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A total of 65 Across the U.S. installers continue to re- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are

million “smart” place comparatively safe analog (mechanical) among federal heavyweights behind the thun-
utility meters with digital “smart” meters for dering AMI rollout. Several universities and
meters are electrical, gas and water services. Most of the corporations stand to profit hugely by providing
projected to new meters are wireless two-way transmitters AMI equipment, software and expertise. These
be installed that pulse signals to communicate continuously include General Electric, IBM, Hewlett Packard,
between your home, school, or workplace and Siemens, Toshiba, Microsoft, Cisco, Verizon,
by 2015, utility companies miles away. The new meters Google, Itron and Tantalus.
covering more are part of a nationwide project dubbed Advanced With a financial and political engine of this
than half of Metering Infrastructure (AMI). Most folks call magnitude, the AMI meter replacement project
this evolving make-over the “smart grid.”
has moved at lightning speed. According to the
all U.S. The AMI “smart” meter below records Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE), nearly
households. electrical consumption data and sends the infor- 40 percent of U.S. households had an electric
mation wirelessly to energy system managers. “smart” meter installed by August 2013. A total
“Smart” meters can be programmed to read and of sixty-five million “smart” meters are projected
transmit data monthly, or up to every fifteen to be installed by 2015, covering more than half
seconds. Data may be relayed by systems similar of all U.S. households. Among states hit hard-
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to mobile phones or Wi-Fi. Or information may est so far have been Oregon, Idaho, California,
be relayed via fiber optics (thin, transparent Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Maryland,
cables that carry signals by pulsing light). Of Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michi-
these methods, fiber optics may offer the safest gan, Vermont, Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
transmission.
AMI is nested within the American Recov- PRELIMINARY REPORTS
ery and Investment Act of 2009, and the Obama ON “SMART” METERS
Administration has shoveled an estimated Over the last three years, strong-arm instal-
eleven billion dollars into incentive programs for lation tactics, fires caused by meters, skyrocket-
utilities that participate. “Smart” grid advocates ing utility bills, privacy concerns and disabling
insist that the new two-way meters will reduce health effects have given momentum to a broad
national energy consumption and allow consum- coalition of “smart” grid opponents. Many,
ers to make better choices about their energy including some government officials, say that
needs. the touted benefits of “smart” systems have not
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the materialized, while the negative ramifications

AMI “SMART” METER
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