Recovery Blog

Worker for NV Energy installing a smart meter - Photo courtesy of NV Energy

As part of the Department of Energy’s Recovery-funded efforts to accelerate the modernization of the country’s electric grid, approximately 9 million smart meters have already been installed in homes and businesses nationwide. Ultimately, DOE’s goal is to have 15.5 million installed.

Smart meters are available at no charge to home or business owners through participating utility companies except in states where a small Public Utility Commission-mandated fee applies. Contact your electricity provider for details.

Smart meters give consumers access to near real-time information about their energy consumption, allowing them to make better-informed decisions about their use of electricity.  The meters also provide utility companies with greater information about how much electricity is being used.  Smart meters are just one among many advanced technologies used by utilities to sense, monitor, control and automate the distribution of electricity, collect and exchange usage information with customers, manage power loads more efficiently and reduce cost.

While smart meters have been deployed in every state, nearly 90 percent of those installed to date are in Florida, Texas, California, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Nevada.

For more information about DOE’s smart grid activities visit the Smart Grid Website.