BENTONVILLE — In the wee hours of the night, new electric meters in this city will take half a second to beam their daily readings out into the darkness.
Using radio frequency technology, the meters talk to each other, an electronic game of party-line, passing each home’s or business’s utility usage along to a central data hub and then to the utility database for storage.
The new “advanced meters,” one for electricity and one for water, are being swapped out at residences and businesses at a rate of about 50 a day. The work began earlier this month and is expected to be complete in July.
When Bentonville’s installation is finished, most electricity providers along the Interstate 540 corridor, between Fort Smith and near the Missouri border, will be using some form of advanced metering.
No meter readers are needed for the advanced meters, so they reduce labor costs. But that’s not the only selling point for the new systems.
“It allows us to view the whole system in real time allowing for immediate assessment,” said Travis Matlock, engineering director for Bentonville’s city-run utility. “It allows us to gather a huge amount of electrical information.”
Residents and businesses also will be able to access the data online through a password-protected system, providing a detailed look at how they use electricity and water.
According to a U.S. Energy Information Administration sample, 420 electric utilities reported having 9.7 million advanced meters, or 13.4 percent of their total meters, in 2011, up from 8.7 percent in 2009.
In 2009, President Barack Obama set aside $3.4 billion for modernization of the power grid as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Some of that funding can be used for advanced meters.
According to a November staff report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as of September 2011, approximately 7.2 million advanced meters were installed through Recovery Act funding. However, Bentonville did not use any federal funding for its program.
Ultimately, it’s anticipated 15.5 million advanced meters will be installed across the nation via the Recovery Act program. According to the report, the Institute for Electric Efficiency predicts 65 million advanced meters will be installed nationwide by 2015.
QUICK RESPONSE
Travis said the new system will allow the Bentonville utility to respond quickly to power or water line failures and better utilize manpower when there is trouble.
“The system allows us to diagnose problems quickly,” Travis said.
The advanced electric meters can put out a “last gasp” signal, alerting the utility a house has lost power. The water meters can send a signal if they sense a constant water flow for over 24 hours, indicating a possible leak.
Bentonville’s electrical utility has been studying the advanced meters for four or five years now, though they’ve been in operation around the country for a decade.
The system was provided by Plant City, Fla.-based Mueller Service Co. Total cost, including billing software and support, was $6.67 million.
The price includes replacing the approximately 19,000 meters in the city, with about 17,000 of those being residential and the rest commercial.
None of the cost is being passed on to the customer, Matlock said. The price of the upgrade was included as budgeted expenses for the city.
DETAILED DATA
Nationally, some customers have refused the meters or protested their use, saying the more detailed data utilities gathered could endanger their privacy and the systems might have effects on their health.
A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff report noted in June 2011 that the Obama administration recommended that state and federal regulators should ensure that detailed energy use is protected in a manner consistent with federal Fair Information Practice Principles.
According to the report, states like California, Colorado, Ohio, Oklahoma and Maine have enacted privacy rules or are examining them in relation to the advanced meter technology.
The report noted radio frequency emissions used by advanced metering have not been proven to be a risk to human health, but some states are addressing concerns about a possible link.
California noted that radio frequency emissions from advanced meters were far lower than many commonly used devices, but still asked utilities in March 2011 to develop an opt-out proposal for customers. Maine presented a similar proposal to utilities.
Bentonville customers are not offered a chance to opt out of the meter upgrade.
Travis, the utility’s engineering director, said he has discussed the privacy and health concerns with customers.
He’s pointed out to customers the radio frequency technology used by the new system is commonly used today. He said no names or other identifying data is sent by radio waves. The customer’s detailed information is stored in a secure server, just as it was under the older system.
He said putting detailed data in the hands of customers will allow them to closely examine their bills and track their energy spending down to the day. It also will include data on weather conditions, so a customer can see the effects on his energy bill.
Travis said the information could eventually allow the utility to offer shifts in pricing based on peak daily demand times.
GOING DIGITAL
Ozarks Electric Cooperative, based in Fayetteville, has been using advanced meters for eight years.
“We were one of the first utilities in the nation to go to smart meters,” said Keith Kaderly, manager of marketing and energy services.
He said the system paid dividends during the 2009 ice storm when many customers in the region were without power.
“We could ping the whole system and it would show us who was without power,” he said.
Ozarks Electric has 66,000 customers in Benton, Crawford, Franklin, Madison and Washington counties in Arkansas; and in Adair, Cherokee, Delaware and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma.
Southwestern Electric Power Co. has used an automatic metering system to serve 1,700 customers in Eureka Springs since 2003. Peter Main, company spokesman, said the system allows remote meter reading through power lines.
SWEPCO serves 114,000 customers in western Arkansas and also operates in Louisiana and Texas.
Entergy Arkansas, which serves approximately 700,000 customers in the state, only uses advanced meters in some irrigation well pump applications, spokesman David Lewis said.
“We’re experimenting elsewhere in the Entergy system with a few applications now, and we are continually evaluating opportunities for smart meter deployment that can benefit the company and our customers,” Lewis wrote in an e-mail.
Carroll Electric in Berryville is in the process of deploying advanced meter technology similar to Bentonville’s.
Nancy Plagge, communications director for the utility, said about 75 percent of its 88,000 meters have been replaced, and she anticipates all will be upgraded by the end of the year.
Carroll Electric uses a two way automated communication system that sends information to and from the meter through a digital pulse sent along power lines. Plagge said the system is more efficient considering the terrain and the rural nature of most of its coverage area.
Carroll Electric serves parts of Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton and Pope counties in Arkansas and Barry, McDonald, Stone and Taney counties in Missouri.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric is shifting to advanced meters and expects to have them system wide by the end of the year.
The utility began its first smart meter pilot program in 2008. It serves 70,000 customers in Arkansas, primarily in the Fort Smith area.
“We want to put this information into the hands of our customers so they can better manage their utility bill and save money,” said Brian Alford, company spokesman.
With the data gathered by the smart meters, customers can track their use and even take advantage of daily shifts in energy costs though the utility’s Smart Hours variable pricing program that takes advantage of pricing shifts that occur during a 24-hour period, particularly during the summer.
“These meters are our industry finally entering the digital age,” Alford said.
Business, Pages 69 on 10/21/2012