GRAND PRAIRIE - Oncor installed another "smart meter" Monday as part of their side-by-side testing of new meter readings versus older mechanical readings.
Oncor workers installed a new meter next to a meter at a Grand Prairie home. They will both stay as part of their comparison investigation, spurred by complaints of high bills blamed on the accuracy of digital smart meters.
Soing from a high of $600 a month to now an average of $390 a month, the Adams family said they try and conserve energy at their 2,400-square-foot home.
Oncor said the goal of smart meters are to help do just that by providing detailed data showing consumers their energy use.
"It might be interesting at times to look and say, 'Oh my God, we're are using an extra whatever,'" said Steve Adams. "But, truly changing, I don't know that it would."
Jim Green, an Oncor spokesman, said it will definitely save Oncor money.
"We won't have the meter readers that are driving around everyday taking up the meter reads," he said.
In their side-by-side testing, Oncor will take weekly measurements and publish them weekly.
Last week, Oncor installed an old meter at an Oak Cliff home, which is where the homeowner said his bill raised drastically after a smart meter was installed. So far, those readings have been similar. However, the homeowner said it isn't an accurate test since it wasn't his original meter that was on the home prior to the installation of the new meter.
E-mail: cvega@wfaa.com
