Utility Partners of America (UPA)worked on a major smart meter installation with the City of Naperville (Illinois, U.S.) Department of Public Utilities-Electric. Together, they identified more than 200 broken meter sockets that were repaired before they could cause any issues to residences or businesses.
As outdated analog meters are replaced with digital smart meters to help customers control their energy use, utilities have an opportunity to inspect meter sockets and identify pre-existing conditions that could cause issues in the future. Aware of this opportunity, Naperville set in place stringent guidelines for its smart grid modernization project.
Naperville and UPA worked together to establish formal meter installation procedures, with every meter technician receiving extensive training prior to performing installations. The training included safety procedures for the technician to follow to identify unsafe conditions that may have been evident in existing equipment as well as the actions to take following such a discovery. Once contacted by UPA, Naperville personnel were available to address the unsafe condition directly or in conjunction with the customer, at no cost to the customer.
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