smart meter question

[jetlag]

Hi , I havnt been on in a while, I have narrowed down a problem at my own house to a loose lug in the meter . It is a digital meter but I dont see a transmitter that I understand sends a signal to the poco . I hate to call the poco and also get a county permit just to torque a lug as my power would probably be off over night. But if a lug needs replace I will. Does any one know if the poco will come running out if I pull meter for 2 or 3 min ? Also will the power come back on when the meter is reinstalled same as a regular meter. Its my own house and I have state and local license.

 

[Sierrasparky]

I don't think so. Do you have one of those new Iltron time of use meters. I think they are the only ones with the solid state relays that could be turned off remotely. I heard they put a tamper device but that is only if you remove the shell.

 

[raider1]

Isn't the meter tagged by the POCO?

In my area regardless of the type of meter you have to clip a tag to remove the meter. If the POCO sees that the tag is removed they can fine you.

Chris

 

[Sierrasparky]

Isn't the meter tagged by the POCO?

In my area regardless of the type of meter you have to clip a tag to remove the meter. If the POCO sees that the tag is removed they can fine you.

Chris

I have never heard that out here on the west coast. I know of some that will cut the special lock ring off when they need to service the lugs or main breaker. Unless they have a camera I would not worry.

 

[jetlag]

thanks sparky

thanks sparky

I don't think so. Do you have one of those new Iltron time of use meters. I think they are the only ones with the solid state relays that could be turned off remotely. I heard they put a tamper device but that is only if you remove the shell.

It is the itron , do you think that means it wont come back on unless they restart it ? It seems that would be to much of a hastle in power outages as that should have same affect as pull the meter. Also im not sure they put the transmiiter on every meter . doesnt that mount outside the glass with a wire going in.

 

[jetlag]

thanks raider

thanks raider

Isn't the meter tagged by the POCO?

In my area regardless of the type of meter you have to clip a tag to remove the meter. If the POCO sees that the tag is removed they can fine you.

Chris

They do have a seal but if done carefully it can go a long time before it is noticed and they just put on another in most cases. The house has been rented before and I can say it must have happened then. They dont seem to worry much unless they see evidence the meter has been jumped. This house has been been on auto draft payment for years . People with power cut off is the ones that draw attention.

 

[Sierrasparky]

It is the itron , do you think that means it wont come back on unless they restart it ? It seems that would be to much of a hastle in power outages as that should have same affect as pull the meter. Also im not sure they put the transmiiter on every meter . doesnt that mount outside the glass with a wire going in.

I have not heard of a tamper thing where is power was lost on the line side it would not turn back on. Besides unless they have a smart grid they cannot even know. The transmitter is not a cellular device as far as I know. So the Poco needs a network of receivers and transmitters.

I don't think you have a issue.

 

[texie]

Hi , I havnt been on in a while, I have narrowed down a problem at my own house to a loose lug in the meter . It is a digital meter but I dont see a transmitter that I understand sends a signal to the poco . I hate to call the poco and also get a county permit just to torque a lug as my power would probably be off over night. But if a lug needs replace I will. Does any one know if the poco will come running out if I pull meter for 2 or 3 min ? Also will the power come back on when the meter is reinstalled same as a regular meter. Its my own house and I have state and local license.

Are you in an area that has Smart Metering? Just because it is electronic/time of use doesn't mean it is a "smart meter" with communication capability to know if you removed it. In any case, I think it is safer and good policy to get the POCO to a "work with". However, many POCO's are not cooperative in helping in a timely manor, in which case I just cut the seal and do what I have to do. Rarely ever had it come back on me. If they do I just tell 'em I had to to do work and if they don't like it I tell them they should learn to be more cooperative. In my area the POCO is very helpful and cooperative, but I've worked with many that are impossible.

 

[jetlag]

thanks texie

thanks texie

Are you in an area that has Smart Metering? Just because it is electronic/time of use doesn't mean it is a "smart meter" with communication capability to know if you removed it. In any case, I think it is safer and good policy to get the POCO to a "work with". However, many POCO's are not cooperative in helping in a timely manor, in which case I just cut the seal and do what I have to do. Rarely ever had it come back on me. If they do I just tell 'em I had to to do work and if they don't like it I tell them they should learn to be more cooperative. In my area the POCO is very helpful and cooperative, but I've worked with many that are impossible.

It depends on who comes out what kind of arrogant person it is. Some might make me get a permit and be cut off 2 days or more. I will go to their web site and see if I can tell if it is smart meter area . I know the type meter they use has the smart capability but I,m not sure if they are set up in place for that. I notice I never see the meter reader any more. Do you think they would come out anyway if it only stays off a few seconds ? It could be a transformer clearing a fault from a limb if it comes back on .

 

[jetlag]

thanks for replies

thanks for replies

I went to the poco web site and it said they had communication with the meter so I was getting worried but over in the frequently asked questions they were saying the meters are read by a drive by truck and can read up to 3/4 mile away . So if that is the case I should be okay as it is not time to read the meter again for a while. Any way I plan to go for it tomorrow , unless I get more info to the contrary.

 

[texie]

It depends on who comes out what kind of arrogant person it is. Some might make me get a permit and be cut off 2 days or more. I will go to their web site and see if I can tell if it is smart meter area . I know the type meter they use has the smart capability but I,m not sure if they are set up in place for that. I notice I never see the meter reader any more. Do you think they would come out anyway if it only stays off a few seconds ? It could be a transformer clearing a fault from a limb if it comes back on .

I wouldn't worry about it, I'd just cut the seal to get a look and see inside. Problem is though, you will probably still need them if you see a problem-then call 'em.

 

[Hv&Lv]

Hi , I havnt been on in a while, I have narrowed down a problem at my own house to a loose lug in the meter . It is a digital meter but I dont see a transmitter that I understand sends a signal to the poco . I hate to call the poco and also get a county permit just to torque a lug as my power would probably be off over night. But if a lug needs replace I will. Does any one know if the poco will come running out if I pull meter for 2 or 3 min ? Also will the power come back on when the meter is reinstalled same as a regular meter. Its my own house and I have state and local license.

There are a couple of communications types that these smart meters use. Most use a radio transmitter that is picked up by the meter reader and downloaded as he drives by, usually once a month. Ours actually use the power lines for communication. We can ping a meter to tell if it is on if you were to call us and report an outage. The signal actually travels along the line at the same frequency riding along around the zero crossing. The itrons are used for both types, the only thing different are the communication modules mounted inside.
In response to your question, most companies ping all their meters around midnight to check that all are receiving and sending information. Any that do not respond are looked at the next day. Ride by meters are looked at after the meter reader has downloaded his readings and they do not show up. IMO you should pull the meter and do your work. I really don't see why you would need a permit to tighten a lug. You aren't meter tampering, you are performing maintenance on a consumer owned piece of equipment. They shouldn't have a problem with it. I wouldn't.

Sometimes it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

 

[cowboyjwc]

There are a couple of communications types that these smart meters use. Most use a radio transmitter that is picked up by the meter reader and downloaded as he drives by, usually once a month. Ours actually use the power lines for communication. We can ping a meter to tell if it is on if you were to call us and report an outage. The signal actually travels along the line at the same frequency riding along around the zero crossing. The itrons are used for both types, the only thing different are the communication modules mounted inside.
In response to your question, most companies ping all their meters around midnight to check that all are receiving and sending information. Any that do not respond are looked at the next day. Ride by meters are looked at after the meter reader has downloaded his readings and they do not show up. IMO you should pull the meter and do your work. I really don't see why you would need a permit to tighten a lug. You aren't meter tampering, you are performing maintenance on a consumer owned piece of equipment. They shouldn't have a problem with it. I wouldn't.

Sometimes it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

Actually he answered the same as I was going to. Here you would pull the meter, do your repair, call the POCO and they will come out and either retag it or put a lock on it.:happyyes: "Not that we don't trust you, it's just, well, you're an electrician and we don't even trust guys that work for other POCO's".:roll:

 

[mengelman]

It depends on who comes out what kind of arrogant person it is. Some might make me get a permit and be cut off 2 days or more. I will go to their web site and see if I can tell if it is smart meter area . I know the type meter they use has the smart capability but I,me not sure if they are set up in place for that. I notice I never see the meter reader any more. Do you think they would come out anyway if it only stays off a few seconds ? It could be a transformer clearing a fault from a limb if it comes back on .

So if you go to a customers house to do troubleshooting or anything that involves pulling the meter the power company might have that customers power off for 2 days? How can they get away with that? Fortunatly where I am we work with the PC.

 

[ptonsparky]

Here the POCO is reponsible for problems in the meter socket. Call them and tell them to fix it.

 

[readydave8]

Here I'm not supposed to cut seals, also $40 fee for resealing, sometimes I can make it look almost like it hasn't been cut. Repairs in meter base done by electrician not poco, I've seen 2 day deal but not often.

So far they either can't tell from office when I pull meter or either don't notice, I guess its not set up to ring an alarm.

Go ahead and pull it, if you go to jail let me know and I'll start being a little more careful.

 

[badashuka]

I live in california and I asked a Pacific Gas and Electric electrician this question and he told me they really dont care if they see an outage at the residence because they can. The only way they will come out is if the resident calls them because they are just to busy most of the time. They are not worried about trying to bypass the meter because the new smart meter will tell them if more power is being drawn by the residence than is going through the meter. Not sure how but that is what he told me.

 

[jetlag]

thanks Hv&Lv

thanks Hv&Lv

There are a couple of communications types that these smart meters use. Most use a radio transmitter that is picked up by the meter reader and downloaded as he drives by, usually once a month. Ours actually use the power lines for communication. We can ping a meter to tell if it is on if you were to call us and report an outage. The signal actually travels along the line at the same frequency riding along around the zero crossing. The itrons are used for both types, the only thing different are the communication modules mounted inside.
In response to your question, most companies ping all their meters around midnight to check that all are receiving and sending information. Any that do not respond are looked at the next day. Ride by meters are looked at after the meter reader has downloaded his readings and they do not show up. IMO you should pull the meter and do your work. I really don't see why you would need a permit to tighten a lug. You aren't meter tampering, you are performing maintenance on a consumer owned piece of equipment. They shouldn't have a problem with it. I wouldn't.

Sometimes it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

I have to give this reply a star rating , thanks , even though the web site said they use a drive by meter reader they also said they use power lines for transmission . So that sounds like from your advise I need all up and running before cinderella pings in her silver slipper at midnight.