We are excited to announce that smart meters are coming to all Franklin PUD customers. Franklin PUD Commissioners approved the installation of an Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI), or “smart meters”, at the March Board of Commissioners meeting.
It may surprise you to know that we still use traditional analog meters to measure usage in the majority of homes within our service territory and we have a staff of meter readers that go out and manually read over 20,000 meters per month. In order to keep up with changing and more sophisticated technology we will begin the process of installing smart meters now through 2022. Not only will this bring efficiencies in billing and meter reading, it will keep us from having to enter your yard each month to read your meter. On top of all this, we receive information in real time, which will allow us to respond to outages faster. We will be able to provide you with more information about your own energy usage and have it available at your fingertips through our SmartHub app or online services. Overall, it will give you more insight into your usage and it’s exciting to be able to bring this technology to our customers.
In 2015, we began installing smart meters as a replacement option for failing meters in the Connell, Kahlotus and Sage Hill area as well as a group of apartment complex meters to help us better understand the system capabilities and technology requirements.
In 2018, the Commission approved the replacement of 150 additional aging meters in the Kahlotus area. This allowed for a better understanding of the true costs associated with a larger smart meter deployment.
The installation of new smart meters will take place in phases. You will be notified of our intent to work in your neighborhood and we will continue to communicate with you as your installation date moves closer. This is a quick and mostly seamless process for you, since all we will need to do is swap out your existing meter with a new smart meter. You will lose power for a few minutes and may have to re-set a couple clocks. It should be a small interruption in your day but ultimately will give you more control, better information, and quicker response time to outages!