Middle Tennessee Electric announced it will begin rolling out its Brighter Future Program aimed at improving the reliability and efficiency of the current electrical infrastructure. The program comes at no additional cost to MTEMC members.
As part of the program, members will be receiving upgraded meters. Advanced metering infrastructure will provide a number of future advantages to the members of MTEMC, including increased reliability and accuracy of outage notifications.
“In 2013, at our annual meeting, I spoke about a new technology we were researching and moving toward,” said MTEMC President Chris Jones. “We began with a small pilot, about 500 members in the Christiana area, to better understand the technology and its capabilities, and I am excited to say we are ready to roll this technology out to our entire membership.”
This new infrastructure provides MTEMC precise outage information by identifying where an outage occurred, so crews can be dispatched more accurately, which will help reduce the length of time that members are without power.
“If a member loses power, this new system sends an alert to our systems control center within minutes of the outage,” said Jones. “That alert allows us to verify the outage and respond more quickly and accurately.”
This technology will also help MTEMC to reduce the number of trucks it has out to read meters or disconnect and reconnect services, ultimately contributing to a greener middle Tennessee.
In addition to improved reliability, some of the other benefits include:
Improved Member Service: MTEMC member service representatives will be better equipped to handle bill related questions or concerns.
Future Member Tools & Services: The new technology will also enable MTEMC to roll out new services, with an emphasis on tools to help members better manage and control energy use (including new online tools, mobile applications, and energy saving programs).
Environmental Benefits: The new infrastructure will provide for better interconnectivity of renewable energy sources, demand response and energy efficiency.
The advanced meter rollout will begin in Williamson County in mid-July and finish in Wilson County in the fall of 2016. Approximately six week prior to receiving a new meter, members will receive a postcard in the mail, and one week before their meter is installed, they will receive a recorded phone call that will remind them of the installation.
“We want to deliver our members information on how they use energy on a day-to-day basis, and this technology is a platform for us to do that,” said Jones.
More information on the Brighter Future Program can be found at www.mtemc.com/BrighterFuture.
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative providing electricity to more than 205,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.