New automated meters to help improve our electric distribution system east of Pendleton will be deployed over the coming months.
On behalf of UEC, Allegiant Utility Services technicians will replace existing digital meters at more than 2,000 residences and other service locations beginning in September.
The meter replacements will begin in the Weston Mountain area and progress to the Kamela, Meacham and Mission areas. During meter installations, disruption to members should be minimal.
On the day of the replacement, a member can expect to briefly lose power as a technician makes the switch. In addition, your next electric utility bill may show two meter readings: one from the old meter and one from the new meter.
Earlier in 2022, technicians replaced existing meters at about 800 residences and other service locations south of the freeway at Boardman. Eventually, meters will be replaced on the entire UEC system.
The new automated meters help UEC’s ongoing efforts to improve service reliability.
One of the primary benefits of the new meters, compared to the older models, is their ability to immediately notify UEC of an outage. A system that instantly reports the scope of an outage -- the number of meters out and their precise location -- will help make our response more focused and immediate.
In recent years, UEC has upgraded its control and data systems, outage management and field equipment to help operators at our command center in Hermiston more quickly detect and respond to outages with accurate location prediction, reducing the need to send a crew to manually check miles of power lines. The new meters build upon that system.
For more information about our meter replacement project, please call UEC at (541) 567-6414 or visit My Meter.