Officials outline benefits you’ll see with Entergy’s new, ‘smart’ meters
Published 12:03 am Sunday, January 12, 2020
- A contractor is installing a new advanced meter. Homes in Orange County received the new energy-saving tool in November. Installations in Jefferson County have begun with a project finished timeline of March. (Courtesy photo)
Entergy Texas is installing new electric meters in the Mid- and South County.
Ron Fletcher, customer service manager for Entergy Texas, said the new meters have already begun to make their way through Jefferson County.
“We are very excited about the new benefits and features of these meters,” he said. “It provides faster outage identification, greater efficiency to provide detailed energy usage and smarter tools.”
Every four to five hours, the new meters will provide 15-minute increments of a reading.
“If someone is out and about, they can still see what’s going on at their house,” Fletcher said. “If something happens while they are gone or they forget to turn off a light and receive a high bill, we can now accurately pinpoint the usage to identify where those spikes are coming from.”
Entergy’s new electric smart meters provide faster outage identification, greater efficiency, detailed usage and remote access. (Courtesy photo)
Fletcher said the installation also comes with better communication, improving customer service with faster answers to billing and account questions with remote access.
“We will be able to turn a meter off and on remotely,” he said. “We won’t have to go from house to house in trucks as much, so not only will we be able to read the meters remotely, but turn them on and off remotely, which will allow for faster response times. We are excited for that.”
Meter installations at homes and businesses began in 2019 with expected completion in 2021. Mid- and South County residents can expect to receive their new meters from now through the end of March.
Port Neches City Manager Andre Wimer said this new installation method will prove to be cost effective and efficient.
“The way we were doing it before was not cost effective,” he said. “At the time, the technology was not where we felt comfortable. It was quite expensive. In addition to the meters, Entergy has helped us with LED street lights in the city and projects at the riverfront park. Entergy has been very helpful to us in many projects. So we are excited for this.”
Residents will receive a 90-day notice and another two-week notice prior to Entergy arriving in the neighborhood. The exchange will take 15 minutes or less.
Entergy Texas is installing new electric smart meters across the state. Mid- and South County can expect to receive the meters within the next three months. Currently installers are operating in Orange County. (Courtesy photo)
“We will knock on your door and inform each resident that there will be a brief power loss,” Fletcher said. “If there is no one at the premises, then we will continue with exchange process and upgrade the meter.”
If an Entergy representative is unable to replace the meter, a door hanger will be left explaining how to reschedule the upgrade.
Usage activity will be monitored manually and remotely for a couple months to ensure all meters are in working order and accurate.
“Overall, we are really excited about this process,” he said. “We think it will be really beneficial to our customers.”
Customers can still access their data and usage through myentergy.com.
For more information, call 1-800-ENTERGY.
