Smart Talk: Smart meters will virtually eliminate estimated bills

In winter, cold weather and icy road conditions can prevent MLGW meter readers from working their routes, which results in estimated meter readings, a necessary practice that is unpopular with customers. Here is how estimated readings affected one customer—and how smart meters would have prevented her plight.

On January 15, 2015, the meter reader was unable to read the water meter due to condensation on the dial (resulting from moisture and cold temperatures), so her water bill was estimated that month. The next scheduled meter reading day, February 16, roads were icy. Out of concern for employee safety and to prevent vehicle accidents, routes were canceled. Therefore, the customer’s February bill had estimated electric, gas and water meter readings. When the weather improved in March, and MLGW read her water meter, the usage was much higher than what had been estimated over the last two months. The customer had a water leak. This resulted in a larger than expected bill, which upset the customer.

With smart meters, even if there are icy roads or cold temperatures cause condensation or there’s another weather event that would make it unsafe to travel, MLGW would be able to obtain accurate usage information—virtually eliminating estimated bills. Smart meters’ daily reporting feature would have also detected this customer’s water leak a lot sooner, allowing MLGW and the property owner opportunity to take action before a big bill accumulated. By simply logging into My Account on mlgw.com, cumulative and projected bill amounts, updated with each day’s smart meter readings, would be available to empower customers to manage their energy budgets, plan conservation efforts and even detect when there’s an issue like a water leak. These features make smart meters a smart idea for MLGW and customers.