Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Don't trust your power bill? Let submeter help

The device, costing about $200, monitors energy use through an independent company.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL
Published July 14, 2006

The new digital electric meters Progress Energy began installing last year are designed to improve efficiency and cut costs, the utility has said.

And they're accurate, too, according to Progress Energy.

So why does Allen Carlson of Tarpon Springs talk about ripping his meter off the wall?

Carlson said he cannot read the new digital meter Progress Energy installed in March. He wants to monitor exactly what he's being charged for.

"I have the right to monitor my usage on a daily or weekly basis, and the digital meter is not as clear as my old one with the dial," Carlson said.

For people who want to know what's drinking up the most power in their homes, Progress Energy offers a free energy audit through a visit, the mail or its Web site.

But for a few hundred dollars, some customers may prefer submetering.

"Submetering is a method by which equipment that is installed in or just outside the home monitors the amount of energy used by individual circuits in a unit to determine problem areas," said Jerry Baker, president of National Exemption Services, a submetering and conservation company.

NES sells digital and dial meters and offers monthly reports to customers.

Jacobs said customers are allowed to install submeters on their property and don't need the company's permission.

Cherie Jacobs, corporate communications director for Progress Energy, said customers who are getting higher bills than before can look to the higher fuel costs that are being billed directly to them. Progress Energy does not receive any profit on those funds, she said.

"On average, customers should see a 12 percent increase over last year at this time," Jacobs said.

The digital meters are accurate, Baker said, "because when technicians point the gun at the meter, it enters a serial number for the unit and there can be no duplication of the reading."

Baker said the system was designed to eliminate the human errors committed when meter readers went from house to house on foot in the hot sun.

Carlson said he hasn't had an extreme spike in his bills, as some customers have complained of, but he is concerned that if he can't understand the meter, Progress Energy could charge him whatever it wants.

Carlson plans to install a submeter at his private residence.

For Carlson, the submeter will be a way to monitor exactly what he is being charged for, but for others, submeters can serve as a watchdog designed to curtail electricity waste.

"We're independent and objective," Baker said. "We just help people keep an eye on spending."

Submeters cost $200 to $250, and monthly service is $2 to $4, depending on unit size.

Homeowners may want to invest in a submeter, but the power solution is most useful for apartment and condo residents who have energy costs included in their rent.

"By submetering your unit, you can begin to pay the local company yourself, which would ultimately save about 15 to 20 percent a month," Baker sai

[Last modified July 13, 2006, 22:36:08]