Advanced Meter Infrastructure

Advanced Meter Infrastructure

The Littleton Electric Light & Water Department’s existing meter infrastructure, AMR (Automated Meter Reading), is at its end of life and is in need of replacing. As a result, LELWD will be replacing customer meters with AMI (Advanced Meter Infrastructure) meters. These new meters use similar technology as our previous AMR meters but are able to provide more benefits to you and LELWD.

What Are The benefits?

  • Power Outage Notification– AMI can detect power outages and will instantly send an alert which will improve restoration times.
  • New Programs– Opportunity to develop and enhance innovative programs for all customers (EV, solar, battery storage, off-peak programs, etc.)
  • Water Leak Detection – AMI can detect water leaks which will help you and LWD conserve and protect water.
  • Customer Portal– Customer access to detailed information that will help customers better understand energy and water use.
  • Customer Service – Both electric and water meters can be read simultaneously and remotely to provide real time usage data for customer questions and concerns.
  •  Environmental Stewardship- LELWD can read meters remotely and efficiently. We will no longer need to drive through town to collect monthly readings which will reduce emissions and traffic in your neighborhood. We calculated a fuel savings of almost 1,000 gallons of gasoline per year!

FAQ

This is completely normal, the meter screen toggles between the screen check (lit up) and meter info.

No, there is no fee for replacing your meter.

LELWD residential customers who live in a single family home or an apartment with less than 4 dwellings are eligible to opt out. Please see LELD Advanced Meter Infrastructure Opt-Out Policy.

If applicable, customers must refer to the LWD AMI Manual Meter Read Policy  if fully opting out of electric AMI.

The current AMR meters broadcast almost 3,000 times a day, every day, and the new AMI meters only broadcast 3 times a day (once every 8 hours). The AMI meter transmits almost 1,000 times less.

For electric, LELD will use the town’s community notification system to give customers a general idea of when their neighborhood will be scheduled. When an LELD employee arrives at your home to replace the meter, they will knock on your door, identify themselves and allow any time necessary to address any questions or concerns you may have. We will never ask to come inside your home for electric service. Not enrolled to receive important alerts? Sign up https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/458D14D27696

For water, LWD will reach out to you in order to set up an appointment to replace water meters, as this will require access into your home.

For electric meters, LELD can replace the meter without any interaction with the customer. Additionally, LELD employees will not need to come into your home for this task.

For water meters, LWD will need access into your home and will schedule this time with you. (LELWD employees practice social distancing).

Yes, replacing your meter requires a brief outage that typically only lasts a minute. If you need to schedule this outage, please give us a call 978-540-2222.

AMI stands for Advanced Metering Infrastructure. AMI is a system that allows LELWD to be able to remotely communicate with electric and water meters.

Click to learn more about AMI meters from Itron. 

Just like traditional meters, Advanced Meters record the amount of electricity or water consumed over time. They differ from traditional utility meters in that they have additional functionality including communications and memory.

LELWD Advanced Meters communicate using radio frequency (RF) transmissions, similar to the Wi-Fi in your home. 

Click to learn more about RF in AMI meters from Itron. 

RF emitted by these meters is well below the limits set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and below the levels produced by other common household devices like cell phones, baby monitors, satellite TVs, and microwave ovens. According to Dr. Peter A. Valberg, “You would have to be exposed to an Advanced Meter for 375 years to equal the RF emissions you get from using a cell phone for 15 minutes a day for one year”.

The RF emitted by Advanced Meters is a very low-field and intermittent. In fact, LELWD meters are programmed to only transmit their data three times a day. With more than 25,000 articles published on the topic over the last 30 years, scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. In-depth review of these scientific studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the small amount of RF energy produced by Advanced Meters is not harmful to human health.

The American Cancer Society explains the difficulty to prove or disprove a link between living in a house with smart meters and cancer because people have so many other sources of exposure to RF and the level of exposure from smart meters is so small. For example, the amount of RF radiation you could be exposed to from a smart meter is much less than RF radiation exposure from a cell phone. Therefore, it is very unlikely that living in a house with a smart meter increases risk of cancer. The World Health Organization has promised to conduct a formal assessment of the risks from RF exposure but this report is not yet available. 

For more detailed explanations and information regarding RF, visit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety FAQ page

Advanced Meters do not adversely affect the stability or performance of home wireless networks. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates all electronics to prevent one type of electronic equipment from interfering with other electronic and wireless devices that operate in the same frequency band.

According to the American Cancer Society, “One concern expressed is that the radio frequency (RF) waves produced by smart meters might interfere with electronic medical devices such as a heart pacemaker. A study that examined the effect of smart meters on pacemakers and implantable defibrillators found that the smart meters did not interfere with these devices.”  More information can be found atAmerican Cancer Society Website FAQ page for Smart Meters.

 

Advanced Meters measure utility usage in exactly the same way as our previous AMR meters. The new meters will continue to measure only the actual amount of electricity or water you use, and the meter itself will not cause your bills to increase or decrease. Advanced Meters have been tested under various conditions and show consistently accurate readings.

LELWD’s system is, and will continue to be, in compliance with standards for cybersecurity and privacy, including standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). Our systems also comply with federal and state regulations. Meters and the associated communications system are encrypted and equipped with security features to prevent unauthorized access. 

In addition, LELWD adheres to strict policies and follows state laws that regulate the use of personal information gathered for business purposes, such as billing and customer service.

No, LELWD will only know how much energy and water you use during a specified time interval. There is no way of knowing how you used energy or water during a specific time.