Huntsville Utilities installing smart meters outside every home in the city

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - If you live in Huntsville, you may notice some changes to your electric meter. Technology is being updated to help detect potential problems using smart meters.

Employees at Huntsville Utilities say there are a lot of benefits switching out the electric meters and going with the new smart meters. About 25 percent of all the homes in the city have already been switched.

The only noticeable difference is the digital reading, but there’s more that meets the eye.

All of the information and how much electricity you use is automatically sent to Huntsville Utilities headquarters.

“If we see a spike in your usage we’ll notice it right away. Right now, we just see it on a month to month basis and so we might not be able to pin it down to a particular day, or a particular time of day, with this technology we can do that,” said utility spokesperson Joe Gehrdes.

With the success of the electronic meters, plans are now in place to update other utilities you use on a daily basis like gas and water.

“We will begin installing that technology on the gas and water side in spring, summer of 2020,” said Gehrdes.

Upgrading the technology of the meter readers has also changed the workforce of Huntsville Utilities.

“When we started, we basically eliminated our meter reading department, all but 2 of those employees were absorbed into the company in new or opened positions, so we really haven’t seen any workforce loss to this project,” said Gehrdes.

Employees with Huntsville Utilities want to make sure you know the price you pay for each kilowatt of energy you use, will not go up as a result of the smart meters being installed.

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