customer is not home, the procedure to change the meter includes making multiple attempts to contact the customer to schedule a convenient time for installation.
After the meter is installed, Duke takes three days of reads to make sure it is communicating properly.
“Things are a little more complicated in Kentucky than Ohio because gas modules are also part of the upgrade,” Ries said. “We have to make sure both the gas and the electric are reading before we stop sending the meter reader. The gas actually reads to the electric and the electric reads to the communication devices, which are installed on the poles and our read rates are above 99 percent.”
There has been resistance to the meters in some markets from customers who are reluctant to change the time-tested manual meter-reading process. In Kentucky, people who do not want to switch can “opt out” but there will be a monthly fee to offset the cost associated with using the old meter.
“I haven’t heard the controversy and it’s nothing I’m concerned about,” Horine said. “Almost real-time information about our electric use, I’ll be happy to have that and look forward to being able to use the Smart Meter myself.”
Advantages of the Smart Meter that have been identified by Duke Energy include:
*Quicker response to power outages.
*Allows customers to make informed decisions about energy use and review daily usage data to help manage monthly energy bill.
*Allow remote connect and disconnect of energy service so no need to wait for a Duke Energy Representative.
*Fewer estimated bills when meters can’t be accessed such as during severe weather.
*No need for Duke Energy to access your home for monthly meter reads.
*Ability to Pick Your Own Due Date to choose the day of the month your bill is due.
To learn more about smart meters, visit www.duke-energy.com/smartgrid, or call 513.419.1777.
Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky’s operations provide electric service to about 840,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area and natural gas service to approximately 525,000 customers.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com