MAINE, USA — One of Maine’s primary power companies has begun an effort to replace most of its customers' electric meters.
Judy Long, manager of communications at Versant Power, told NEWS CENTER Maine all of the company's residential and small-to-medium commercial customers will have their meters changed.
"The reality is, our meters have reached the end of their useful life, and we're not able to get those same meters we used to have because they no longer even make them," Long said.
Long said Versant Power has more than 159,000 customers across its service territory, and more than 100,000 qualify for the new meters.
"Our largest customers have a different kind of meter that won't be replaced at this time," she said.
According to Long, the new meters are more technologically advanced than those being used now.
The meters will allow customers to access more real-time data about their electricity use and help the company better identify outages and power issues, which should mean faster response times.
According to Long, the new meters will:
- allow customers to have access to more real-time data about their electricity use.
- help Versant Power better identify outages and power issues, which is expected to result in faster response times.
- allow the company to connect or disconnect to a meter remotely.
“You don’t have to be home in order for us to replace your meter," Long added. "You’ll know that we’ve been there because we’ll leave a door knocker explaining that we were able to successfully replace your meter. If you are home, you’ll just experience a power loss of a few minutes while we work to swap it out, but otherwise, you won’t see any change in your service."
You can learn more about Versant Power's new meters on the company's website.