Have you heard about Energy InSight SM that is being offered by CenterPoint Energy? There was a flier hanging on my door last week that explained it. Basically, they came out and installed a new smart meter on my home and the flier included the details below. I did not know they were planning to upgrade my meter, but it sounds like it will be beneficial to them and to me!
Smart meters make a new energy future possible.
- Remote meter reading – CenterPoint Energy will be able to read your smart meter remotely, virtually eliminating the need to come to your house to read the meter, which means fewer trucks on the road.
- Smoother transactions – Remote connection and disconnection of electric service should reduce the time it takes to process service orders for most home and some businesses.
- Automatic outage notification – Smart meters will automatically notify CenterPoint Energy about power outages, helping us restore power more quickly.
- Energy efficiency and savings – See your electric usage history to better manage your energy costs by making small changes such as adjusting your thermostat.
- Environmental benefits – If consumers conserve energy, less power may have to be produced, which is good for the environment.
- New products and services – Retail Electric Providers (REPs), who sell you
electricity, can now offer new, innovative products and services. - Home Area Networks (HAN) – Smart meters can interact with ZigBee-compatible HAN devices such as thermostats or other electric appliances so you can better manage your electricity use.
Would you like to have your meter upgraded? You can call your Retail Electric Provider using the number on your electric bill. Watch for additional features and benefits as these meters are deployed.
By using this new meter, you accept the terms after two weeks and can log onto www.SmartMeterTexas.com to check your usage.
What’s the catch?? It costs you money!
Texas law allows utilities to assess REPs a surcharge to recover the cost of smart meters. The surcharge for each residential consumer, from February 2009 to February 2011, was $3.24 per month. The surcharge has been reduced to $3.05 per month. To learn more about these charges, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/EnergyInSight and click on Frequently Asked Questions or call 713-207-2222 or 1-800-332-7143 or visit CenterPointEnergy.com/EnergyInSight.
You may come home to a new meter and a flier on your door very soon!
