MLGW began our Phase 1 rollout of smart meters in January of 2014. Our plan was to install electric, gas and water meters at about 24,000 households across Shelby County. We successfully completed the task in October of 2014; as well as completing the installation of the telecommunications wireless network in the designated zone which was necessary to support the smart meters. We accomplished some early successes such as excellent daily read rates, tamper alerts which have resulted in a significant drop in meter tampering and theft of utilities, and voltage alerts which notify MLGW of emerging issues at customer sites before customers are aware.

Additionally, smart meters have identified water leaks on the customer side of the meter at approximately one-third of the sites where smart meters were installed, thereby enabling customer notification and awareness. Customers in Phase 1 can now log onto "My Account" to view their daily consumption for all three meters and utilize this information to become more energy- and water- efficient if they so choose. Or, they can use the information to get a better idea of how much their impending bill will be. Only 3.6 percent of the customers identified in the Phase 1 installation zone chose to opt-out.

To learn more, go to mlgw.com/smartgrid.