OPD Crews To Install New Automated Meters

Moapa Valley Progress

Overton Power District (OPD)crews in the next few weeks will commence a three year project to upgrade all of the meters in the OPD system. The crews will be installing new, automated meters in every household starting next month.

With approximately 15,000 meters in the system, the project is estimated to take three years to work through all of the replacements. Crews will be working through the system, making brief stops at each home or business to replace the meters.

The impact of the installation is expected to be minimal, district officials say. OPD customers can expect to lose power for a few minutes on the day of the installation. Then the first bill following the installation will show two different readings: one from the old meter and one from the new meter. That should be the extent of the change that is apparent to customers, OPD officials say.
But district staff members anticipate that the new meters will noticeably increase the efficiency and reliability of the entire system.

The proposal to update the OPD meters had its start in February of this year when the OPD Board of Trustees voted to approve a contract with Aclara Technologies company to provide Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) equipment, software and services to the district. The total contract price for the equipment came in at just over $3.2 million.

But the new equipment is expected to pay big dividends in bringing numerous cost-saving benefits to the district and its ratepayers, district officials say.For one, the new automated meters will continue to allow OPD staff to read and reconnect meters remotely from the district’s headquarters, saving time, labor and money. But the system is expected to bring added security, accuracy and speed to the system.

The new meters will use power line carrier communications as opposed to the wireless radio technology used by current meters. This allows for the data to be read much faster. Each communication with the District will take less than eight seconds. Furthermore the amount of customer data being transmitted will be more limited. Only electric meter data is securely transmitted over the OPD power lines. No user or account information will be transmitted.

The new meters will also help improve the reliability of the OPD system, according to district officials.
“The new technology helps us monitor the electric system in almost real-time allowing us to detect problems more quickly and to locate outages more precisely,” said OPD spokesman Keith Buchalter. “In some cases, we will be able to fix the problem before customers know their power has been out. We can use this information to make the process of delivering power much more efficient.”

Over time, as the system is brought into full functionality, customers will even be able to use it to better track their own power use. Customers will be able to log in to the OPD website or download a special mobile app to their smartphone where they can review data on their home’s power usage.
“The meters, which provide hourly information about power use, will help customers understand more about the way they use electricity,” said OPD General Manager Mendis Cooper. “New features include the capability for customers to learn how small changes can affect their electric bill by viewing hourly, daily or monthly usage.”

In addition, the new system will allow for new options for customers to pay for the power they use. As the system is installed and implemented, customers will be offered a “pay as you go” option. With this, OPD customers will be able to make payments into their account monthly, weekly or even in daily increments.
“This new option will put you in the driver’s seat for purchasing electricity,” said Buchalter. “It’s like filling your car with gasoline. You monitor the fuel level and decide when you should re-fill. Adding money to your account allows you to ‘refuel’.”