Chelan PUD Rolling Out First Smart Meters

The Chelan County PUD is ready to roll out its change over to smart meter technology.

John Stoll, the PUD’s managing director of customer utilities, says the first batch of meters being installed are part of what the utility is calling its “Beta phase.”

“Over the next six weeks, 500 meters will be deployed,” explained Stoll. “It’s an opportunity for us to really get our hands on this equipment (and) ultimately, this is gearing up towards a late fall mass deployment.”

The PUD plans to eventually install roughly 50,000 smart meters at the homes and businesses they serve.

Most of the Beta phase meters will be outfitted in the Cashmere and Monitor area.

The meters will gather information about electrical usage at individual locations and transfer that data through a network of access points via the PUD’s fiber optic system.

Stoll says the PUD’s customer-owners who are scheduled to receive meters during the Beta phase will get plenty of notice.

“Customers who will be impacted – those 500 -  they will get postcards and there’s been information already through the newsletter,” detailed Stoll. “But as it gets closer to their install date there’s more specific information that they will receive.”

Most of the new meters will be installed by contractors with some assistance from district employees.

The PUD estimates it will take several years to replace all of their current meters at a cost of approximately $15 million.