CenterPoint Energy will deploy more than 2 million smart electric meters across its 5,000-square-mile service territory between 2009 and 2012 (pending completion of negotiations of a
Dept. of Energy grant).
The new metering technology is the first step in moving the electric grid into the digital age. It's the foundation for converting the existing electric grid from electromechanical with analog controls to an automated grid with digital controls.
What is Energy InSightSM?
Energy InSightsm is CenterPoint Energy’s system of integrated “smart” technologies, including smart meters and associated communications infrastructure and back-office computer systems, designed to give consumers more control over their energy consumption.
Why is it called Energy InSightSM?
The new smart technologies CenterPoint Energy is designing and deploying can give consumers greater insight into their energy usage to help them make smart energy choices. CenterPoint Energy will also have greater insight into the status of our systems, with an improved ability to pinpoint outages, monitor electric equipment load, and provide near real-time usage data … and more, as additional technology components are added.
What smart technologies are you designing and deploying?
In December 2008, CenterPoint Energy received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to deploy more than 2 million smart meters across its electric service territory in and around Houston, beginning in March 2009. The deployment of more than 2 million smart meters is scheduled for completion in 2012 with the aid of a federal stimulus grant, negotiations for which are now pending.
CenterPoint Energy is testing advanced power line equipment that can enable one of the world's first intelligent electric grids. The company has been notified by the Department of Energy that it has been awarded federal stimulus funds (pending final negotiations) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which will be used in part to begin improving electric reliability and outage restoration by hardening the grid with automated intelligent grid equipment.
Why are you installing smart meters?
There are two basic reasons: (1) the need to conserve resources through more efficient use of energy (2) to move the electric grid into the digital age. The Internet has shaped expectations for information access, but the utility industry lags behind. Imagine filling up your car’s gas tank without seeing how many gallons you bought or how much it costs until receiving a bill weeks later. Today, consumers cannot get real-time electric consumption and cost information due to the industry’s technology gap. As energy-related expenses rise along with concern for the environment, the time is right to implement CenterPoint Energy’s smart metering system.
What makes “smart” meters smart?
Smart meters are the first step in moving the electric grid into the digital age. The old meters are based on old analog technology. They require a meter reader to be onsite to take monthly meter readings. They do not provide consumers with much useful information. Digital smart meters send electric usage information to both CenterPoint Energy and consumers via two-way wireless communications. Consumers will be able to track their consumption of electricity at 15-minute intervals via a Web portal or in-home monitor to make smarter energy choices. Smart meters can be read remotely and will automatically notify CenterPoint Energy about power outages. Smart meters will be able to interact with future smart appliances to allow consumers to manage thermostats and electric appliances remotely.
Do smart meters have other benefits?
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 and spending in near real time. Smart meters make possible a new energy future:
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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.
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Smoother transactions – Remote connection and disconnection of electric service should reduce the time it takes to process service orders at most homes.
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Automatic outage notification – Smart meters will automatically notify CenterPoint Energy about power outages to help us restore power more quickly.
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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.
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Environmental benefits - As consumers manage energy more efficiently, less power may have to be produced, which is good for the environment.
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New products and services – Retail Electric Providers (REPs), who sell the electricity CenterPoint Energy delivers, can now offer new products and services.
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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.
Do smart meters benefit the environment?
Studies suggest that given the ability to monitor their energy use in near real time, many consumers will begin turning off unneeded appliances, change to more efficient lighting, adjust thermostats and make other energy-saving changes in behavior. If consumers manage energy more efficiently, less power may need to be produced. Reduced emissions from potentially decreased power generation could translate into better air quality in Houston.
If I have an offsite meter reading (OMR) meter, will it be replaced?
Smart meters, which provide greater benefits than OMR meters, will replace OMR meters. OMR meters use mobile radios and an early form of digital technology. Meter readers still have to walk or drive by the house to pick up the remote signal from the meter, and OMR meters do not give consumers near real-time usage information to encourage energy-saving changes that could save consumers money.
How much will this cost?
The Texas Legislature and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) have authorized utilities to assess Retail Electric Providers (REPs) a surcharge to recover the cost of smart meters. The surcharge, which was to have been spread over a 12-year period, is $3.24 per month for each residential consumer for the first 24 months, beginning in February 2009; thereafter, the surcharge will be reduced to $3.05 per month. The receipt of federal stimulus funds (now pending final negotiations) will reduce the duration of this surcharge.
The total cost of a limited Intelligent Grid deployment that serves half a million customers inside the 610 Loop is $100 million; $50 million will come from the stimulus funds and the remaining from CenterPoint Energy.
You can save more than $3 per month now by using energy efficiently. In fact, one compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulb can save you $30* or more over the life of the bulb. For more energy efficiency tips, visit www.CenterPointEfficiency.com and click on Energy Saving Tips.
Can smart meters help me save money?
That depends on several factors including wholesale electricity prices, retail service offerings, and your energy consumption habits. Smart meters make more information about your energy use available to you. If you choose to use that information to lower your energy consumption, you could save money. Studies indicate that raising consumer awareness of energy use does lead to lower consumption, which should not only save money for consumers who reduce their usage, but also could lower the cost of electricity for all consumers. In addition, smart meters will allow Retail Electric Providers to offer time-of-use rates that encourage energy use during off-peak periods. For example, customers might pay less to run appliances at night.
Will I be able to buy variable rate (time of use) electricity as soon as my smart meter is installed?
Retail programs designed to take advantage of smart meters or home area network (HAN) features should become available in the near future.
When will my meter be installed?
CenterPoint Energy will install more than 2 million smart electric meters between March 2009 and 2012. For maps of the installation schedule, click on Deployment Schedule. You should receive door hangers before and after your meter has been installed.
CenterPoint Energy has been selected by the Department of Energy to receive federal stimulus funds (now pending final negotiations) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Receipt of the $200 million we've requested will accelerate our deployment plan to be substantially complete in 2012 versus 2014 as originally scheduled.
Will there be a specific day when you will install the meter? What if my gate is locked? Do I just have to leave the gate unlocked?
A contract company, North Houston Pole Line, is installing the new smart meters for CenterPoint Energy. Meters are installed within approximately eight weeks of the hanging of the "your meter is coming" door hanger. While the deployment schedule is known, the specific date a specific meter will be installed will not be unknown until just before the installation and can change depending on weather or other factors. If the meter can not be installed because of an access issue, you will receive a door hanger with a phone number to call North Houston Pole Line to schedule an appointment for the meter installation.
How long will it take to install my new meter?
Installation of your smart meter will take about 10 minutes, during which you will experience a very brief power outage. In most cases, the installation can be completed even if you are not at home as long as your existing meter is accessible.
How do you decide who gets a meter first? Can I get mine now?
Smart meters will be installed along meter reading routes. Deployment, which includes installation not only of smart meters but also associated communications infrastructure, began in March 2009 in the central Houston area and will move outward until more than 2 million smart meters are installed by mid 2012 (pending final negotiations of a DOE grant). The deployment schedule was put together to meet milestones mandated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. In order to follow an efficient deployment process and meet the mandated timeline, deployment will adhere to scheduled routes. Any digital meters installed outside the scheduled areas would not have the communications infrastructure in place for fully “smart” functioning.
My smart meter has been installed - what happens now?
Your smart meter will become fully functional after a testing period of up to two months. To get detailed information on your electric usage (i.e. the last year, month, or day), call your retail electric provider at the number on your electric bill. Starting in 2010, you can see your electric usage history over the Internet. A link to this Web site will appear on our Web page.
Why should I pay now for a meter I might not get for three years?
The smart meter is only part of this technology upgrade, which includes an entire system of smart meters, communications equipment and computer software. The cost of this technology upgrade will be shared by all customers, and the total cost per consumer remains the same regardless of when it is paid. Spreading the cost over several years lowers the cost per month.
All consumers of electricity stand to benefit from potential cost savings resulting from energy conservation encouraged by a smart metering system, even before they receive a smart meter and even if they themselves don’t change their consumption habits. While smart meters can help you save money, you can save more than $3 per month now by using energy efficiently. In fact, one compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulb can save you $30* or more over the life of the bulb. For more energy efficiency tips, visit www.CenterPointEfficiency.com and click on Energy Saving Tips.
Do I have to get a smart meter? My meter is working fine.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas has mandated deployment of smart meters across CenterPoint Energy’s electric service territory. While the old meters may operate correctly, they do not provide consumers with the potentially energy-saving and money-saving insights into their electric consumption and other benefits that smart meters can provide. The highly accurate smart meters will also reduce the need for estimated meter readings.
Are smart meters accurate?
CenterPoint Energy's smart meters are highly accurate. These meters are thoroughly tested by the manufacturer and CenterPoint Energy according to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines. None of the more than 145,000 smart meters CenterPoint Energy installed in 2009 have been found to be reading inaccurately.
Are smart meters secure from hackers?
CenterPoint Energy is applying security best practices to protect our information networks and the electric grid to maximize the security of our smart meter deployment, supported by the experience and expertise of our vendors, IBM, GE, and Itron. We maintain a comprehensive cyber security and risk mitigation program based on national standards followed by other leading companies in the energy, defense, and financial industries. While actively monitoring the security of our systems, we also employ multiple third party vendors to audit our security practices and test the protection of our systems on a regular basis.
Our smart meter system, unlike the Internet, is a trusted private infrastructure. Sensitive customer data is protected behind multiple layers of encryption and firewalls. Energy usage data belongs to the consumer and can be shared only when authorized in writing by the customer or authorized by regulatory authorities as necessary to conduct business (such as for billing). CenterPoint Energy will continue to protect customer usage data as securely as we have done for more than 120 years.
Will the meter reader stop coming to my house?
After some initial testing, CenterPoint Energy will be able to read your smart electric meter remotely, virtually eliminating the need to come to your house to read the electric meter. Electric service can also be connected and disconnected remotely for most homes, but CenterPoint Energy will continue to dispatch crews as needed to make on-site repairs. We also will continue to read natural gas meters.
Won’t the savings on meter readers pay for the new meters?
There may be some operational savings for CenterPoint Energy, but the real benefit is for the consumer to use energy more efficiently. The surcharge approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas was reduced by the amount of operational savings CenterPoint Energy expects to realize. The surcharge covers not only smart meters but also the associated communications infrastructure and back-office computer systems.
If I move, can I take the smart meter with me?
No, but smart meters will be installed in newly constructed homes even outside the areas scheduled for deployment at a given time. However, any digital meters installed outside the scheduled areas will not have the communications infrastructure in place for fully “smart” functioning until the scheduled smart meter installation period for that area.
Where do I get an in-home monitor? How much do they cost?
One of the major potential benefits of smart meters is their ability to give consumers access to near real-time data on their electricity usage via an in-home monitor or the Internet. Studies show that making usage data easily available to consumers does encourage them to make energy-saving changes in usage. In-home monitors are not yet widely available but should become available at retail home improvement stores at a cost affordable to most consumers. In addition, $7.5 million has been allocated to ensure that low-income consumers have access to monitors.
Will CenterPoint Energy provide assistance to low-income consumers?
Yes. In order for low-income consumers to be able to take advantage of some of the benefits of smart meters, CenterPoint Energy has committed to spend $7.5 million. As part of this commitment, the company intends to provide low-income consumers, either directly or through a voucher program, an in-home device that will give these consumers the ability to directly monitor their electrical usage.
What is a Home Area Network?
A Home Area Network (or HAN) is “a network contained within a user’s home that connects a person’s digital devices, from multiple computers and their peripheral devices to telephones, VCRs, televisions, video games, home security systems, ‘smart’ appliances, fax machines and other digital devices that are wired into the network.”* Smart meters can interact with ZigBee-compatible HAN devices such as thermostats or other electric appliances to allow consumers to monitor and control them remotely.
Several appliance manufacturers have announced that they are adding HAN capabilities to smart appliances. There will also be devices that can be connected to existing appliances allowing for control of these appliances, such as HAN devices plugged into wall outlets for connecting and monitoring usage of window air conditioning units. CenterPoint Energy is testing devices made by several manufacturers, and we expect HAN technology and related products to grow fairly quickly as smart meters are deployed in large numbers.
