This innovative technology should encourage Houston-area electric consumers to conserve energy by giving them the ability to better monitor and manage their electric use more frequently and in greater detail. Smart meters make possible a new energy future:

• Remote meter reading – CenterPoint Energy will be able to read smart meters remotely, virtually eliminating the need to go house to house to read electric meters, which means fewer trucks on the road.
• Smoother transactions – Remote connection and disconnection of electric service should reduce the time it takes to process service orders at most homes.
• Automatic outage notification – Smart meters will automatically notify CenterPoint Energy about power outages to help us restore power more quickly.
• Energy efficiency and savings – Consumers can more closely monitor their electricity use to better manage energy costs by making small changes such as adjusting their thermostat.
• Environmental benefits - If consumers conserve electricity, less power may have to be produced, which is good for the environment.
• New products and services – Retail Electric Providers (REPs), who sell the electricity CenterPoint Energy delivers, can now offer new products and services.
• Home Area Networks (HANs) – Smart meters can interact with Zigbee -compatible HAN devices such as thermostats or other electric appliances so consumers can operate them remotely. Check with your Retail Electric Provider for more information on their smart-meter-enabled service offerings.