Automated Meter Reading

Automated meter reading is here! Our electronic meter installation is complete, which means you will no longer need to read your meter and then phone, mail or email the reading to our office. The change will take place with the bill mailed to you in November 2010. Beginning in December your meter will automatically be read approximately the 8th of each month. Your due date will remain the same.

The date and reading boxes on the lower left-hand portion of your bill will be eliminated, as we no longer need that information from you.

If there are any questions please contact our office by phoning (402) 362-3355 or (800) 289-0288.

History
On December 18th, 2007 the Perennial Board of Directors approved the purchase of an AMI system. AMI is an acronym for Advanced Metering Infrastructure. There are three components which make up the infrastructure. Servers at the office, injection equipment at the substations, and the meter at your residence, business, or irrigation well. Perennial’s goal was to have the system completely installed in two years. There were approximately 7500 meters that needed to be change and 15 substations needed to be retrofitted. Now that the system is installed, Perennial will be able to “read” your meter from our office.

How Our AMI works
To start the process of a simple meter reading a command is sent from the server at the office. The command travels through our radio communication link from the office to the substation. At the substation a signal is injected onto the power lines. The signal travels to every meter connected to that particular substation. The signal is received and decoded by the meter. The meter replies with the information that was requested from the server and sends a signal back to the substation. The substation injection equipment relays the information back to the server at the office via the radio. It takes approximately 3 to 6 seconds for the process to be completed.

Meters are just part of the new AMI system. Each meter has a built-in radio transmitter that sends the meter data through the power lines to the nearest substation. The data is gathered at the substation and relayed to a computer at Perennial’s headquarters. Generally meters are read in groups during certain times of the day, but they can also be read anytime it becomes necessary. The data from each meter is archived and can be retrieved at any time for review. The information has already proven to be useful in addressing some customer concerns about high usage. “Real-time” data is a great tool for helping customers understand how much electricity they are using and when it is being used.

Reading your meter
One of the many benefits of having AMI meters is that customers won't have to make that monthly trip out to the pole to read their meter. We realize though that some customers will still want to continue reading their meters for their own purposes. For that reason we have provided these pictures to show you how to read your meter.

Leading the way in building a ‘smart grid’

The federal stimulus package and various U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives are promoting development of “smart grid” to help solve America’s energy crisis. In addition, DOE Secretary Steven Chu declared our nation’s electricity transmission and distribution system a national priority this spring.
But what does any of this mean for electric co-op and public power district members?
The electric grid that covers our nation–quite literally the largest machine ever built–includes millions of miles of transmission and distribution lines that deliver power from generating stations to your front door.
Contrary to popular belief, the grid isn’t unintelligent; it has sustained us for almost a century, keeping electricity safe, reliable, and affordable. But the grid is similar to a high school graduate who heads off for college. There’s a lot of room for learning, in this case in the areas of energy efficiency and reliability.
The first step toward building a smarter grid involves installing a strong foundation of smart meters at homes and businesses that can talk back and forth to utilities about outages and electric use.
Electric cooperatives and public power districts lead other industry sectors in deploying smart meters and related automation devices, creating an advanced meter infrastructure inside the grid. Seventy percent of the nation’s co-ops and ppd's have installed some form of a smart meter, and another 11 percent will join them in the next year. This is important when you consider co-ops and ppd's own and maintain 2.5 million miles of distribution lines, delivering power to 12 percent of American homes. In comparison, a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report showed only 2.7 percent of investor-owned utility customers have smart meters.
Perennial Public Power District completed its smart meter installation in 2010.
These meters cut down on operating costs and help co-ops and ppd's effectively manage outages. For example, a smart meter can tell us when the power is out instead of relying on you to call the outage in, and they can help reroute power around problems. Down the road they might be able to help you manage energy use, showing you what power costs at different times of the day to help you make smart energy choices when using appliances.
At Perennial Public Power District we’re committed to building a smarter grid, making it faster, more efficient, and smart enough to handle challenges this century promises to bring. An intelligent, strong grid will help consumers save money and may minimize future government mandated increases resulting from climate change and other policy goals. It’s a critical part of the way we focus on supporting innovative technologies that make economic sense, allowing us to continue providing you with safe, reliable, and affordable power in years to come. Leading the way in building a smart grid was produced in part by NRECA.