Smart Grid: Customer Benefits

There are many operational, human capital and customer benefits associated with smart meters. For now, let’s focus on the customer. How will MLGW’s customers benefit from having a smart meter installed?

• Faster outage detection and quicker restoration times when outages occur
• Increased premise privacy—no “meter-reading-day” inconveniences (tying up the dog, etc.)
• Accurate billing 
• Reduced fees—more than 50 percent savings depending on the type of service
• Faster connection or reconnection—remote processing means you won’t have to wait for a truck to be dispatched
• Greater control in energy consumption—using data to make informed decisions

Sounds too ‘pie in the sky’? Not at all—click on the short video below of Ken, a local homeowner, who volunteered for the Smart Grid Demonstration project. He shares his experience of how he shaved $100 a month off his utility bill by using his personal usage data to make choices about his household’s energy consumption.