Meter Exchange Program FAQs

Our meters put more information in the hands of our customers, allowing you to make more informed decisions about your energy consumption. Having hourly electric usage information enables you to better understand how much electricity you are using, and where. By having access to near real-time information, you can begin to make informed decisions on how you are using energy. You then can determine if modifying or changing your behavior may help decrease your electric usage. Using less electricity will save you money and help the environment.

Current Benefits

• Online tools that provide access to your electric usage information 24-7 and help you discover ways to manage your bill
• Email or phone alerts that reduce high bill surprise and worry and help you manage high-usage activity
• The ability to participate in optional Time-of-Use programs, if offered by energy generation suppliers, that may provide benefits to residential customers who can shift portions of their power use to non-peak hours
• A more convenient connection process when starting new service or transferring service to another location in our service territory.

Future Benefits

• The new meter technology, in conjunction with other system improvements, will enable us to provide outage alerts and time-restoration estimates that could help customers make plans during storm-related interruptions.

Given the ability to monitor energy use near real-time, customers can adjust their thermostats, switch to more efficient lighting, turn off unneeded appliances, and make other energy-saving changes that may benefit the environment.

Our advanced metering infrastructure includes multiple layers of security controls designed to protect the privacy and security of customer data.

Data transmitted across our advanced metering infrastructure is encrypted and does not include any personally identifiable information, such as names, addresses, social security numbers or banking information. Read our Data Privacy and Your New Meter fact sheet or review our Customer Specific Energy Usage Data policy and DLC's Corporate privacy policy for more information.

Radio frequency (RF) is a form of electromagnetic energy - both natural and man-made - that moves through space at the speed of light. Every day, people use or are in close proximity to many devices that use RF, including cell phones, microwave ovens, wireless Internet for your computer, baby monitors and garage door openers.

Your meter transmits RF waves only for short periods every day to send your energy-use information to DLC. RF waves weaken significantly as the distance between you and the device increases. The casing of a meter, as well as the walls of your residence, also decrease the level of RF energy.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established safe limits for RF exposure. The RF exposure from your meter is well below the limits set by the FCC. In addition, according to a study by the California Council of Science and Technology, wireless advanced meters, when installed and properly maintained, result in much smaller levels of RF exposure than most of the common household electronic devices listed above.

Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded that no adverse health effects have been demonstrated to result from exposure to low-level RF, such as that produced by your meter.

View our fact sheet on radio frequency and your new digital meter for more information.