smart meter – Memphis Flyer

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) has big plans for 2015. And the Memphis City Council’s approval of the utility’s $1.7 billion budget proposal last week will enable many of those plans to come to fruition.

A big chunk of that budget — $27 million — will go toward implementing the next phase of smart meter installation across Shelby County. In addition to being used to purchase 50,000 electric, gas, and water smart meters, that money will fund a telecommunications system, which will collect information transmitted from smart meters, as well as a data management system to administer all data sent from smart meters.

With the compressed natural gas (CNG) market evolving, MLGW will take $2 million from its 2015 budget to construct a new CNG public access filling station. Made from methane stored at a high pressure, CNG is a less expensive alternative for fueling vehicles than gasoline. The upcoming facility will be the third that MLGW has constructed and is slated to be located on Lamar.

MLGW President Jerry Collins said the 2015 budget will enable the company to continue to provide customers with the lowest combined utility rates of any major city in the country.

“We do a survey every year for a typical wintertime bill for residential customers, and we survey cities all across the country. And as we look at those numbers, MLGW quite comfortably has the lowest combined utility rates for electric, gas, and water,” Collins said. “We have developed a pretty good gap between us and the other major cities.”

MLGW will build a new CNG station in 2015.

MLGW is in the process of replacing a 25-year-old computer system. Slated to be finished next year, Collins said the total project costs $50 million and that $18.5 million will be used from next year’s budget to complete it.

“It’s basically all of the back office-type applications for computer systems, which includes things like general ledger, inventory, accounting, work order management, engineering design … It touches many aspects of our operations,” Collins said. “But we’re getting rid of an antiquated system and putting in a new state-of-the-art system, which ought to really save us a lot of time as we do our transactions in the future.”

Other things on MLGW’s list of plans include replacing old transformers at numerous electric substations throughout Shelby County and improving the piping and water treatment system at its Davis Pumping Station.

There will also be 28 infrastructure employees added to MLGW’s gas division to help maintain gas distribution to local homes and businesses.

One thing that won’t be implemented by MLGW in 2015 is a 35-cent monthly water rate increase for residential customers. Last week, the city council voted against MLGW’s request to do so.

The utility company requested the increase to counterbalance losing its largest water customer, Cargill. In January, the food, agriculture, and industrial product company is closing its corn milling facility in Memphis. The facility accounted for about five percent of MLGW’s water sales.

Due to the rate increase not passing, Collins said MLGW would be a little further in the hole financially in 2015 than anticipated. But aside from that, Collins is excited about what the new budget will bring for MLGW.

“There’s lots of good news,” Collins said. “We will continue to try to make sure that our customers get the best possible service at the lowest possible price. And we want to make sure that we have the cheapest utilities in the whole country.”

When Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) announced last year that it would be installing new digital smart meters to track electricity, gas, and water usage, a vocal group of opponents warned that the meters would lead to higher utility bills and an increased fire risk.

Memphis City Councilman Joe Brown even called the smart meters, which identify energy consumption in a more detailed manner than conventional meters, “a new form of communism.”

However, only 3.6 percent of customers in the 25,000 homes that have been offered smart meters in Shelby County have opted out, according to MLGW.

Smart meter

Ian Randolph is one of 1,000 MLGW customers who participated in the Smart Grid Demonstration Project, a pilot project that allowed participants to test electric smart meters from 2010 to 2012. The citywide smart meter rollout began in 2013.

Randolph has been hooked on the electrical device ever since.

“My bill has gone down over the couple of years that I’ve had it, because I’m able to track my electricity use better,” Randolph said. “Being able to keep up with my electricity use and have an update every so often has been a big help.”

In August 2013, the Memphis City Council approved a $10 million contract for MLGW to install 60,000 smart meters (individual ones for electricity, gas, and water) between December and June 2014.

Different from conventional analog meters, smart meters boast a communications component that enables MLGW to monitor a customer’s energy use remotely without having to physically read their meter.

The smart meters also allow the utility company to detect water leaks and power outages without a customer’s notification.

Smart Grid participants are the only MLGW customers currently able to track their energy use online through a personalized website. But all MLGW customers who received smart meters in late-2013 and mid-2014 will be able to view their consumption online by February 2015.

MLGW President Jerry Collins said the company has yet to receive complaints of higher bills from customers who have switched to smart meters.

“Smart meters give our customers more opportunities for saving energy and reducing their utility bills. At the end of the day, that’s one of the most important considerations, because we want to do things that directly benefit [them],” Collins said. “One of the big advantages of smart meters is that meter readers will never have to come to your home. You can leave your gates locked and dogs out, and that will give you a greater level of home security.”

Although 60,000 smart meters have been installed at residences throughout the county, there are more than one million that remain on the list. Collins said MLGW anticipates installing meters at all residences and businesses by 2020.

Approximately $27 million of MLGW’s 2015 budget will be dedicated to fully implementing smart meters countywide. The city council is slated to vote on MLGW’s budget request, which is more than $1.9 billion overall, on November 18th.

Anthony Durden also participated in MLGW’s Smart Grid Demonstration Project. He said switching to a smart meter helped him save money and increased his awareness of energy conservation.

“Prior to the smart meters, I was more reactionary versus being proactive,” Durden said. “I was focused on reducing my consumption after I received a $500 utility bill. I would definitely recommend these meters to other Memphians because I think it’s important for all of us to participate in any type of method to save energy. And I’m sure that they’ll appreciate lower utility bills.”