The Texan city of Houston is rolling out two million smart meters over the next five years at a cost of $640 million.

Transmission and distribution company CenterPoint Energy was given the go ahead by the Public Utility Commission of Texas late last year and will start installing smart meters to its customers next month.

The smart meters will use eMeter’s EnergyIP meter data management system.

CenterPoint Energy will bear the cost of installation and setting up data management systems, which it hopes to recover through a surcharge of around $3 per month per customer.

Initial trials running since 2006 have been promising and the company believes the smart meters will make it easier for customers to monitor – and reduce – their energy usage.

“We strongly believe that this new metering technology is the first step in moving the electric grid into the digital age,” adds Tom Standish of CenterPoint Energy.

For further information:
www.centerpointenergy.com/
www.emeter.com