El Paso Electric settles on deployment of Advanced Metering System, filling gap in Texas coverage

After reaching an agreement with the City of El Paso, Texas, El Paso Electric (EPE) announced this week that its Advanced Metering System (AMS) deployment plan will proceed, fixing the smart metering gap that currently makes up its service territory.

In fact, until now, EPE’s service territory has been the only major Texas service area without a smart metering system. Such a system will grant EPE real-time notifications of power outages, removing the reliance on customer calls and potentially improving both reliability of the grid and power restoration times. It will also provide EPE with greater data to determine how best to incorporate additional renewable resources and proceed with transportation electrification.

“EPE applauds City Council’s vision to have an innovative, best-in-class energy sector in our region that supports our economic development goals,” EPE President and CEO Kelly A. Tomblin said. “Throughout the country, AMS technology has demonstrated its capability to improve customer service and empower customers with the ability to make choices about their energy usage. At the same time, it enables the electric utility to become more efficient by improving the usage of our utility infrastructure investments made by our customers.”

The settlement was reached between EPE, the City of El Paso, and all other intervenors in the case. However, regulatory approval is still required from the Public Utility Commission of Texas.