the co-op’sCa$hregisterBy Steve Gregg, Manager of Operationsphoto: indiana reed10 <strong>La</strong> <strong>Plata</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> <strong>Association</strong> | www.lpea.coop
Maintaining the poles and lines may be the better known oreven obvious jobs within LPEA, but the Operations Departmentincludes many additional and vital teams, including our meteringgroup.Metermen, or meterpersons, in today’s electric industry vernacular,ensure the accuracy of the electric meters that measure the actualamount of electricity used each month by LPEA member/customers.Meters are indeed the cooperative’s cash register.My first opportunity to meet an electric system meterman was inOctober 1972, when I first joined LPEA and reported to the Bayfieldoperation building that housed the construction, maintenance, repairand metering group. During that first week I had the pleasure ofworking with meterman Don McCoy, who assigned me to preparingmeters that had been brought in from the field for accuracy testing.To clarify my first job, I was to un-box, remove the glass cover andclean any house paint that may have accidentally dripped on theglass. This process exposed the entire workings of the meter, thentracking kilowatts with spinning dials, a technology that dates backto 1888.Mr. McCoy would then install the open meter on his test board andtest for accuracy, as the dials on the older technology slow with age.The first time I heard the phrase “the meter is the co-op’s cashregister” came three years later when I happened to meet ameterman by the name of John Shafer, Sr. At that time John, Sr. wasemployed by Western Colorado Power Company, a subsidiary of UtahPower and Light , which sold its holdings in 1975 to neighboringelectric cooperatives, one being <strong>La</strong> <strong>Plata</strong> <strong>Electric</strong>. John Shafer, Sr. wasa wealth of information on measuring the flow and use of electricity.The measurement (usage) was the most important thing to Mr. Shafer.His top priority was to know and prove that the amount of electricityused by the customer/member was 100 percent accurate. He set thebar high, and it remains there today.To LPEA’s good fortune, John, Sr.’s enthusiasm for the electricindustry throughout his career rubbed off on his son John Shafer, Jr.,who joined the industry as an Apprentice Lineman, completing theprogram and becoming a Journeyman Lineman in the late 1970s.After spending a dozen years in the construction side of theindustry, John, Jr. decided to follow in his father’s footsteps andbegan a career as a Journeyman Meterman in LPEA’s MeteringDepartment. Since that time, John has maintained the high standardshis father set for ensuring that the electric meters measuring LPEAmember/customer’s usage are recording accurately, while keepingcurrent on advancing technology in the industry. As one mightJohn Shafer, Jr. andJohn Branamimagine, things have evolved since Oliver B. Shallenberger receivedthat first patent for the electric meter back in 1888.Steadily, LPEA is replacing those meters that require “reading” byan employee or contractor who must visit each site to obtain data,with digital meters (the AMR or automated meter reading), whichcan send kilowatt-hour use and other data directly to LPEA. Buildingon that technology is the AMI (advanced meter infrastructure)that allows for two-way communication and can facilitate outagemanagement, remote disconnect and reconnect and more –including integration to the “Smart Grid” of tomorrow.At LPEA, moving ahead and keeping an eye on these “cashregisters” with John Shafer, Jr. is yet another John: John Branam, along time employee who came to LPEA as a Journeyman Linemanin the late 1970s, and also redirected his career after working manyyears “on the poles.”Together, the “Johns” handle it all, from testing the older meters,to installing and maintaining specialized metering on three-phaseinstallations, and installing and maintaining AMR and AMI equipmentthat enables the meters to transmit and receive information daily.Just like electricity itself seems to be a little bit magic, theequipment that measures it is also intriguing. LPEA is fortunate tohave two experienced and conscientious metermen handling thisaspect of the business and looking out for all member/customers. 4photo: indiana reedLPEA customers “watching” their meters and consumption<strong>La</strong> <strong>Plata</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> <strong>Association</strong> has posed the question: Would customers use lesselectricity if they could actually “see” what it cost as they used it?While LPEA officials anecdotally suspect consumption would decrease, thecooperative organized a power cost monitor study to gather official data.“They’re actually very interesting little pieces of equipment,” says Ron Meier,LPEA manager of engineering who is overseeing the project. “Once installed,homeowners can literally watch the pennies tick away as they consume electricity.”With energy efficiency a top priority, LPEA is exploring a number of ideas tohelp member/customers reduce consumption and save money, including demandside management, renewable energy projects and more. The power cost monitorstudy was launched in late <strong>2008</strong>.“It’s about empowering the customer – no pun intended,” says Greg Munro,LPEA CEO. “The more we, individual consumers, understand and can manageourselves, the more confident we feel that we have some control in our lives.”Munro also noted that while conservation cannot completely do away withthe need for construction of additional power generation, it can help, and is indeedone of the pieces in the management of electrical power going forward.“If someone installs a hot tub during the year, their electrical usage is going torise,” says Meier, noting that such changes must be part of the final equations. “Bythe same token, if they’ve replaced the insulation in their home, or changed outall their incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents, we may see a significantdrop in energy consumption. Having all the pieces will allow us to present anaccurate report at the end of the study.”The initial study involves 100 year-round households currently on theregular LPEA residential rate. Those signed up for the WattWatcher Time-of-Useprogram who are already practicing demand-side management, are not eligibleto participate at this time. LPEA also has targeted a broad demographic, not onlygeographically throughout the service territory (with varying weather patterns),but also a variety of resident sizes and occupancies – both number and ages.Participants must also agree to regular conversations with LPEA advisors to discusstheir opinion of the monitor and program, their energy consumption practices andchanges in the household that might affect electric usage.“If this study shows a definite trend toward increased conservation, we willexplore an expanded power cost monitor program within the cooperative,” saysMunro, noting that options exist for rebates, discounted monitor purchase formembers and more. “We’re looking forward to the community’s participation.”– Indiana Reed<strong>La</strong> <strong>Plata</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> <strong>Association</strong> | www.lpea.coop 11
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