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Automated meters coming
By Times Staff Writer
Published March 31, 2005
In June, Progress Energy will begin to replace electric meters with automated meters.
The automated meters will allow the company to read a residential customer's electric usage data from a nearby sidewalk or street without requiring a meter reader to enter a property.
The meters will have digital displays, instead of dials, and will use secure radio frequency transmissions to transmit electricity data. Each meter reader will be able to read up to 10,000 meters daily, as opposed to the current daily total of about 400, the company said.
All residential customers in Florida and the Carolinas will get the meters. In Florida, the 18-month project will begin in St. Petersburg and finish at the end of 2006.
Progress Energy said the $140-million mobile meter-reading program will reduce expenses, improve accuracy and displace about 160 full-time positions in Florida. The company plans to notify customers in advance of installation in their neighborhoods.
[Last modified March 31, 2005, 01:27:20]
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