PEMA Professional Energy Marketers Association
Edmond residents will receive a new technology boost as the city begins rolling out its upgraded Smart Choice meters in August.
Smart Choice contractors are scheduled to begin an 18-to-24-month project, exchanging all the current electric and water meters for smart meters in homes and businesses throughout Edmond. Smart Choice technology will help improve service and response times to issues from the City of Edmond electric and water utilities because of its quick and pro-active nature.
“This is really the first step to allow for future programs and services,” said Glenn Fisher, Director of Edmond Electric. “With this new technology, customers can access their usage data and be an active part of tracking how they are using their utilities. That helps them see if there are adjustments to their usage needed and helps us see much earlier if there might be an issue, we can help address.”
The $16 million multi-year project also will include a portal for customers, where they can pay a bill online and make data more accessible to the customer. The portal is targeted to go online this fall.
“What the new technology brings is next-day available data, automatic meter readings, more customer understanding of when water is used, and overall better quality and reliability,” said Kris Neifing, Director of Water Resources. “Because water is such a vital resource in this region, this kind of investment and technology is important and can make a huge difference both for us and customers.”
Representatives from Utility Partners of America (UPA) – the approved metering service installer for Smart Choice – are executing the extensive exchange. Approved by the Edmond City Council in October 2019, the citywide implementation will take place in stages at no additional cost to utility customers.
Customers will be notified by UPA approximately two weeks prior to installation through a notification letter sent by mail. During installation, customers can expect:
- A UPA representative, with appropriate identification, will knock on the door before installing the new smart meter. If no one answers, installations will still proceed. The customers do NOT need to be present for the installations to take place.
- If the UPA representative cannot physically access the meter at the property, it may be necessary to contact the customer to schedule an appointment for the change out.
- For electric meters, expect a brief power interruption during the installation time. It is recommended to protect any sensitive equipment.
- For water meters, no service disruption will occur.
- A door hanger will be left after installation to indicate the change out or additional steps needed for the change out to occur.
