- The new AMI Meters have temperature sensors on them that let the PUD know if they are overheating or are getting hot. This could be used to notify homeowners and possibly prevent fires or notify residents that a fire is near at meter.
- The AMI Meters also communicate when there is power that is back feeding on to the lines, which helps protect our crews when they are out working on lines and restoring power.
- Honeywell AMI Meters use radios that operate in the 900-MHz ISM band (which is the same frequency as the Automated Meter Reading or AMR meters that the PUD has been using for over 20 years) using Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum technology and they have a maximum transmit power of 1,000 milliwatts (mW). The radiation pattern of a device depends on the antenna and on surrounding objects. When installed in an electrical meter base, the energy radiated backwards through the meter base into the home would be significantly less due to the metal meter base.
- The metal meter base reduces the energy transmitted into the residence and redirects the energy out the front of the meter. The signal sends and receives in the same fashion as an FM radio signal.
You do have the option to move the meter further away from your residence. Give our Engineering Department a call at 360-345-1660 to place a free estimate request to see how much this would cost you.
Cost factors of moving the meter would include material, LCPUD labor, and LCPUD equipment required to move your metered location. In addition to cost incurred by the PUD there will be other associated cost as well such as an inspection of the new metered location by WA state L&I, any contractor work (electrician, excavation, etc.), and if your service is to be routed underground you will need to source and install schedule 40 grey conduit (size of conduit is based on application and LCPUD standard).
- AMI was included in the District’s 10-Year Strategic Plan (PDF), which was approved in July 2020, with an estimated cost of $9.7 million.
- In September 2021, the PUD released a Request for Proposals (21-05-RFP) to procure a vendor or contractor specializing in the supply and installation of AMI Meters throughout the District’s service area.
- At a regular PUD Commissioners meeting in March 2022, the commissioners unanimously voted to award Elster Solutions, LLC, a Honeywell company, the bid for approximately $5 million.
- Lewis County PUD is upgrading 100% of the meters in the District to Honeywell AMI advanced meters (a.k.a. smart meters or digital meters).
The refresh includes software and hardware upgrades and all the meters will be connected to the PUD’s Customer Service, Billing, and Outages services.
AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) meters—a.k.a. smart meters or digital meters—allow for two-way communication and operation between the meter and the PUD throughout the District’s service area and are an important part of a utility’s electronic infrastructure. AMI meters have many specific advantages over older digital and analog meters:
- Advanced meters help us deliver electric services more efficiently and put our customers in greater control of their energy use.
- Advanced meters provide faster outage detection and restoration without having to wait for you to call, and more accurately pinpoint the problem area for our crews.
- Advanced meters reduce environmental impact by not having to send out employees to read meters saving thousands of miles of travel and carbon emissions.
- Advanced meters allow customers to be remotely connected, disconnected, and reconnected which streamlines customer service and saves travel expenses for the PUD.
- Advanced meters allow customers to sign up for energy alerts to let them know when energy use is greater than what they budgeted. This can help you detect if there is an issue with an appliance or equipment such as a hot water heater or a heat pump.
- Advanced meters improve billing accuracy, eliminating misreads or inaccurate readings.
In short, AMI meter technology has proven its ability to add system reliability and save money.
- Lewis County PUD is constantly upgrading and improving its electrical distribution system to provide our customers the best and most reliable service available. The Meter Refresh Program is the next way we are improving our system. AMI will allow us to save money by reading the meters remotely and it will improve outage restoration times by sending alerts when you are out of power. It will also allow customers to better monitor their usage with up to the hour capabilities.
- Meter replacement is expected to begin in 2023 and go through 2025.
An advanced meter is a digital device that collects energy-use information, measured in kilowatt hours, and sends that data to the utility. An advanced meter can also receive information back from the PUD. The information to and from the advanced meter is encrypted and sent through a secure wireless network. As of 2022, there were about 119 million advanced meters installed throughout the United States.Below are the types of Honeywell AMI Meters the PUD will be using:
- Alpha 4 Residential
- Alpha 4 Commercial Industrial
Honeywell is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, US and their AMI meters are made at their plant location in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The Honeywell meters that are being installed have been engineered without any components from China.
- The District has a combination of traditional analog spinning disc meters, digital meters with no communications, and digital meters read from a remote handheld device.