National Grid to start smart meter rollout in January
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - In just a matter of weeks, many National Grid customers will start getting new smart meters installed at their homes or businesses.
Officials with the utility company are announcing the change before it happens so customers know what to expect. The two-year smart meter rollout will take place across Western New York.
Some may recall what happened over the summer with NYSEG customers, who were blindsided by their smart meter installation. National Grid says it's trying to avoid confusion and get out ahead of the rollout, which starts in January.
The limited rollout will impact 4,100 customers. Smart meters will start to be installed in Southern Erie County and the Southern Tier in places like Hamburg, Jamestown and Mayville.
Customers in these areas, in the next two weeks, will receive a letter from National Grid on when they can expect their smart meter to be installed.
"We should accomplish the installations within a period of about two to 10 minutes," said Ken Kujawa, National Grid's regional director. "So, it's very quick, it shouldn't have an impact on a customer in terms of them losing power, during a period of time when the weather's bad. If we do see that the weather's going to be bad we always have the flexibility to postpone for a day or a couple."
As was the case with smart meters from NYSEG, National Grid customers can opt-out of the smart meter. However, an $11 charge will be added in order to have your meter read.
National Grid says that smart meters are more accurate than the old meters. You can control your energy remotely and get a digital breakdown of your energy usage in your National Grid account.
"Seeing all the things that are happening in NYSEG, that's bolstered I think our communication with customers, it's allowed us to really dig in and make sure we have that direct communication and sometimes if we have to overcommunicate, we do that," Kristine O'Shauhnessy, National Grid's Director of Advanced Metering Infrastructure Customer, Community and Regulatory Engagement said.
National Grid and NYSEG have said the smart meters will provide them real-time information on power outages and that they'll likely be able to pinpoint problems faster.
"The AMR meters that we currently have in place, we've had them for about 25 years, they're reaching the end of their useful life and so now we're embarking on another rollout just like we did 25 years ago, except now we're going to be providing them with meters that are going to give them more information than they've ever had," Kujawa said.
National Grid has been installing smart meters in the Syracuse and Albany areas. A ramp up of installations will happen in the summer in Western New York. At the end of the rollout, roughly half a million National Grid customers in Western New York will have the new meters.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.