PORT ANGELES — Nearly 1,000 “smart” meters have been installed as part of City Hall’s switch to computerized utility reading.
But one may have saved a life, or at least a home.
Donna Rowan said that when a crew from Olympic Electric, hired by the city of Port Angeles to replace electric meters, came to replace hers Wednesday, they found an unexpected problem.
The inside of the old meter was “extremely hot,” she said, so much so that “they could hardly touch it.”
The old meter, they told her, was a significant fire risk.
Concerned, Rowan turned the power off to her home on West Fourth Street until the crew returned the next day and fixed the problem.
“We would have never known,” she said.
“We wouldn’t have even questioned there was a problem with it.”
Rowan said that she and her husband, Craig, were “on the fence” about the new meters. But not anymore.
She said she may end up paying $600 to have the problem fixed, with the city paying another $750. Customers are not charged for simple meter replacements.
Cheap insurance
“To us, that is cheap insurance to know the house is safe,” Donna Rowan said.
The city expects to be done with the first phase of meter replacements this week.
Phil Lusk, city power resources manager, said the city will wait about six weeks before installing the other 18,000 automated electric and water meters.
“We’re going to stand down and kind of evaluate where we are,” he said, adding that the city wants to make sure the new system is working properly before continuing.
Most of the meters were due to be replaced, the city has said.
The new meters allow water and energy use to be read remotely at City Hall through wireless devices and fiber-optic cables.
The city has budgeted $5.4 million for the project.
Customers can also track their energy use throughout the day.
With the new meters, the city is offering a voluntary program that allows customers to reduce their energy use when demand is at its peak.
That’s accomplished by the city remotely turning off water heaters or reducing thermostats during those peak periods.
The city is hosting informational meetings on that program at 12:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday in council chambers at City Hall.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
