Nebraska Public Power District initiates meter replacement project

The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) has initiated a plan to upgrade electric meters in seven southeast Nebraska communities.

Officials said the work involves replacing the existing meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) equipment for residences and businesses in Barada, Crab Orchard, Lewiston, Shubert, St. Mary, Sterling, and Verdon later this month, as part of an overall effort to replace 43,000 meters in 33 communities.

AMI is a digital metering technology used around the world for more than a decade. Officials said the current meters in communities slated for replacement are electro-mechanical devices.

The new meters display the reading in digital LED format and have an electronic circuit board module that will receive and securely transmit the data back to NPPD on the total amount of kilowatt hours used by a residence, business or industry.

“The installation of the AMI systems will help maintain competitive electric rates by reducing operating expenses,” Tim Arlt, NPPD Retail general manager, said. “With these units we can also pinpoint the exact location of outages quicker, meaning a faster response time to restore power.”

Upon receiving notice of the installation from District officials, authorities said a District employee would make the change and remove the old meter from the premises and noted a resident or business owner does not need to be present when the switch occurs, and there will be a short interruption of electric service.