Metering News

Sensus was selected to provide the core communications technology to support the UK government’s plan to put smart meters in millions of homes and small businesses by 2020. Sensus technology will support the rollout of electric and gas smart meters to ten million locations in the northern region of Great Britain, subject to contract. The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced that communications company Arqiva has been selected to provide the smart metering communications service for Northern England and Scotland.

Addressing an issue reserved from a general rate case proceeding, the Michigan Public Service Commission has accepted an electric utility’s plan for offering residential customers an opportunity to opt out of the company’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) program. The utility, Consumers Energy Company, had previously been authorized to commence deployment of smart meters throughout its service area.

The New York Public Service Commission increased each utility’s system-wide net metering limits for solar photovoltaic projects, farm anaerobic digestion facilities, small hydro micro combined heat and power projects, and fuel cells. As modified, the cap was raised from the current one percent of system peak load to three percent. The commission deemed it expedient to increase the net metering limits so as to accommodate the anticipated increase in demand as more solar projects are installed.

The Illinois Commerce Commission accepted an annual report filed by Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) documenting its efforts to implement its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) plan, including steps taken by the utility to educate customers on the upcoming deployment of the smart meters. Earlier in June, the commission had approved a revised schedule for installation of 60,000 new meters in ComEd’s service area beginning in the third quarter of 2013.

Although finding that an electric utility had raised valid issues about net metering policies that should be more closely examined, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission has denied most of the utility’s plan for modifying compensation schedules applicable to net-metering customers. The utility, Idaho Power Company, had proposed that residential and small commercial customers who net meter by generating their own power be moved into new customer classes and be paid differently for the energy they generate.

The Michigan Public Service Commission, concerned that existing consumer privacy policies were not expansive enough and were disproportionately directed at customer data collected through advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) equipment, amended its privacy policies to assure that all customer usage information possessed by the state’s energy utilities, and not just that collected via AMI, would be protected. The commission explained that as metering and billing technologies evolve, so, too, must customer privacy practices adapt. (Case No.

Duquesne Light signed a contract with Itron for the deployment of Itron’s smart metering solution across the utility’s entire service territory. The contract signing follows approval from Duquesne Light’s board of directors and Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PAPUC). Itron will replace the utility’s existing 625,000 electricity meters, implement back-office data collection software, supply critical network communications infrastructure, and provide comprehensive professional services.

ComEd selected GE to deliver approximately four million smart meters from 2013 to 2021 in a deal worth more than $200 million.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) authorized Detroit Edison to implement an AMI opt-out program. The commission approved the specifics of the opt-out proposal submitted by the utility, except that it reduced the associated charges recommended by the company, finding that the company’s forecasted participation rate was too low. For complete regulatory coverage, citations, and analysis, subscribe to Utility Regulatory News http://www.fortnightly.com/urn-subscribe

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC) has denied a request by the city’s public advocate, the Office of People’s Counsel (OPC), to reconsider an earlier decision in which the commission had rejected calls for it to require Potomac Electric Power Co. (Pepco) to offer its customers a chance to opt out of an ongoing AMI program. For complete regulatory coverage, citations, and analysis, subscribe to Utility Regulatory News http://www.fortnightly.com/urn-subscribe