FREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMA — By the end of the year, Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) will have changed out 25 percent of all customers’ analog meters to smart meters and integrated them into the new, state-of-the-art advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
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AMI, a critical element of the company’s grid modernization initiative, is an integrated system of smart meters, communications networks and data management systems that enables two-way communication between utilities and customers.
GBPC Chief Operating Officer Nikita Mullings said: “We are committed to investing in Grand Bahama’s electricity grid to provide advanced, safe and secure communication and control capabilities to benefit our customers.
“Our teams have installed the communication network and devices and commenced the initial phase of testing.
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“Installation of smart meters to every customer site is a critical component of AMI. To-date, 2,500 meters have been installed, and we expect to have deployed 5,000 smart meters by the end of this year.”
Customer education on AMI and the new smart meters is coming, advised Mullings.
“In the coming weeks, we will launch an informational series to make customers aware of AMI and what they should expect,” she said.
“Smart meters provide significant value for customers, and we want to ensure they can take advantage of all its capabilities, including secure access to energy cost information on a monthly, daily and hourly basis.”
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Throughout the rest of the year, residents can expect to see installers in communities across the island changing out meters on a daily basis.
“When their new meter is scheduled to be deployed, customers will receive an email indicating when installers will be in their area,” continued Mullings.
“A brief interruption to electricity service will occur when the meter is installed, and customers don’t need to be at their home or business for the installation.
“We want to assure customers that the meter changeout won’t impact their account information or billing cycle.”
AMI enables functionality not previously possible or that had to be performed manually, including the ability to automatically and remotely measure electricity use, connect and disconnect service, detect tampering, identify and isolate outages and monitor voltage.