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White ComEd vans emblazoned with the words “Smart Meter Installer” swarmed into Oregon and Mt. Morris early this week to begin giving customers new electric meters.
Several installers were in each community getting down to the business of replacing old meters with new high tech devices.
Mt. Morris Village Clerk Paula Diehl said the installer showed up at her house first thing Tuesday morning.
“It only took him a couple of minutes and my electricity flashed for about five seconds,” she said.
Mt. Morris, Oregon, Polo, and Forreston officials received notification last month that the installations would begin in April.
Work in Oregon began on Monday, and Forreston village buildings already have their smart meters.
According to ComEd’s website, employees will install approximately 4 million smart meters in all homes and businesses across northern Illinois by the end of 2018.
More than 2.5 million have already been installed.
Smart meters are digital, electric meters that wirelessly provide secure, two-way communication between the meter and ComEd and also allow customers access to more information about their usage, according to the website.
The new digital meters will eliminate the need for meter readers.
A flier from ComEd said that residents and business owners will receive information in their bills and in mailings, first about the new meters, and then as the installation approaches, an approximate date and what happens when the meter is installed.
A recorded phone message will be sent a week before the installation.
“Sorry we missed you” door hangers will be left if the crew was unable to install the new meter, especially for those whose meters are inside.
“Meter installed” door hangers will be left where the installation was accomplished.
A final piece will be mailed out after installation to encourage participation in energy management.
A uniformed meter installer with appropriate identification from ComEd or Corix, a ComEd-authorized contractor, will perform the installation at no cost to customers, the website says.
Customers with outside meters are asked to be sure there is nothing blocking access to the meter.
Those with inside meters will be contacted to make arrangements for the installation.
Installation typically takes 10 minutes, and customers should expect a brief interruption to their electric service.
The smart meters are part of the smart grid, which the website says “is an electric system enhanced with innovative digital technologies like smart substations, smart switches, and smart meters that detect problems on the electric grid so you experience improved reliability, better service and greater control over your electricity use.”
Smart switches, the website explains, isolate problems on the electric system and automatically reroute power so that electricity keeps flowing to as many people as possible.
Smart substations detect potential problems and automatically notify ComEd to help prevent power outages.
Smart meters can notify ComEd when an outage occurs to help restore power more quickly, and provide customers access to more energy-usage information to help save money.
For more information go to www.comed.com and choose Smart Energy, then Smart Meters.