Tampa Electric has begun installing state-of-the-art, smart electric meters for every customer – part of a multi-year project to build a smarter energy grid that will deliver safe, more reliable and affordable energy to more than 750,000 customers.
When the $235 million project is complete in early 2022, it will serve as a foundation for many future improvements, including:
- Improved outage detection and restoration. Tampa Electric will know when an outage occurs and will more quickly diagnose and repair the problem. Additionally, the technology will provide customers with more timely, customized information on the cause and status of restoration.
- More convenience to start, stop or transfer service, as these will occur remotely. No appointments necessary.
- More information about electricity use. Customers will have the ability to manage their energy use throughout the month, set up alerts when consumption and bills are approaching certain levels and monitor daily usage through mobile devices.
- More flexibility. Customers will have the ability to pick their own payment date.
- Increased privacy on your property. Electricity usage information will be relayed automatically to Tampa Electric for billing purposes, limiting on-site or drive-by visits to read meters, to cut or restore power.
"This investment is transformational. Our new technology will lay a foundation to provide more services and programs for our customers,” said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "This new technology will ultimately connect our grid to streetlights, rooftop solar, electric vehicles and more.”
All customers scheduled to receive a new meter will receive a letter indicating when installers will be in their area. Before any change is made, a technician will attempt to notify a customer about the installation of the meter, which will result in a brief interruption to electric service. All vendors installing the smart meters will carry Tampa Electric contractor photo identification cards. If the customer is not available at the time of installation, the vendor will post a door hanger noting the meter was replaced.
Here are a few things to know about the new, second-generation smart meters:
- There are no installation fees.
- It won't change the customer's account information or billing cycle.
- Customers do not need to be at their home or business for the installation.
- A brief interruption to electric service will occur when the meter is installed. Installers will attempt to notify on-site customers before the outage begins.
If a customer chooses to opt out of the meter installation, the company will assess a fee to manually read their meter in the near future. The amount of the fee has not yet been determined, and it will require approval from the Florida Public Service Commission.
Questions about the new meters and a list of frequently asked questions are available at tampaelectric.com/mymeter.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 750,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
