Energy in Elizabeth City is On the Grid and Off the Charts
New electric meters lead to less energy consumption and more money.
Across Elizabeth City, smart-grid electric meters are arming households and businesses with the information they need to monitor and manage their energy consumption and save money.
The adoption of smart-grid technology provides a “level of service proficiencies, improved accuracy in usage and billing and customer consumer interface,” says Assistant City Manager Angela Judge.
Old-fashioned electric meters that silently recorded energy use and were periodically read by city officials have been disappearing – all were expected to be gone soon after the beginning of 2021.
The city is also installing smart water meters, but that is on an as-needed basis and has a much longer timeline, Judge says.
The smart meters replacing the old electric meters are part of a new advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) designed to allow communication between the meter, electric utility and consumer.
“Consumers can use real-time information provided by the smart-grid system to change their normal consumption patterns to take advantage of lower prices.”
Households and businesses can track their consumption in real-time. They can potentially save money by changing their habits to reduce use during times of peak demand each day when prices are higher.
The smart grid can automatically alert the electric department if there is an outage, reducing its length.
By controlling demand, the smart grid can save money for the city by reducing the need to expand the electric system.
“Consumers can use real-time information provided by the smart-grid system to change their normal consumption patterns to take advantage of lower prices. Pricing can be used to curb growth of peak-demand consumption, saving the city a considerable amount of money,” Judge says.
If you’d like to learn more about the Elizabeth City area, check out the latest edition of Livability: Elizabeth City, NC.