An Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meter is an electrical meter that records the consumption of electricity and sends that information back to Agralite. These meters differ from traditional meters because there is a wireless module installed in the meter which allows for two-way wireless communication (much like a cell phone) between the meter and the co-op. AMI will increase the efficiency and reliability of the co-op's electric system.
The meter upgrade provides Agralite members with numerous benefits. The AMI meters will help the co-op with the following:
- Pinpoint the exact location of outages more quickly, meaning a faster response time
- Help members address questions about their bills by providing information about power consumption patterns, outage and blink count history and voltage information.
- Improve electric service reliability and power quality
- Help secure the overall safety of the cooperative employee team
The new meter records an electronic kWh reading, the date and time of energy usage, the overall peak demand of the electric account, if the meter has rotated backwards, and the number of times the meter has experienced a loss of power for any reason. In fact, the meter will record the date and time of light blinks and the length of the power outage.
Like most of our current meters, the new meters will display the meter reading in a digital LED format. The module receives and stores the kilo-watt-hour (kWh) and demand consumption recorded by the electronics in the meter, and is able to transmit securely this and other system data back to the cooperative.
With AMI, Agralite will continue to read the meter remotely from our office. Information from the meter is transmitted back to the co-op in daily increments. The cooperative’s computer will communicate with the substation-installed equipment, which sends a request for one or more meter readings. The meter reading is sent back to the co-op via a secure network.
Routine inspection of all meters and services will continue in order to look for safety hazards, theft or other issues.
Members should continue to contact Agralite to report an outage and any immediate hazards.
The meter display is visible for members to be able to check their consumption. All other information and data stored in the meter is secure and the meter is sealed.
Yes. We will be posting installation schedules in our Newsletter, on our website, and on Facebook. We will work with our commercial accounts to minimize any inconvenience. You do not have to be present during the meter change.
No. Agralite members will continue to be billed under their current rate structure once these AMI meters are installed. Members will continue to receive a monthly bill after receiving the upgraded meter.
No. Research conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute, the Utilities Telecom Council and others has revealed no health impacts from digital meters. The radio frequencies emitted by digital meters falls well below the maximum recommended in federal guidelines. Contrary to some misconceptions, the new meters emit radio frequencies (RF) only when responding to a request for data from the co-op office. Compare this activity to a laptop with a wireless connection, which is constantly sending and retrieving data. A digital meter equipped to send and receive data has an RF density approximately 12,000 times less than the RF density of a cell phones.