Southern California Edison (SCE) will begin installing smart meters later this month in the San Joaquin Valley as part of the Edison SmartConnect program, a $1.6 billion program authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
The first smart meter in the Edison SmartConnect program was installed in September 2009 in the city of Downey. Installations will continue this year to a total of nearly 5 million SCE residential and small-business customers. To date, SCE has installed more than 4.6 million smart meters.
In collaboration with Corix Utilities Inc., SCE will perform the majority of the new meter installations in October through December. Communities in the upcoming installation phase include Armona, California Hot Springs, Camp Nelson, Delano, Ducor, Earlimart, Exeter, Farmersville, Goshen, Hanford, Ivanhoe, Lemon Cove, Lindsay, McFarland, Pixley, Porterville, Springville, Strathmore, Terra Bella, Three Rivers, Tipton, Tulare, Tule River Indian Reservation, Visalia and Woodlake.
Residential customers have the option to choose an Edison SmartConnect meter or a traditional electric meter. Customers who opt out of the program will pay a $75 one-time setup fee and a $10 recurring monthly charge as required by CPUC. Income-qualified customers pay $10 for the initial setup fee and $5 a month.
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