SWEPCO to begin installation of smart meters in Texarkana

Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) will begin the process of installing approximately 10,000 advanced digital electric meters for customers in Texarkana, Texas, on Nov. 1.

The installations will take place over four to eight weeks for individual homes and businesses. Customers do not have to be home at the time of the installation, but they are asked to provide clear access to their meters for SWEPCO personnel to install them. Customers will experience a roughly five-minute power outage at the time of installation.

The installation will take place in the Texarkana within zip codes 75501 and 75503, as well as Hooks, Nash, New Boston, Red Lick, Red River Army Depot, and Wake Village.

“We chose this area for our initial installation of advanced meters in Texas because it includes a good cross-section of customers, such as residential and commercial, and it works well with the communications network we are installing,” Henry Brown, SWEPCO director of Grid Modernization, said. “Over the past few weeks, we have installed the access points, relays, and other equipment in the wireless network, and the next step is installing the meters themselves.”

SWEPCO will contact customers via mail, email, or phone to let them know when the installation will take place.

The Advanced Metering System (AMS) that SWEPCO is installing uses secure wireless technology to provide timely and accurate meter reading data, which customers can use to better understand and manage their electricity usage. There is no fee for installation of the AMS meter.

This is a pilot installation for SWEPCO. The company plans to install the meters to the rest of its customers – about 196,000 — in Texas throughout 2022-2023.