Aug. 14--Flagstaff is in the middle of a retrofit that could change how you view your electric bill. Arizona Public Service has switched about 28,000 households and businesses in and surrounding Flagstaff to what it calls "automated-metering infrastructure," also known as smart metering.

This means no more monthly meter-reading, and the ability for you to view yesterday's electricity usage on a Web site, in 15-minute increments. By the end of the month, just about all of Flagstaff -- or about 35,000 businesses and households -- will have been converted.

In brief, technicians from the Phoenix area are retrofitting your meter at home or work, wiring it to send signals via radio and cell towers back to the local APS offices.

"It allows us to have the meters essentially phone home," said Mike McElmury, director of the APS office for northern Arizona.

That information helps the utility better predict and reduce peak power loads, and gives customers the ability to better understand -- and reduce -- their electricity use at peak periods.

That, in turn, could reduce the need for new electricity infrastructure, and give customers the ability to sign up for cheaper programs if wanted.

In all, APS plans to put 1.1 million customers on this system over the next 4 to 5 years.

About a half-dozen people are currently employed reading meters in Flagstaff, for a cost to ratepayers of $1.65 per home per month.

When the weather is too brutal or the meters are buried too deeply in snow, they currently estimate energy use.

These people will be moved to jobs in other locations, including reading meters at homes too remote for reliable cell or radio service.

The new technology also allows APS to detect a power outage before a customer calls, and for someone to turn on electricity at a new home or business with a phone call.

"They'll be able to have their power on at the time they make that phone call," McElmury said.

Next steps might be texting or e-mailing affected customers during an outage, which could be possible in about a year, McElmury said.

The ultimate goal years from now is to have "smart" homes, where a central computer could boot up or down selected appliances or heating if chosen by the customer, possibly in line with peak or slow electricity usage statewide.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Log into your account at ww.aps.com or call (800) 253-9405

IN BRIEF: The meter-reader is being replaced by a device that will transmit your electricity usage to the utility wirelessly, and to a Web site for you. The aim is to someday reduce electricity demand during peak periods -- avoiding infrastructure costs -- and to make electricity use more understandable.

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