Utility Partners of America Teams with City of Naperville Electric Utility to Ensure Safe Transition to Smart Meters

Online, March 22, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Utility Partners of America (UPA), which has helped utilities install millions of water, gas and electric meters in almost every state over the past 16 years, recently worked on a major smart meter installation with the City of Naperville Department of Public Utilities-Electric (DPU-E). Along with City DPU-E personnel, they helped identify more than 200 broken meter sockets that were repaired before they could cause any issues to customers' residences or places of business.

As outdated analog meters are replaced with digital smart meters to help customers control their energy use, utilities have an opportunity to inspect meter sockets and identify pre-existing conditions that could otherwise have caused issues in the future. Naperville was keenly aware of this opportunity and set in place stringent guidelines for its smart grid modernization project. Naperville and UPA worked closely together to establish formal meter installation procedures, with every meter technician receiving extensive training prior to performing meter installations. The training included safety procedures for the technician to follow to identify unsafe conditions that may have been evident in existing equipment as well as the actions to take following such a discovery. Naperville personnel were available once contacted by UPA to address the unsafe condition directly or in conjunction with the customer, at no cost to the customer.

Unlike analog meters, smart meters will help Naperville on an ongoing basis identify potential issues "at the box" as well, because they provide two-way communication between the meter and the utility.

"Ensuring smart meters are safely installed is our primary goal whenever we partner with a utility," said Lee Schwartz, CEO of Utility Partners of America.

Since January 2012, UPA has installed more than 58,000 smart meters in ratepayer homes and businesses in Naperville. Smart meters are a critical part of utilities' efforts to modernize the grid and to give customers more control over their electricity bill, so UPA works hard to make sure smart meters are installed safely at every home.

UPA's staff is continuously trained, observed and evaluated, not just for quality standards, but so that their safety record never slips. The UPA training program is designed around the concepts of safety, quality and "getting it right the first time."

Leveraging their large-scale installation program expertise, UPA provided work order management, call center services and installation services for Naperville.

Representing investor-owned utilities, municipalities and energy cooperatives, UPA performs outdoor and in-home installations for residential and commercial customers.

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About Utility Partners of America (UPA):
For more than fifteen years, Utility Partners of America has delivered comprehensive and scalable utility solutions, managing large-scale installation projects for water, gas and electric utilities, municipalities, and energy cooperatives. UPA's core expertise is the installation of water, gas and electric meters, demand response equipment and AMI networks, with an expanded service offering to address a range of utility needs - ranging from operations and maintenance services to call center services, marketing and back office support. A process-oriented company, UPA understands the tactical planning necessary to make large-scale rollouts successful. Visit Utility Partners of America at http://www.utilitypartners.com.