WILMETTE – Wilmette residents will receive updated electric meters this spring when ComEd installs new “smart meters” to replace the traditional analog meters that are situated on the rear of most homes in the village.
At the Village Board meeting on Jan. 26, ComEd Vice President for smart grid technology Michael McMahon gave a detailed presentation of how the company plans to install smart meters in the village as part of a larger installation of four million smart meters in ComEd’s service territory. The village of Wilmette currently has a total of 11,262 analog meters that will be replaced primarily during the month of April.
So what is a smart meter? According to McMahon, it is a digital meter containing a computer chip that collects a home’s electric usage in 30-minute intervals and then transmits that data over ComEd’s private network via a small radio to ComEd four times a day every six hours. The new smart meter means that ComEd will no longer need to deploy workers to read residents’ meters once a month. ComEd has already installed antennas on utility polls in the village to host the network.
The smart meter also contains another small radio that if enabled, communicates information directly to the home owner. This feature would allow residents to see their power-usage in real time.
Village trustees’ questions at the meeting focused on how this change would impact residents. Trustee Cameron Krueger asked whether residents would see any changes on their bill. McMahon responded that residents can expect to see rates stay the same, with elective rate options that could potentially save residents money. Trustee Krueger also asked whether residents could expect interference with home networks. While McMahon noted that most people do not enable the radio that communicates directly to the home, when people do choose that option there has been virtually no interference.
Village Manager Timothy Frenzer asked about the installation process. McMahon said it will take about 15-20 minutes for a new meter to be installed and typically power is not lost during the installation. While the smart meter is installed in the same location as the analog meter, sometimes they are unable to jump around the fitting, resulting in a power loss for about two minutes at the most.
Residents should also be aware that the installation will be completed by Corix, one of ComEd’s authorized vendors. Installers will be carrying badges and should be able to produce a badge upon request. McMahon noted that ComEd is not requesting any money in exchange for the smart meters, and so anybody asking for money is not a ComEd representative and should be reported to the police.
While the vast majority of people opt for the new smart meters, McMahon said some people choose to keep the traditional analog meters. But this choice is at a cost. ComEd will bill residents who choose to keep the analog meters $21.53 per month, due to the cost of reading the meter. “It is an inducement to take the meter,” McMahon said.
One of the reasons people choose to keep an analog meter is a concern over data security. While McMahon acknowledged that the smart meters are not hack-proof, he did say that ComEd is doing everything it can to maintain cyber security. If a meter is hacked, the only information on the meter is kilowatt usage and a meter serial number. No personal information is accessible.
Other concerns raised by consumers have been the potential for ComEd to sell usage information to third parties. They’ve also asked about health affects. McMahon said ComEd will never release that information unless requested by the owner and that studies have shown the radio frequencies are so low, health concerns are not an issue.
For more information about ComEd’s smart meters go to www.comed.com.