Smart Talk: Why apartment managers support smart meters

Some apartment managers have voiced their concern about smart meters to MLGW — they can’t be installed soon enough! From the standpoint of owners and managers, the updated meters will help protect their tenants and property. According to the National Multifamily Housing Council’s website, there are 250,553 occupied housing units in the Memphis metro area. One apartment manager shared, in their own words, why they think moving forward with smart meters make sense to keep families living in Memphis and Shelby County's apartment communities safe:

Smart meters would alert MLGW the minute the meter is pulled. If MLGW can notify us {apartment managers/owners} by email that the meter has been tampered with, we {could} look into the situation quickly. I believe owners and MLGW can work together to stop a very dangerous situation that occurs almost daily at multifamily properties.

We found the problem shown below because of a chance visit to a property. Our tenant shows how easy it would be to put your hand into the open meter box.

Smart meters provide apartment owners and tenants with a real solution to prevent illegal tampering and potential electrocution and fire hazards.