By Andrew Knittle
The City of Norman has been selected by OG--E to be the first community in the company's customer base to receive new "smart" meters intended to improve customer service and energy delivery.
All 42,000 of the energy company's Norman customers, both residential and business, will receive the new smart meters, which will have wireless technology.
The company says installation should begin in February, wrapping up in April.
Ken Grant, the company's smart grid team leader, said Norman was chosen because citizens, city government, the University of Oklahoma and local businesses have demonstrated an above-average concern for the environment, including the city's curbside recycling program, initiatives to increase green space and OU's commitment with OG--E to use 100 percent wind power by 2013.
"Norman is a logical choice for one of the nation's first comprehensive smart grid communities," Grant said. "The early response from customers and community leaders has been very positive."
Grant also said Norman was attractive because it has a high concentration of rental properties, which usually means more calls to dispatch a crew to service the property.
Along with receiving the new meters, which can be checked remotely by OG--E, 3,000 customers will be recruited to see how the new gear works. These customers will be asked to monitor their energy consumption utilizing on-site devices that tell them how much power they're using.
Interested businesses or individuals can sign-up at www.oge.com/smartstudytogether.
OG--E says the results of the study will help make decisions involving the new meters and what customers want from them.
The company plans to convert all of its meters, although the timing of the process is dependent on some other factors, including a $130-million stimulus grant they applied for earlier in the year. OG--E's proposal is among the final 100 under consideration, and the company should know in days whether they've received it.
If they do, the grant would pay for "a substantial" portion of the new meters. The rest will be paid for by customers, which would require approval by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
