National Grid is introducing new ways for customers to control their energy usage through a new app that tracks individual appliances and identifies phantom power. The app provides information on power usage within a home, and can help customers save energy by identifying devices that are still drawing power even when turned off. This technology is part of the company’s installation of smart meters, which will eventually be able to alert the company in case of a power outage.
The smart meter installation process is currently underway in Onondaga and Cortland counties, and will soon expand to the Mohawk Valley, Oswego, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence counties, followed by the Capital Region and western New York. In total, about 1.6 million electric meters will be replaced. National Grid has been conducting outreach to educate customers about the new meters, providing them with a 60-day notice before installation in their area and more information a week before the installation. The transition to smart meters is seamless for customers, with the installation process only disrupting power for approximately five minutes. National Grid anticipates that customers with smart meters will be able to utilize the tracking technology later this year.
