Columbus Light and Water plans on spending about $4 million on new “smart” meters to meet new Tennessee Valley Authority requirements.
The costs are due to changes in the way the Tennessee Valley Authority bills local utilities. Instead of charging a flat rate, TVA will offer a choice between a seasonal rate and a time-of-use rate beginning in April.
A seasonal rate means paying more for energy during high-demand months, while a time-of-use rate means paying more during high-demand hours of the day.
By October 2012, TVA plans to only charge time-of-use rates, although that deadline could be moved, said CL&W General Manager Todd Gale.
Both CL&W and 4-County Electric Power Association will pay seasonal rates in April before switching to time-of-use rates.
CL&W has already begun installing 200 new electric and water “smart” meters to record how much energy and water its high-demand customers use per hour, Gale said. The meters are part of a pilot program to test the system.
Gale expects to install another 800 meters by the end of 2011 at a cost of about $450,000.
Over the next four to five years, the 13,000-meter project will cost CL&W about $4 million, Gale said.
The meters, which relay their information directly to the main CL&W office, will eliminate the need for meter readers, Gale said.
“We”re going to do our best not to cost anyone their jobs,” he added. Instead, meter readers will be offered other jobs in the utility.
The rate changes will not drive up CL&W or 4-County customers” rates, said Gale and 4-County spokesman Jon Turner.
“It”s more of a headache for distributors,” he added.
4-County only has a “few thousand” more meters to install in Clay County before it”s ready for the change, Turner said.
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