How Rock Hill’s new e-meter system can save you money

By May, utilities at a thousand Rock Hill homes will be monitored by new smart meters, part of a pilot program approved this week by the City Council.

The council hired Tantalus Systems Corp. to hook up its TUNet system to city utility customers, part of a plan to allow meter readers and city residents to monitor utility usage remotely – and even control when and how much they have to pay for water and electricity.

Under the $15.5 million contract, Tantalus will install the e-meters to 1,000 pilot homes by May, the beginning of a roll-out that is planned to reach all 35,000 Rock Hill water customers and 37,750 electricity customers by March 2017.

Each meter will have its own Web page, through which both the city and the customer will be able to monitor usage throughout the day, looking for unusual spikes that might indicate a water leak or a power outage, or track patterns that help customers decide how they can save money.

Customers also won’t have to wait for a monthly meter-reading to pay their bill, since they have data available at any time, allowing them to choose a pay date that best matches their cash flow.

The system also will offer a remote connect and disconnect option, which will allow water and power to be turned on and off much more quickly.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 8:38 AM with the headline "How Rock Hill’s new e-meter system can save you money."