Remote meter reading on table in South River
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER - Residents concerned about estimated utility bills may no longer have that problem if the borough switches to a system that allows precise meter readings to be done remotely.

Representatives of General Electric [GE] Energy gave a presentation on automatic meter readers at the Borough Council's business session Monday. Kerry Evans, manager of global services for GE Energy, said the company has extensive experience with various energy solutions.

"We have a fairly good-sized business and footprint in energy," Evans said in pitching his company's proposal for the borough's electric utility operation.

In addition to the meters themselves, GE Energy offers software for the management of a network transmission from a control room.

The remote meter reading system meets all certified standards for accuracy, according to Evans. The municipality would be able to disconnect and reconnect service remotely as well, a feature that Evans said he believes could save the borough on costs.

Borough Business Administrator Joseph Kunz said the current process of disconnecting and reconnecting service when someone moves back into a home takes more time, at around two days.

Kunz noted that residents would still be able to read their own meters.

Eric Dresselhuys, vice president of products and markets for Silver Spring Networks, said his firm is GE Energy's technical partner in this endeavor. He estimated the cost of replacing the base of each meter at $30.

Evans said the meter's base may need to be replaced in homes where the meter is old and outdated, but the base would not raise the price as much as labor. He added that the rewiring would not take long for a professional. Residents would receive phone calls to arrange a time for the meter to be changed.

Dresselhuys said meters could be read by a municipal employee in 30 seconds if the borough were to use the GE Energy remote utility meter reading network.

"Municipal headquarters could read the meter on demand in a few seconds," Dresselhuys said.

Customers would be able to read hourly profiles of how they use electricity during the day, according to Dresselhuys. He noted that the borough could use this feature to save money on its bulk energy purchase.

Dresselhuys said the network has a Cisco Pix firewall for security, which he said is commonly used as an online banking firewall. Dresselhuys added that if somebody did tamper with the network, the office operator would be notified by the system's alarm.

These devices would not be read in batches or groups, Dresselhuys noted, but individually. Every meter in the system could be swept for monthly readings.

Dresselhuys said a typical problem with the network is interference from outside devices such as pagers, cell

phones and other systems.

As the cost of electricity for bulk grid power continues to rise, Dresselhuys said this system would give the borough more options on how to negotiate the rate structure.

Evans offered an example to illustrate the potential savings the community could make from the network. He said homeowners who are aware of how they use their power can use their appliances at those times when it is cheaper to run them.

Customers have the ability to read this data online, Evans said, adding that the system has an internal diagnostic.

GE Energy can begin the project early next year and finish installation in three to four months, according to Evans. In this time frame, the installation would be done in zones to allow the borough to use the old manual processes until all of the meters are updated.

The borough would be able to go live with the system by the summer, Evans said.

Resident Marilyn Meloni cautioned the council about going with the project, fearing its potential impact on the municipal budget.

"I certainly hope that you will give this serious thought before jumping into these expenditures," Meloni said.

Resident Ed Trygar has told the council of problems with the meter readings taken at his mother's residence. He told the Sentinel that the problem has been ongoing for a year.

"They should first straighten out the billing problems they have now," Trygar said, "and then go to another program."

Kunz said the borough is currently in negotiations on the matter, and it remains to be decided if the borough will use the new program.

Mayor Robert Szegeti said the governing body will consider other companies for the project as well. But he described GE Energy's presentation as interesting.

"I have spoken with the administrator," Szegeti said, "and we have to do an evaluation. It is a large capital expense, and we have to make sure that all of the numbers add up to allow it to happen. This is the first time we have had a company speak about it. This is only the first step in the process."