Learn About PSE’s Meter Upgrade Project

November Wind Storm

Damage assessment and restoration efforts continue

Crews and hundreds of support staff continue their around-the-clock work to restore power to those who remain out as a result of yesterday’s damaging windstorm.

As of 6 p.m., we have 354,733 customers out of power. Power has been restored to more than 170,000 customers since the start of the storm. However, due to extensive wind and equipment damage, power for some customers may be out for an extended period. We are updating our outage map with the best information available and will continue to provide updates as restoration progresses. Our focus for tonight continues to be on transmission lines to critical infrastructure and public safety.

Crews continue to survey damage on the ground and helicopter patrols will resume tomorrow morning. Our first step in restoring power is damage assessment: getting a look at what’s been done to the system and determining the extent of repairs that are needed. We will provide restoration updates as information becomes available.

Crews from other utilities from Washington State, British Columbia, Idaho and Oregon have all shown up to assist in the repair of our electric system. Support from these outside agencies ensures that PSE restores power to our communities as soon as possible.

Meter Upgrade Project

New technology to improve system delivery

We are updating our electric and natural gas metering equipment across our entire service area. This is a six-year project, scheduled to complete in 2023. The project will involve swapping out almost 2 million meters – 1.1 million electric meters and 800,000 gas modules – along with the supporting infrastructure across all 10 counties we serve.

Why are we upgrading our meters?

Our automated meter reading (AMR) system is approaching the end of its projected lifespan. We were one of the first adopters of digital AMR technology in the country in the late 1990s, making us an industry leader in metering technology during that time. Today, AMR hardware and software are becoming increasingly obsolete, making them difficult to support and maintain.

AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) is the current standard for metering technology and is a crucial step for us. It uses two-way communication and on-board memory (AMR has one-way communication and no memory) to send meter data through a secured wireless network.

Project map and Schedule

Non-Communicating Meter Service