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The New Smart Meters get a high grade in a survey.
The vast majority of smart meters installed in Texas are measuring and recording electric usage accurately, according to a state-ordered study.
Navigant Consulting, chosen in March to conduct the study for state regulators in response to complaints about the accuracy of the meters, tested 5,627 meters in use by CenterPoint Energy, Oncor and AEP Texas.
The company found that 99.96 percent of the smart meters tested were accurate.
“A success rate of 99.96 of advanced meters is much better than that of traditional meters,” said Terry Hadley, a spokesman for the Public Utility Commission.
The commission announced at a meeting last week that Oncor, CenterPoint Energy and AEP will not pass the cost of the study on to consumers, and indicated that the meter manufacturers will cover some or all of the cost, Hadley said.
Smart meters contain technology that provides real-time power-use information to electricity distributors and customers. Industry and government officials say the information allows customers to monitor their electric use more effectively, distribution companies to spot outages more precisely and electric retail providers to tailor rate plans to customers’ usage habits.
Despite the purported benefits, some lawmakers had raised concerns about the accuracy of the new meters as consumers complained of higher bills following installation of the new meters.
Houston-based CenterPoint, which distributes electricity to 2 million Houston-area customers regardless of which retailer sells them their electricity, praised the study.
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