Smart Meters on the Way

In recent years, the technology for electric meters has advanced dramatically. At Tipmont, we’ve been keeping an eye on the advancements and continually evaluating what is available for our members. After a thorough review, we’ve decided it’s time to upgrade our meter reading system. Over the next three years we will be going through a process of changing out all of our old electromechanical meters and installing “smart” meters.

Once the smart meters are fully deployed, the technology will give us the opportunity to deliver improved services to every member. The meters are also an important part of our plan to improve reliability by detecting outages as they happen instead of relying on members to inform us. This critical information will aid our lineman with troubleshooting outages.

What will a smart meter mean for you as a member of Tipmont REMC? First, we will have the ability to get instant readings for each member’s meter at any given point in a day. Since we will have constant communication with every meter, we will be able to collect hourly usage data. This additional data will allow us to assess your energy usage and help you with managing your usage. The new technology will also give us the opportunity to offer additional services such as pre-paid billing packages and more options for our demand response program.

We will be installing meters for groups of members who are served from a common substation beginning with the Battleground and Klondike substations. This includes members in north central and northwest Tippecanoe County as well as Tipmont members who live in White and Benton Counties. You may experience a brief outage when the meter is changed at your home or business. Be aware that we will be using contractors to perform our meter installations; we will make sure that they have proper credentials and are driving vehicles with Tipmont stickers. We will also leave door hangers when you receive your new smart meter.

Smart meter installations will begin as soon as the equipment arrives. Please continue to read the Electric Consumer, check the web site at www.Tipmont.org, and watch for door hangers for additional information. If you have any questions regarding your new smart meter please call our member service department.

By Jason Monroe, Metering Systems Supervisor