September 28, 2021

Our Ohio Smart Meter team achieved a major milestone in August – reaching the 500,000 mark in smart meter installations in the Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison and The Illuminating Company (CEI) service territories.

As a result, FirstEnergy is one step closer to meeting its goal of deploying 700,000 smart meters in Ohio, despite challenges and schedule delays due to the COVID-19 emergency.

“The PUCO approved the resumption of indoor meter reading and smart meter exchange work on July 28,” said Alexis Manos, senior business analyst, Smart Meter, who is the change management lead for the project. “Our installers can now enter residences when necessary to exchange meters, which has helped us ramp up progress with our installation timeline. We’re currently at more than 70% of our target.”

The company’s plan for deploying smart meters in designated areas of our Ohio service area began in 2020 and is on track for completion.

Mike Budzicki, CEI meterman, Concord,
exchanges a traditional meter for a smart device in Chagrin Falls.

Smart meters are digital electric meters designed to send data to local utilities through a secure network. They are capable of measuring electricity in smaller intervals than traditional meters, providing customers the ability to better manage their energy use and costs through tools such as FirstEnergy’s online Home Energy Analyzer.

Smart meter technology also helps FirstEnergy reduce the number of estimated monthly bills, providing better data accuracy on customers’ electric usage and reliability. Communication with the devices also improves the company’s ability to respond to power outages faster and more efficiently.

Alexis noted that while smart meter efforts resumed with less restrictions this summer, our dedicated safety measures have remained the same. “All FirstEnergy smart meter installers – which include a mix of employees and contractors – are following proper safety measures and taking necessary precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention against the spread of COVID-19,” she said.

To date, the following Ohio communities are almost fully transitioned and in the final stages of the clean-up work that follows the meter installation, deployment and billing system transition process: Alliance, Delaware, Hartville, Mayfield Heights, Salem, Sandusky and Solon.

Communities still undergoing or just starting the meter exchange process include Ashtabula, Kent, Kinsman, Middlefield, Miles and Warren.

In addition to making strides with installations, the smart meter team has enhanced its Customer Resource Management system that organizes detailed data related to smart meter information and has been keeping its SharePoint site updated with the most current progress.

For more updates on the installation and deployment efforts, including service territory maps, visit FirstEnergy’s deployment schedule webpage.