Advanced Metering FAQ
General | Texas | New York | Oregon | Advanced Metering
What is advanced metering?
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Advanced metering describes a new system of smart technologies and advanced meters that adds computer and communications technology to the existing electricity grid so it can operate more efficiently and reliably. For example, your local delivery company will be able to immediately pinpoint a power outage without having to be called by a customer.
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What is a "smart meter"?
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Advanced meters, also known as "smart meters", will replace the old meters most customers have today, which are based on 50-year-old technology. The new meters are digital, can communicate with the smart grid, will provide remote readings, and will help give consumers insight into how and when they’re using energy. Smart meters are now being installed throughout Texas by your local delivery company.
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Who is installing these new meters?
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Oncor, CenterPoint and AEP transmission and distribution service providers (TDSPs) have started the process of rolling out advanced meters to customers in their respective service territories. For exact roll out schedules in each of these TDSPs, you can visit their web sites at
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What is Green Mountain Energy Company's role in installing the new meters?
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Green Mountain has no role in the installation of the new smart meters. This is an initiative of the TDSP in your area as approved by the PUCT. The costs of deploying the new advanced meter systems are being billed to all customers in the applicable TDSP service territory. The costs are billed to each customer’s Retail Electricity Provider (REP) by the TDSP. Green Mountain, like many other REP’s, is passing the charge through to our customers without mark-up. Green Mountain does not profit from this surcharge.
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What are the expected benefits of Smart Meters?
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When fully implemented, the advanced meter systems being deployed by the TDSP’s are expected to help provide all electric consumers with many features.
Smart Meter Features:
- Your meter will be read without a meter reader having to come to your home.
- Your meter can be re-read much faster should you have questions.
- The new meters will record electricity use in 15-minute intervals instead of once a month like the old meters, providing customers more choice and control over their electric usage and expenses.
- Smart Meters will provide instant power outage notice to your TDSD and support more reliable and efficient electric delivery to your home.
- Since in-person meter readings will not be required, the number of vehicles on the road will be reduced, thus reducing pollution, traffic, and fuel consumption.
- Eventually, you will have access to detailed readings of your electricity use and corresponding price.
- As meters are installed and enabled, the time needed to process service orders, such as starting or stopping service, will be reduced.
- In the future, the meters will be able to communicate with programmable devices (like your air conditioner or dishwasher) through a Home Area Network (HAN) module to monitor and control electricity consumption.
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What is the “TDSP Advanced Meter Pass-Through” charge? What is this money going toward?
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In accordance with advanced meter implementation plans and orders approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the TDSPs are permitted to recover the costs of deploying the advanced meter system by assessing an advanced meter system surcharge to all customers in their service territory. This surcharge is billed to Green Mountain as your retail electric provider, and we are passing the charge through to our customers without mark-up.
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How much is the TDSP Advanced Meter Pass-Through Charge?
- For customers in Oncor, the charge is $2.21/month
- For customers in CenterPoint, the charge is $3.24/month
- For customers in AEP (both TCC and TNC), the charge is $3.15/month for 2010 and 2011 and will decrease slightly in subsequent years.
- TCC: $2.89 for 2012-2013, $2.26 for 2014-2020
- TNC: $2.77 for 2012-2013, $2.35 for 2014-2020
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How long do I have to pay this charge?
- For customers in Oncor, the fee was approved by the PUCT to continue for 11 years.
- For customers in CenterPoint, the fee was approved by the PUCT to continue for 12 years.
- For customers in AEP (both TCC and TNC), the fee was approved by the PUCT to continue for 11 years.
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Why do I have to pay this charge?
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In accordance with the advanced meter implementation plans and orders approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the TDSPs are permitted to recover the costs of deploying the advanced meter system by assessing an advanced meter system surcharge to all customers in their service territory. This surcharge is billed to Green Mountain as your retail electric provider, and we are passing the charge through to our customers without mark-up. The cost for these new meters is actually expected to be minimal compared to the estimated savings that may be achieved by reducing demand and more efficient operation of the power system.
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What if I don’t want a new meter?
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The PUCT has given approval to the TDSPs to install the advanced meter system across the TDSP’s entire service area and to every customer. By doing it in a systematic basis, the TDSP expects to reduce costs and enable greater efficiency. Over the next few years customers will be receiving advanced meters along with access to a Web portal that will enable customers to monitor their energy consumption in 15-minute intervals. Having the advanced meters is also expected to help Texans mitigate the ever increasing demands for electricity in our growing state.
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When will I get my new meter?
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The geographic deployment of meters by the TDSP’s is designed to minimize the cost of the overall deployment of the advanced metering networks. Green Mountain does not control or influence when and where advanced meters will be deployed.
Oncor plans to deploy advanced meters over a four-year period between 2009 and 2012. Maps of Oncor’s incremental deployment plan are posted on Oncor’s Website and can give you a general idea for what year the deployment is expected to reach your area.
CenterPoint plans to deploy advanced meters over a five-year period between 2009 and 2013. Click here for the deployment schedule.
In general, CenterPoint will begin in the Houston metro area and work outwards towards less densely populated areas.
AEP has provided the following schedule based on geography, but has not provided zip code specific data:
- 2009: Portland
- 2010: Corpus Christi, Abilene
- 2011: Alice, Aransas Pass
- 2012: Ballinger, Childress, Clyde, Cross Plains, Edinburg, Harlingen, Hamlin, McAllen, Munday, Pharr, Quitiqua, Rio Grande City, Stamford. Vernon, Weslaco
- 2013: Bay City, Beeville, Eden-Sonora, Edna, El Camp, Falfurrias, Freer, Hebronville, Karnes City - Kenedy, Laredo, Marfa-Alpine, McCamey, Mission, Pearsal, Pleasanton, Refugio, Sinton, Uvalde, Yorktown-Luling, Zapata
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What will be different with my new advanced meter?
The new meter will look a little different, with a small screen and digital readout rather than dials. Additionally, smart meters can be read remotely and more frequently than analog meters. Instead of being measured manually by a person once a month, your energy usage will be measured remotely every fifteen minutes.
New meters don’t change the fact that you’re still getting cleaner electricity from Green Mountain—only how your electricity use is monitored and reported.
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Are the new smart meters accurate?
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One of the primary benefits of smart meters is to provide more accurate and reliable meter readings through the use of digital technology. The new meters have been tested for accuracy by the TDSPs and have been proven just as, if not more, reliable as the old meters.
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I’m on a fixed rate. Why am I being charged this additional fee?
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As described in the Electricity Facts Label and Terms of Service for your Green Mountain Energy® electricity service, the price for the Reliable Rate product is subject to change to account for any increased costs that result from a change in law, including changes in TDSP charges. These new TDSP advance meter surcharges were implemented as approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and the price has been adjusted to pass these additional costs on to our customers without mark-up.
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Are other service providers passing this charge to their customers?
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We cannot comment on how all of the other Retail Electric Providers are choosing to handle the advanced meter surcharge. We do know that some of the larger providers are passing these charges through, and we expect that these charges will be passed-through or reflected in the prices for all retail electric providers, because the charges will be assessed to all providers.
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Does everyone have to pay this charge?
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The TDSP advance meter charge is being assessed to all customers in the Oncor, CenterPoint and AEP service territories.
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Is this charge pro-rated based on days of meter read cycle?For additional questions about Advanced Metering, please refer to the following TDSP websites: |
