Nebraska Public Power District to install new meters

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) will be upgrading electric meters at residences and businesses starting Jan. 27 in several of the communities it serves.

Specifically, meters will initially be replaced in Broadwater, Lisco, Oshkosh, Lewellen, Brandon, Venango, Madrid, and Elsie. After that, meters will be replaced in Brule, Big Springs, Sutherland, and Ogallala. In the past two years, NPPD has replaced approximately 67,000 meters.

There is no charge to the customer for the meter or the installation. Before the installation, representatives from NPPD will call customers to alert them to the installation of the meters. An NPPD technician will then switch out the meter at the residence or business with a new one. The resident or business owner does not need to be there at the time.

The new meters feature two-way communication known as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), a digital metering technology. The meters display the reading in a digital LCD format and transmit the data back to NPPD on the total amount of kilowatt hours used.

“The installation of the AMI system helps maintain competitive electric rates for our customers by reducing operating expenses,” NPPD Retail General Manager Tim Arlt said. “With AMI equipment, we can also pinpoint the exact location of outages quicker, meaning a faster response time in restoring power.”

The new meters provide an additional level of safety for NPPD employees when troubleshooting or handling routine maintenance.