Atlantic City Electric technician Sam Miller installs a smart meter at an Ocean City residence.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Atlantic City Electric’s Smart Energy Network will be coming soon to all households and businesses in the city.
Ken Mosca, a former Atlantic City Electric municipal liaison who was attending his first meeting as Margate’s new full-time administrator, told commissioners Thursday, Feb. 2 that the electric company will start installing new “smart” electric meters in the third week of February.
Mosca said the company will work with residents and business owners whose “meter pans” are in poor condition.
“There has been a lot of new construction in Margate over the last couple of years where meters have already been put in,” Mosca said.
Mosca said a letter has been sent to all residents informing them of the program’s benefits and notifying them electric company workers would soon be knocking on their doors to install the new meters.
Commissioner Maury Blumberg suggested an emergency notification call might be in order to inform residents of the meter replacements.
“It has been posted on the municipal website since last October,” Mosca said.
Fire Chief Dan Adams touted the new electric metering system as being lifesaving in an emergency he witnessed involving downed wires.
“It automatically shut down a grid area, and they called back to command and put out three safety messages before turning it back on,” Adams said. “When they turned it back on remotely…the houses started coming back on. It really is innovative and can be a serious factor in any police or fire incident where power needs to be shut down to a greater area.”
Mosca said the electric company indicates the switch-over can be accomplished within 30 minutes, but in actuality, a property will only be without power for about 10 minutes.
There is no upfront cost to customers for their new smart meters and they come with many advantages, including enhanced reliability, more timely and accurate information during outages and new tools to further benefit South Jersey residents. New upgraded smart meters provide:
- Enhanced reliability with faster and more efficient power restoration efforts.
- More detailed outage information when outages occur.
- Tools that can help customers use energy more efficiently and save money.
- Reduced need for estimated billing.
- Better integration of new clean energy technologies, such as solar.
Smart meters, which are the same size and shape as existing analog meters, will also connect customers to a variety of clean energy choices, including installing solar energy, participating in robust energy efficiency programs, and accessing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Customers will receive several communications before their smart meter upgrade.
To learn more, visit the Smart Energy Network page on the Atlantic City Electric web site.
AC Electric/The company plans to install 565,000 Smart Meters through 2024.
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