Meter Replacement Project Continues to Roll
VEC’s meter upgrade project which began last year continues, and by mid-winter VEC will have replaced about 1,100 old meters with new state-of-the-art, radio frequency (RF) meters in the Cambridge and Waterville areas. Through 2026, crews will be deploying the next batch of meters, working in the Champlain Islands, as well as in the Highgate Springs area and in and around Smugglers’ Notch. About 8,000 meters will be installed in this round.
It’s expected the project, which will involve changing out all of the system’s 40,000-plus meters, will take multiple years. Generally, this replacement is necessary to support VEC smart grid systems that ensure efficient and effective communications between members’ meters and VEC. Specifically, RF meters offer improved outage management data for our crews which can speed up restoration during outages. The system has the ability to potentially spot individual, unreported outages and the new meters also can improve power quality for members. The new meters will continue to allow members to use our online portal, Smarthub.
“We’re pleased with the how the project is going,” said Dave Lahar, Key Accounts Manager at VEC. “So far, the new meters we’ve installed are communicating with greater speed than the older meters, and they have integrated with our system well,” he said. The system being replaced is known as a Power Line Carrier (PLC) system and communicates over existing power lines to provide two-way communications between VEC substations and meters.
The new system works similarly to modern cell phone communications. You can read more about this project and what it means to you here: vermontelectric.coop/electricsystem/advanced-metering-infrastructure For questions about this project, contact Dave Lahar at [email protected]
NOTICE: RF METER PROJECT
During 2026 meter change-outs will be implemented across VEC service territory. If you are home when the technician arrives to change the meter, you will be alerted and there will be a temporary power interruption. Once the meter is changed the power will be restored and your service will continue as usual. If you are not home, a door-hanger will be left to inform you that the meter has been changed. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets RF standards and oversees use of radio communication devices. If for some reason you prefer to not have an RF meter installed, you may opt-out, at no additional charge, by contacting us to obtain an opt-out form, at 800-832-2667 or via email at [email protected]. Members that opt-out will be encouraged to read and submit their meter readings monthly, will not be able to be included in the automated Outage Management System (so an outage may go undetected until reported), and will not be able to access interval and daily read data through the SmartHub app