Goodbye meter reader? AES Ohio promising more efficient electric service with ‘smart meter’ program

AES Ohio is employing its “smart grid” project that promises to provide customers with smarter, more efficient service that bring an end to the meter reader’s monthly visit to homes to make sure the utility is charging you correctly for your electricity.

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AES Ohio says that ritual will be a thing of the past for the Miami Valley by 2025, when 95 percent of the company’s customers will have a “smart meter.”

“We can communicate back and forth,” Mary Ann Kabel, AES director of corporate communication, told News Center 7′s Haley Kosik. “It’s two-way communication with our customers. So that helps with reliability. It helps with seamless services and things that customers can do on their own in terms of managing and controlling their usage.”

The rollout of the meters is part of a four-year plan. So far, AES has installed about 100,000 meters.

John Baumann received his Wednesday morning.

“At this point, of course, it’s made no difference. You can’t tell any difference in your electric service, it’s on,” he said.

Baumann said he does see advantages in having a smart meter, such as AES having the ability to know whether his home is without power.

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Kabel said, “it narrows it down so we can isolate where that customer is and restore power quicker, faster, safer.”

But Baumann said he also has some concerns.

“This is a network-type system and if somebody can hack it. . . .” he said. “Then how long does it take to restore and recover from one of these incidents?”

Kabel said the concern is valid for everyone.

“But just as you do with your banking, or your shopping that you do online, there are privacy policies and strict rules that we adhere to just as any company would,” she said.

AES customers do have a choice. If they don’t want the upgrade on the meter, they will have to pay a one-time fee of about $100 -- and a monthly fee of close to $37.

Baumann said the way he calculates it, homeowners are looking at nearly $440 a year to opt out of the new meters.

AES says those fees will help finance the continued monthly visit from the meter reader.

“We’ll just find out how things go in the future,” Baumann said. “There’s really no turning back at this point.”