Media Contact: April 16, 2019
Pacific Power media line FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
800-570-5838
Pacific Power brings new metering technology to Central Oregon starting April 29
The new meters help shorten outages, provide daily usage data, and keep Oregon a leader in using clean, renewable energy.
BEND, Ore. — Pacific Power is bringing more efficient and effective smart meters to residential and business customers in Central Oregon, replacing thousands of aging electric meters throughout the spring and summer.
About 76,000 new meters will be installed in Bend, Culver, Madras, Metolius, Powell Butte, Prineville, Redmond, Terrebonne, and Warm Springs. The installations are set to begin the week of April 29 and will continue through early fall. The project is part of a statewide rollout of 590,000 smart meters which began in January 2018 in Independence, Oregon. To date, meter upgrades have been made for approximately two-thirds of customers.
“We’re installing smart meters here locally as part of an upgrade for the homes and businesses we serve,” said Matt Chancellor, Pacific Power’s regional business manager for Central Oregon. “The meters offer customers greater insight into their energy usage and help promote energy savings – a benefit that supports the City of Bend and the surrounding area in helping to meet energy goals for the future.”
The new smart meters will:
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 upgrade brings the future of reliable and efficient power to our region and to our state,” said Chancellor. “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:
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 1.9 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.