sk1939Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9 Reviews:
 ·T-Mobile US
| Smart Meter So the time has finally come for BGE to replace my meter with one of the new smart meters (they're replacing the gas meter as well). I don't have a problem with the meter (other than the fact that the old meter works perfectly fine, even though it is completely analog), but I'm leary of them pulling the meter on a meter socket that may very well have been original to the house (the SE cable certainly looks like it is, fraying like no tomorrow). Will BGE install the meter with the cable in the condition it's in? Would the age of the socket matter?
The other issue is the gas meter. The NG shutoff valve has not been used in ages, if ever, and the last thing I want is an NG leak in my basement. Would they rely on the shutoff valve in the house, or is there generally a valve outside somewhere as well?
The house was built in the 60's, and BGE's contractor for this is "Grid One".
»www.bge.com/Blog/archive/2012/03···way.aspx |
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 MsradellP.E.Premium
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| I'm not sure about the electric meter issue, but there is always an outside shutoff for the natural gas! This is extremely critical. In the case of a fire situation in the residence. Also, you shutoff valve because it's inside is probably in better condition than many that are located outside, as many are. |
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PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD | reply to sk1939
Grid One put in my smartmeter on behalf of BGE a few months ago. My socket is also original to the 1968 construction. I took a look inside the meter pan while they were doing the replacement and all seemed well. The guy who did it seemed to know what he was doing and was wearing proper PPE, etc.
I'd imagine that if they find unsafe conditions (burnt out lugs, etc). they'd have a process for letting the homeowner know. |
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PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD | Also, the meter they put in only shows cumulative real power usage, no demand or power factor. Kind of annoying not to be able to gauge instantaneous usage like we could with the spinning disk. |
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 jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | reply to sk1939
If the electric meter installer feels it's bad enough and there is an imminent safety issue with your SE cable or meter socket, they could possibly have the line cut at the pole and refer you to an electrician for repairs.
If it's a contractor doing the swap, chances are they could care less.
As far as the gas shutoff valve goes, they normally check for leaks after operating the valve. The guy certainly won't leave with it leaking, or else his job could be on the line.
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PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD | Oh also, they don't replace your whole gas meter unless it's really old. They just remove the mechanical counter and replace it with one that has a transmitter and battery inside. |
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 leiboldPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
kudos:6
 ·SONIC.NET
| reply to sk1939
said by sk1939: Will BGE install the meter with the cable in the condition it's in? Would the age of the socket matter? I don't know how your utility is going to handle it, but here the smartmeter upgrade was not performed by utility employees. Instead it was subcontracted out (usual lowest bidder process). Since the subcontractor (Wellington) was paid a fixed amount per replaced meter the process was extremely rushed without any regard for the customer (the install window was a 3 month period!!!, when they finally did arrive they simply pulled the meter without regard of any currently existing loads). They should have taken the condition of service conductors or the meter base into account but certainly didn't. An advance notice of the actual install date (better yet a time window) would have been appreciated.
said by sk1939:The other issue is the gas meter. I have better news on that for you. Most gas meters do not need to have the gas supply turned off to turn them into smartmeters. In our case the counting dials were replaced with a new counter mechanism that also connects wireless to the electric smartmeter. This means no worries about turning a rarely used shutoff into a gas leak and no worries about re-igniting pilot lights either.
Any meters (gas or electric) where the subcontractor ran into difficulties (for example they broke some screws on my gas meter) were referred back to PG&E and those would be fixed by utility employees (with proper notice of when the work will be performed and a much higher level of attention to detail).
Fixing my broken gas meter did require a full replacement, but PG&E was able to do that without disrupting the gas supply to the house (attaching a small tank with natural gas while the repair was performed).
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sk1939Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9 Reviews:
·T-Mobile US
| 
It's not this bad. |
said by leibold:said by sk1939: Will BGE install the meter with the cable in the condition it's in? Would the age of the socket matter? I don't know how your utility is going to handle it, but here the smartmeter upgrade was not performed by utility employees. Instead it was subcontracted out (usual lowest bidder process). Since the subcontractor (Wellington) was paid a fixed amount per replaced meter the process was extremely rushed without any regard for the customer (the install window was a 3 month period!!!, when they finally did arrive they simply pulled the meter without regard of any currently existing loads). They should have taken the condition of service conductors or the meter base into account but certainly didn't. An advance notice of the actual install date (better yet a time window) would have been appreciated. The contractor in this case is Grid One Solution from what BGE tells me. »www.gridonesolutions.com/
"Baltimore Gas & Electric Company (BGE)
began a contract with VSI Meter Services, Inc.
(now Grid One Solutions, Inc.) in September
1998 and continues to date with more than
one million gas and electric meters automated,
in addition to a variety of other meter-related
activities. These activities include gas and
electric meter installations, gas meter change-
outs, gas leak detection, non-functioning ERT
surveys and TOU Re-Programming. ITRON
is the meter technology utilized to support this
automation effort."
The install window in this case is long term according to BGE's blog, they're already 6 months into the project (link in OP). I still should probably get the SE cable replaced, since the jacket has degraded to the point where you can grab the bare (aluminum, in keeping with the period) neutral wire to the pole. |
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leiboldPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
kudos:6 Reviews:
·SONIC.NET
| said by sk1939:It's not this bad. A pink meter base ? Looks like a must-fix issue to me 
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