In 2010 Pioneer Electric Cooperative (PEC) began a system wide upgrade of our metering system to an Advance Metering Infrastructure. The new meters still display the meter reading, but in a digital LED format. The meter receives and stores the kilowatt-hour (kWh) and demand consumption and is able to transmit this data back to the substation and ultimately, the PEC offices. The new meters can also help reduce costs associated with meter readings as well as provide assistance in finding problems for faster repairs.
Benefits of Advanced Metering:
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Improves electric service reliability
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Allows more respect for member privacy and property access - With this new system, the only time Pioneer will need to physically be at your meter is if there is an electric service problem or when we perform the annual inspection of your electric service.
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Improves outage notification and management process
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Reduces response times and shorter outage times
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Provides additional metering data to better assist members with billing and service questions
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Eliminates costs associated with contract meter reading services
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Gives capability to provide members with valuable usage information such as consumption patterns, outage and blink count history and voltage information
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Improves meter reading accuracy and consistent billing periods - With an AMI system, meters can be automatically set to read the meters on the same day of each month. This, for example, eliminates a 27-day billing period one month and then a 35-day billing period the following month
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Provides automated, daily meter readings on all meters and accurate member usage data
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Reduces losses by identifying power theft and other problems
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Ensures better overall safety for Pioneer employees
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Promotes energy efficiency by providing real-time customer feedback on energy usage patterns