The new technology is designed to improve reliability and safety, and provide customers with information and control over their energy usage and electric bills. All of PSO’s nearly 13,200 customers in and around Owasso will be included.
The pilot project involves installation of new digital smart meters at customers’ homes and businesses, along with a two-way wireless communications network on PSO’s facilities. The company will also install automated power restoration equipment on its distribution lines.
Work to install the smart meter communications network on PSO’s facilities is expected to begin this fall, with installation of smart meters at homes and businesses to start late 2010 or early 2011. Conversion work is expected to continue into late 2011. Total cost of the gridSmart project in Owasso is approximately $17.9m.
To fund the project, PSO obtained an American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) low-interest loan worth $8.75m from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The ARRA loan was made through the US Department of Energy’s State Energy Program.
The company has also been collecting $2m per year from customers in rates since its last base rate case order in February 2009 to help fund the program.
PSO is an electric utility serving approximately 531,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. It has 4,408MW of power generating capacity.
