STRAIGHT TALK FROM KPUD, part 7 in a series
Are AMI meters safe? The meters we are using, manufactured by Landis and Gyr, are UL tested and are certified to the 2735 standard for electric utility meters. At a distance of 3 feet in front of the meter, the emissions from the AMI meters were less than 0.2% of these standards for 900 MHz radio emissions.
News from our Sponsors:
Part 7 of a series by Jim Smith and Rodger Nichols
Responding to your concerns
We’d like to clear up some misinformation that has been circulating recently.
First, I have heard that some customers want to keep their analog meters. We have been replacing analog meters for years and right now, about 70 percent of the meters in the system are already electronic. We have not bought an analog meter in over 20 years.
Electronic meters are just that. Meters. They measure, record and store how much electricity we are providing to customers. The only difference between the electronic meters we already have and the new advanced meters is they will record information more often and there is a radio circuit that saves sending someone out to read the meter, and eliminates the chore for those who now read their own.
It’s important to note that advanced meters only tell us the amount of electricity you use and when, not what it’s being used for. We continue to have no visibility or control on your side of the meter.
Usage information will be readily available to you through SmartHub so you can see all the information that we do. Knowing customer usage information is important to ensure proper sizing of equipment, ensuring quality service and safety.
Are AMI meters safe? The meters we are using, manufactured by Landis and Gyr, are UL tested and are certified to the 2735 standard for electric utility meters. This is the same standard our existing electronic meters meet. The Electric Power Institute (EPRI) tested actual installations of Landis & Gyr AMI meters in 2014 and published their recorded measurements of radio emissions from AMI meters and other common devices, and compared those readings to US and international standards. At a distance of 3 feet in front of the meter, the emissions from the AMI meters were less than 0.2% of these standards for 900 MHz radio emissions.
The radio emission signatures of the meters we are installing are the same as those meters measured. This technology is not new or unproven, it is just new to us. Landis & Gry have sold 50 million advanced meters.
Some folks have noted concerns about fire safety and in particular, that Portland General Electric removed 70,000 AMI meters from their customers in 2014, after three fires. What is frequently overlooked is that PGE replaced that particular production run of meters with similar AMI meters. These were not manufactured by Landis & Gyr. At that time, PGE had 750,000 AMI meters installed in their system.
Some customers have expressed concern about invasion of privacy. Usage information is information on the electricity we are selling to you, how much and when. Usage information is never sold and is only distributed when customers request it. We will protect your information on the power we sell you as we do your personal information, with the utmost care. You will have access to that data through Smart- Hub if you choose.
Klickitat PUD is not a private company and doesn’t owe anything to stockholders. We value our customers and their privacy and would never compromise that for a buck. We are a public nonprofit utility, which answers to our ratepayers, our community, and our PUD commissioners; this gives us a different perspective and it’s never just a money grab.
STRAIGHT TALK FROM KPUD, part 3 of a series
CETA is one of the strictest energy acts in the nation, requiring all electric utilities in the state to eliminate power purchased from coal-fired generation by 2025.
Why replacing power sources is difficult
News from our Sponsors:
Part 3 of a series by Jim Smith and Rodger Nichols
Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act considers any wholesale electric purchase on the open market to be coal, from a cost of carbon perspective. That’s even if the utility can demonstrate that it comes from a renewable resource.
CETA is one of the strictest energy acts in the nation, requiring all electric utilities in the state to eliminate power purchased from coal-fired generation by 2025.
It also requires all power purchased to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030. Electric utilities are expected to fully transition to carbon-free resources by 2045.
CETA also requires utilities to track and reduce low-income energy burdens, which will transfer those costs to those who do not qualify as low-income.
CETA requires that baseload coal generation be removed from the system and prohibits new natural gas electric generation. This presents a problem, as currently the only other generation options are new hydro, wind or solar generation.
Wind and solar power are intermittent resources and need storage to back them up. This is a larger problem than we are reading about in the mainstream media. Most people appear to believe that if you add 1 megawatt (MW) of solar and a small amount of battery storage, you can supply load 24/7
That is not true. We actually need significantly more solar power and battery sources than this.
For example, in the east side of Washington state, on average, solar panels typically only produce 20% of their max production capacity. This is because there are days, if not weeks, when solar will not produce due to clouds, rain or snow. The same is true for wind turbines. During those times, it would take hundreds of MWhs of storage and hundreds of MWs of solar to charge the batteries just to have 1 MW of solar generation for use when it is needed 24/7.
The costs and the land-use implications of this are staggering. Until a carbon-free option that delivers power 24/7 becomes available, or until natural gas peaking facilities are built to provide base-load power during these times, our electric rates will continue to rise.
There is no chance of adding more clean hydropower on the Columbia River, and if proposals to remove the four dams on the lower Snake River go through, the situation will be even more difficult.
According to BPA, those dams can provide 3,000 MW of peak power—11% of the BPA total system—at a cost of less than half of BPA’s lowest preference power rate.
All of this combines to create a situation where electricity prices—during times of peak demand—are extremely expensive and volatile. These costs will flow through directly to PUD customers if they’re not managed or mitigated, and we are not sure that we can mitigate these cost increases.
Next: our 5-part plan to deal with the situation
The QR code will take you to more information online or book a PUD expert to talk to your group at 509-493-2255.
STRAIGHT TALK FROM KPUD; Part 2 of a series
Today, we want to give you a bigger view of the changes happening in our electric industry and what we are doing about it.
News from our Sponsors
Part 2 of a series by Jim Smith and Rodger Nichols
Last week we featured some unanticipated impacts of recent state carbon legislation. Today, we want to give you a bigger view of the changes happening in our electric industry and what we are doing about it.
Klickitat PUD still buys most of its power from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). By statute, BPA is required to sell power at cost—not for profit—to public utilities.
BPA guarantees it will supply a set amount of power, which the system can reliably provide. This Tier 1 Preference Power is the least expensive.
When demand for power exceeds BPA’s Tier 1 capacity, as it does in Klickitat County, the PUD is left with two choices: buy additional power through BPA’s Tier 2 power or from the open market.
The PUD has a small amount of its own generation through a hydro facility on the McNary Dam, that is co-owned with Northern Wasco PUD. This power generated is used to serve customer loads. We also have a small share in a Packwood hydro project, as well as a 13% share of the output from the White Creek Wind Project, though that output is sold on the market.
Local demand is getting more critical. Historically, Klickitat PUD has seen a steady 1% increase in load growth each year. In recent years, that number has doubled. It’s due in part to population growth, but also to cryptocurrency mining and a major increase in irrigation load.
Carbon reduction policies adopted by the Legislature will drive further electrification. These policies affect residential and commercial building codes and will shift the use of natural gas to electricity.
Growing electric vehicle use
These policies also promote electric vehicles, which require charging at homes or at charging stations, further increasing electric demand. In one case we are familiar with, the vehicle charging tripled a home owner’s electricity use.
Currently, 206 electric vehicles are registered in Klickitat County. The state predicts 1,300 EVs will be registered in the county by 2030. Remember, current state legislation bans the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles starting in 2035.
Klickitat PUD has a responsibility for managing our power supply, setting our rates appropriately. and upgrading our electrical infrastructure in order to supply these increasing loads.
Next week: why replacing power sources is difficult. To read part 1 in this series, series click here.
