10A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 14, 2018
Are you ready?
D ISASTER P REPAREDNESS
Smart meters on the way to Cottage Grove
Pacifi c Power is bringing smart meters to resi-
dents and businesses of the Cottage Grove and Junc-
tion City areas, replacing thousands of aging electric
meters
About 11,000 new meters will be installed in the
area which includes Cottage Grove, Creswell, Junc-
tion City, Harrisburg, Coburg, Monroe and other un-
incorporated areas. In all, Pacifi c Power will replace
590,000 meters in communities across the state from
now through fall 2019.
The new smart meters will:
* Instantly track outages, meaning faster service
response and shorter outages overall.
* Let customers view their power usage hour-by-
hour, so they can adjust their activity to reduce both
their carbon footprint and bill.
* Provide businesses with detailed usage report-
ing which will help them cut costs and make invest-
ments in items that help their business grow.
* Update the grid to work more effi ciently and
better integrate renewable power sources.
"Installing smart meters is a key step toward the
power grid of the future here in Oregon and our cus-
tomers throughout the state all benefi t," said Sam
Carter, Pacifi c Power's regional business manager
for the area. "By vastly improving our meter tech-
nology, we can deliver power more reliably and
shorten outages, save costs, and allow for better
management of renewable sources."
More than 70 million smart meters have been in-
stalled nationwide, which means half of all house-
holds in the U.S. have them. Smart meters are a key
component to updating the energy grid originally
built for technology from 100 years ago. They also
help Pacifi c Power hold down operating costs, im-
prove customer service and reliability while main-
taining the highest standards of security and custom-
er privacy.
Access to daily energy usage information will be
available to customers via a secure website. This
near real-time energy usage information will let cus-
tomers better understand what is driving their elec-
tric bills and help them make decisions that can save
energy and money. This capability will come about
six weeks after a new meter is installed.
"We are connecting our small communities
throughout Oregon in a way that improves the reli-
ability and effi ciency of the grid, both at home and
at work," said Carter. "With smart meter technology
now mature, proven and available at competitive
prices, we can deliver the benefi ts without any addi-
tional cost to customers."
Here's what customers can expect during the in-
stallation process:
* Customers will be notifi ed before installation
through the mail and will receive detailed informa-
tion about the new smart meters. Reminder calls will
be made to customers as their scheduled installation
date approaches.
* Pacifi c Power's authorized installer, Aclara, will
arrive between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to make installa-
tions. Installers will drive vehicles and carry badges
that identify them as an authorized contractor of Pa-
cifi c Power. Unless an electric meter is inside, they
will not need to enter customer homes.
* During the installation, Pacifi c Power tech-
nicians will remove the old meter, install the new
meter, restore service and verify the new meter is
working properly. This process will require a brief
power outage (less than fi ve minutes). The techni-
cians will leave a door hanger to let customers know
they were there, and successfully installed the new
smart meter.
* Pacifi c Power will manually read the newly in-
stalled smart meters for as long as it takes to confi rm
everything is working correctly. After meter instal-
lations are complete in the area, meter reading will
happen remotely.
* Approximately six weeks following the instal-
lation when all area installs are complete, customers
can sign in to their Pacifi c Power account to access
the newly available usage data. Customers can sign
up for their web account here.
If customers have any concerns, have not received
the proper series of notices or have any reason to
think a notifi cation is not legitimate, customers
should hang up and call Pacifi c Power's customer
service at 1-800-221-7070 immediately to verify
whether they are scheduled for an installation.
Additional information, including installation up-
dates are available at www.pacifi cpower.net/smart-
meter. Customers can also call 866-869-8520.
EPUD warns bills may climb again
PALLE
TIZED
DRY
FIREW
OO
IN STO D
CK!
Weather Impact on Energy Charges for an Actual EPUD Customer
$250
$200
48° F
48° F
$15.13
46° F
46° F
44° F
41° F
37° F
$150
$100
37° F
Family owned and operated for over 47 years.
$200.67
$180.21
$168.99
$154.38
$50
$115.15
$108.15
$93.69
$107.38
$0
Dec
Jan
Feb
Usage Charge (2016 - 2017)
SPRING
Mar
Usage Charge (2017 - 2018)
Tiered Rate Impact (2017 - 2018)
Tune-Up
The above graph shows the average temperature and compares the monthly bill each month from the year before to the current bill. The graphic is avail-
able online at cgsentinel.com.
By Caitlyn May
Emerald People’s
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Utilities
District
(EPUD) customers
may be seeing another large bill.
Customers’ March bill (which covers the
month of February) should be arriving if it
hasn’t already but EPUD offi cials are warn-
ing that the possible increase is not attribut-
ed solely to the new tiered rates set in place
last April.
In early February, the company issued a
statement apologizing for December’s high
bills.
“Over the past month, many of you have
voiced concerns about high electric bills
and the tiered rate structure that was imple-
mented in April 2017,” General Manager
Scott Coe wrote. “Your phone calls, emails
and public statements helped us realize we
did not adequately prepare you for the im-
pact this structure could have on bills during
winter months. We also did not clearly
communicate why we felt this was the right
thing to do.”
The company, however, has since been
clear that the tiered system is not soley re-
sponsible for the higher rates.
“It’s the temperature,” said EPUD’s pub-
lic relations coordinator Patty Jo Angelini.
“Customers saying their bills have doubled,
it’s just not possible,” she said.
The average temperature in December
was 45.3 degrees. In January, the average
temperature was 36.8 meaning that Febru-
ary’s bills were set to be higher despite the
tiered rate which assigns a higher price per
kilowatt hour for households that use more
power.
Customers who use between one and 600
kWh will pay .0696 per kWh, a one-cent re-
duction in comparison to the previous rate.
Those who use between 601 and 1,800 kWh
will remain at the current rate of .0796 per
kWh and those who exceed 1,801 kWh will
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“Some of the increase is due to the tiered
rate change but the majority of it is the tem-
perature. We had a cold February,” Angelini
said. “The bills in March will be higher.”
In a sample bill, December saw a $141.90
charge. January’s bill for the same anony-
mous customer paid $242.55.
“The average temperature went down but
the bill did not double,” Angelini said.
EPUD is providing several options for
customers unable to pay their higher bills
including a free energy audit which Ange-
lini says can often cut a power bill in half.
The utility has also waived late fees and
offered an extended enrollment period for
its Equal Payment program that allows cus-
tomers to pay the same dollar amount every
month by averaging the prior year’s bill.
For more information, or for specifi c
questions about a bill, contact Angelini at
(541) 744-7440.
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Make sure all the pieces are in place to render you and your family prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
• Listen to radio or television newscasts for the latest weather information, and follow all evacuation directions and suggestions.
• Keep a stock of non-perishable food items as well as bottled water on hand inside your home.
• Keep a 72 Hour Kit on hand inside your home that is easy to get to in the event of a disaster.
For more information and tips on disaster response and preparedness, contact your local emergency services center.
South Lane Fire & Rescue • 233 Harrison Ave, Cottage Grove 541-942-4493 • 55 South 1st Street, Creswell 541-895-2506
Twitter: @southlanefi re
Facebook: southlanecountyfi reandrescue