As a part of a member-owned cooperative, you have the opportunity to vote in the Board of Eirectors election and attend the annual meeting, where the election results for three open seats will be announced.
Attention: 400 Amp (sometimes marketed as 320 Amp) meter bases made by Midwest Electric Products are no longer allowed in our PenLight territory.
New meter installations must now be underground. Please carefully consult our guidelines and standards (found at our New Construction Hook-Ups page) prior to installation. PenLight’s standards may exceed the national code; please make certain that your contractor is aware of the PenLight meter standards.
You are also required to obtain an electrical permit from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) prior to installation. The L&I offices are located at 950 Broadway, Suite 200, Tacoma, WA and can be reached by phone at (253) 596-3808.
Meter Upgrade Project
At PenLight, providing reliable service is our top priority. The purpose of PenLight’s Meter Upgrade Project is to upgrade all 33,000 electric meters throughout our service territory. Our existing meters are reaching the end of their life cycle, and require replacement. Upgraded meters will provide members easier access to energy usage information and provide better outage notification, enabling more efficient power restoration and improved system status.
PenLight has been a trusted provider and asset to the community for over 90 years. We strive to continue to provide our members with the reliable and affordable service they expect — and deserve.
Starting in 2020, PenLight will begin installing upgraded meters that are equipped with modern technology. The upgraded meters bring many new member benefits over time.
Advanced meters support a variety of services that allow you more flexibility and control of your utility use and costs and help us operate more efficiently by helping restore service quicker and reduce the length of outages and system emergencies.
Upgraded meters will send usage data to PenLight on a daily basis over Verizon Wireless’ Grid Wide Network, in a form similar to a text. The meter will collect data and send the information to PenLight. Daily reads will be available to members on PenLight’s current tool MyMeter. Visit our website to sign up.
Upgraded meters sends electric consumption data to PenLight and the existing MyMeter member portal, more quickly than the current meters. They will also notify PenLight of variances in voltage and other line conditions, which will help maintain a more reliable power distribution system. Meters will be able to locate issues or outages faster, and more accurately, to help restore service quicker and provide clear usage information and allows members to setup and receive personalized alerts via MyMeter. Upgraded meters will also allow PenLight’s Member Services department to request instantaneous reads for opening and closing of accounts, verification of readings for high bill research and more.
Many utilities across the United States have updated their metering system, including; Mason PUD 3, Hawaii Electric, Tacoma Power Utilities, Puget Sound Energy.
The meter upgrade deployment is anticipated to begin in 2020 with a target completion date of late 2020/early 2021. Timeline and updated information will continue to be published throughout the project to keep our members up-to-date with progress.
The average meter installation is anticipated to take about 20 minutes. There are factors that may cause the installation to be delayed like equipment/meter damage, tampering issues or repairs needed.
No, this project did not drive any changes in rates. Any changes in rates will not be driven by this program. Today, all metering related expenses are captured in our ongoing budgets.
No, there is no fee for the installation of a new meter. If any repairs or improvements need to be made to equipment or your current meter, fees may be applied – this will be on a case by case basis and PenLight will make any repairs within our jurisdiction to limit/avoid any costs to members.
The only change you will see on your bill is the last read from your old meter, and a new read from the new meter, once installed. Like any new equipment, the upgraded meters will be more efficient due to modern technology.
All of our members’ homes and businesses should be equipped with upgraded meters. The efficiency of our billing and electrical system operations depend upon the instantaneous exchange of information, so all parts of our system must be integrated. Leaving existing meters in place would create “holes” in our system and would drive up costs.
Yes, these meters are subject to rigorous, advanced testing. PenLight ensures that the meters meet industry safety standards and are of no issue to your safety or health.
No customer-identifying data – such as names and addresses – is stored in the meters or transmitted across the network.
Just like the current meters, the upgraded meters will simply collect how much energy is being used. The meters encrypt energy use information to ensure privacy, and transmit it to us over a wireless network with multiple layers of security.
PenLight must collect data from the meters to provide service. Like today, the data will be used for billing purposes, operational analysis and planning.
Both red and green lights are normal. They represent the meter’s signal status or strength at that given moment. They can remain red or green for an extended amount of time. The lights do not indicate that the meter is transmitting and are only useful to the utility if/when onsite.
