Long Beach, News

Smart gas meters change billing in Long Beach

A new program will update gas meters by using radio waves to transmit gas usage from homes directly to the City of Long Beach Gas Utility, according to the Gas and Oil Department.

The 18-month-long project began Feb. 1 and will bring a whole new way of paying your gas bill.

The Smart Gas Metering Program will eliminate the need for representatives to visit homes to collect usage data on a monthly basis.

The installation of these new meters will not eliminate jobs for meter readers or Long Beach Gas Department employees, according to Tony Foster, the president of the Long Beach Management Association.

Instead, the result will be a redirection of duties. Meter readers are currently undergoing training of the data collection software called Meter Data Management.  

The new software, operated by city employees, will be constantly monitoring a consumer’s gas usage. A web portal will be available for customers to monitor their usage as well and also set a limit to how much gas they want to use by using an alert system, according to Foster.

Meter readers are currently contracted through a company called Corix and will still be needed to read water meters.

A water meter program similar to the gas meter program is in the works, according to Foster, and that is when Corix employees will no longer be needed.

As of now, the city spends $2.7 million to employ these contractors. After the implementation of the Smart Gas Metering Program, the city will put the $1.4 million used for gas meter reading process toward the new program, including salaries and training.

Gas usage will be monitored at all times from a computer and field service representatives will be more available for on-call duties. Foster says he expects wait times for representatives to answer calls will dwindle significantly.

The concern for greenhouse emissions prompted the change toward a digitally-orientated system.

“If people can use more wisely, we can leave less of a carbon footprint,” Foster said.

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