ComEd Installs One Millionth Smart Meter
21 April 2015 - 3:41AM
Business Wire
Smart meters providing promised benefits to
customers, and creating the foundation for the future
ComEd announced today that it had installed its one millionth
smart meter in its service territory. The mission of installing
nearly four million smart meters began in 2013 and, on an
accelerated timeline path, is expected to be complete in 2018 –
three years ahead of schedule. A smart meter is a digital electric
meter that uses two-way radio communications to collect usage
information and securely transmit it to ComEd through a wireless
connection.
“One million smart meters means one million customers now have
access to tools and information that will help them better control
and manage their energy use,” said Michael McMahan, Vice President
of Automated Metering Infrastructure Implementation for ComEd.
Smart meters provide customers with access to more information
about energy use through online energy-management tools.
Additionally, because smart meters automatically send meter
readings to ComEd, they also help eliminate estimated bills and
reduce operating costs that become savings on customers’ electric
bills.
Recently, ComEd reported out to the Illinois Commerce Commission
for the first time on performance metrics for smart meters. The
company reported that it had surpassed in 2014 targets in several
categories including reduction of estimated bills, uncollected
expenses and consumption on inactive meters. The positive
performance results help to lower operational costs, which are
passed directly to customers as rate savings.
In addition, Smart Grid investments have helped to strengthen
reliability of the electric system by helping to avoid more than
3.3 million customer interruptions since 2012, including 1.2
million in 2014 due largely to increased investments in
distribution automation or digital “smart switches” that
automatically route power around potential problem areas. Outage
avoidance has saved customers an estimated $175 million.
Working with Silver Spring Networks, ComEd is building a
wireless communications network which allows smart meters to
communicate customer electricity usage with ComEd. Already,
however, the company is looking for additional opportunities to use
the communications network to bring new technologies and benefits
to its service territory.
Earlier this year, ComEd introduced a pilot program to deploy
smart, energy-efficient LED streetlights in Lombard and
Bensenville. Via a web portal, municipalities will be able to
control the dimming and daily scheduling of the lights, and receive
immediate notification if a lamp is in need of maintenance.
Additionally, control can be given to first responders to manage
streetlights on-demand during emergency situations. The LED
streetlights, which consume as little as one-third of the energy,
last up to one and a half times as long and offer better quality of
light compared with the fixtures they replace.
With smart grid and smart meters producing customer benefits and
savings, ComEd is advocating for legislation in Springfield to even
more fully leverage the capabilities of the smart grid. This
legislation – ComEd’s Future Energy Plan, Senate Bill 1879 – would
expand access to renewable energy, increase energy efficiency,
enhance resiliency and security of the system and meet the growing
demand among energy consumers for more choice and personalized
services.
“The advanced technology we are putting into place is creating a
platform by which new innovation can be brought to the grid and
create greater value for our customers,” said McMahan. “We’re
committed to enabling our customers to take full advantage of the
new technologies, transforming the way electricity is distributed
and used by our customers.”
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive
energy provider, with approximately 7.8 million customers. ComEd
provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across
northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For
more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
ComEd Media Relations(312) 394-3500ComEd.com/News
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