Pacific Power brings smart meters to Jackson County this summer - 05/24/18

Pacific Power media hotline:                                      May 24, 2018 

1-800-570-5838                                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

Pacific Power brings smart meters to Jackson County this summer

The new meters, installed free of charge, help shorten outages, provide daily usage data, and keep Oregon a leader in using clean, renewable energy.

 

MEDFORD, Ore. — Pacific Power is bringing more efficient and effective smart meters to residents and businesses of Jackson County, replacing thousands of aging electric meters throughout the summer months.

 

About 88,000 new meters will be installed in Butte Falls, Central Point, Eagle Point, Gold Hill, Jacksonville, Medford, Phoenix, Rogue River, Shady Cove, and Talent. The installations are set to begin the week of June 25 and will continue in the area through September. In all, Pacific Power will replace 590,000 meters in communities across the state from now through fall 2019. Installations in nearby Josephine County are scheduled to follow Jackson County this fall.

 

“We’re installing smart meters here in the Rogue Valley as part of a statewide upgrade for the homes and businesses we serve,” said Christina Kruger, Pacific Power’s regional business manager for Southern Oregon. “It’s a project that will enable the communities we serve to take advantage of faster, more efficient energy technology.”

 

The new smart meters will:

 

• Instantly track outages, meaning faster service response and shorter outages overall.
• Let customers view their power usage hour-by-hour, so they can adjust their activity to reduce both their carbon footprint and bill.
• Provide businesses with detailed usage reporting which will help them cut costs and make investments in items that help their businesses grow.
• Update the grid to work more efficiently and better integrate renewable power sources.

Nationwide, more than 70 million smart meters are installed at homes and businesses, which includes half of all households in the U.S. Smart meters are a key component to updating the energy grid originally built for technology from 100 years ago. They also help Pacific Power hold down operating costs, improve customer service and reliability while maintaining the highest standards of security and customer privacy.

“This free upgrade brings a future of reliable and efficient power to our region and to our state, “said Kruger. “We are connecting communities throughout Oregon, improving the way we power our customers’ lives both at home and at work.”

 

Access to daily energy usage information will be available to customers via a secure website. The near real-time energy usage information will let customers better understand what is driving their electric bills and help them make decisions that can save energy and money. This capability will come about six weeks after a new meter is installed.

 

Here’s what customers can expect during the installation process:

 

• Customers will be notified before installation through the mail and will receive detailed information about the new smart meters. Reminder calls will be made to customers as their scheduled installation date approaches.

 

• Pacific Power’s authorized installer, Aclara, will arrive between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to make installations. Installers will drive vehicles and carry badges that identify them as an authorized contractor of Pacific Power. Unless an electric meter is inside, they will not need to enter customer homes or businesses.

 

• During the installation, Pacific Power technicians will remove the old meter, install the new meter, restore service and verify the new meter is working properly. This process will require a brief power outage (less than five minutes). The technicians will leave a door hanger to let customers know they were there, and successfully installed the new smart meter.
   
• Pacific Power will manually read the newly installed smart meters for at least one month to confirm everything is working correctly. After confirmation activities are complete in the area, meter reading will happen remotely.
   

• Approximately six weeks following the installation when all area installs are complete, customers can sign in to their Pacific Power account to access the newly available usage data. Customers can sign up for their web account here.

 

If customers have any concerns, have not received the proper series of notices or have any reason to think a notification is not legitimate, customers should hang up and call Pacific Power’s customer service at 1-800-221-7070 immediately to verify whether they are scheduled for an installation.

 

Additional information, including installation updates are available at www.pacificpower.net/smartmeter. Customers can also call 866-869-8520 for help with any questions.

 

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About Pacific Power
Pacific Power provides electric service to more than 740,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. The company works to meet growing energy demand while protecting and enhancing the environment. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, with 1.8 million customers in six western states Information about Pacific Power is available on the company’s website, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, which can be accessed via pacificpower.net.