PSO Smart Meter Program Expands To The University Of Tulsa

Public Service Company of Oklahoma is expanding its smart meter program.

The company began installing 1,000 meters at the University of Tulsa Thursday morning. PSO says the meters put money saving power in your hand.

"I think the smart meters are a good idea to say, 'Hey, we're green.' I think it's also a good way for TU to show off how technologically savvy they are," said TU sophomore Nathan Miller.

Smart meters help both PSO and its customers monitor how much electricity they're using in a real time basis.

Customers can go online and see which days they use the most electricity as well as an estimate of what their bill will be at the end of the month.

"Instead of after the fact, they get a bill after they use electricity. Now they can see real time how much they're using and what they're forecasted. So now I can make an informed decision, 'Do I want to do something different?'" said Derek Lewellen, GridSmart Project Manager:

Last year PSO installed 14,000 smart meters in Owasso and the plan is eventually offer them to businesses and residents here in Tulsa. TU students hope homeowners accept the new technology.

03/15/2012 Related Story: PSO Begins Installing Smart Meters In Owasso Homes

"I guess what I would say is embrace it. It's power in your hands so even if you chose not to use it that's fine but you will have the opportunity and you can save yourself some money so take advantage of it," said TU junior Sara Lewis.

Smart meters also allow PSO to remotely connect or disconnect service. They say if someone's moving in and they need the power turned on, a smart meter means that can happen faster and PSO doesn't have to dispatch a crew.

"We don't control anything. We only see what's at the meter just like we do today. We're just getting it in shorter increments to be able to share with our customers. We can't control anything with these smart meters," Lewellen said.

PSO says there is no timetable for when smart meters will be installed in other places in Tulsa. They want to monitor the meters at TU to see how they perform.