Meter Reader

Today a contractor stopped by my house to change out the electric meter, he said that they were being paid by the electric company to change out all of the old meters in the area and install these new meters. Now the electric company will be able monitor how much electricity I am using at all times through their office computers and the meter reader just lost his job.
This comes at a bad time because I haven't been growing in a while and I was about to get started again, and I would be willing to bet that 1600watts won't go unnoticed. Should I take some kind of precaution or am I just being:stoned: paranoid?

i don't know man, i'd start by turning things on and leaving them on, to start them seeing more usage (although, that's probably bullshit and won't help any)

anyway, i don't think they can use your electrical usage as a basis for looking at you, there has to be some other reason to suspect you.

and be careful with your trash, take any weed related trash out seperately and dispose of it somewhere not at home.

Wouldn't be too much different than if a couple computers, TV's, and extra room lights were turned on for long periods... I've known people to leave damn near EVERYTHING on in their house wasting tons of electricity, which I'm sure the company loves cause it just means more money for them.

But then again.... It would be possible if they notice the changes in time and power, from 18/6 or 24/4 suddenly go to 12/12 for a few months, and then back again.
Those are the specific times for most people's light schedules.

They'd have really good computer software running to watch for that sort of thing.... I bet. If I was the government I'd definitely institute a plan like that.

Sorry, I really wanted to ease your mind about it.... I think way too much.

4 air conditioners is about 1600 watts. As long as you pay your bill on time and dont cause any trouble with neighbors keep your grass cut and eliminate smell you should be fine.
Just make sure to fluoro out the house bulbs and keep all extra electrical appliances off, rule of thumb...1000 watts per bedroom. Work your light consumption up slowly...don't just throw all 1600 watts up. Maybe do like one light for a month and then add another. You should be fine.

I waited till winter, cuz at least here, our bill doubles. I'd turn on maybe 2 of your 400s, to start things off, then turn the other two on in a month or so... but they're really looking for a basement of 1000 watters...

I just did a little bit of research and found that Texas made a 690 million dollar deal to provide over 7 million consumers with this new (AMS) technology, and in 2005 our government provided us with an Energy Policy Act that mandates all electric utilities consider implementing advanced metering systems to increase efficiency. This new technolgy can be used to determine the kind of appliances that you run and when you run it, although the stated purpose suggests that the new (AMS) technology will lower our electric bills through better manangement. I guess this is an obstacle that eventually all growers will have to overcome in the future.

Thats some crazy technology...I dont think they are worried about small time grows as much as folks with 10 1000 watters in their basement though.:wtf:

They are called Smart Meters.
We just had one installed (Not by our choice).
They send readings via wireless to a nod that records usage during different times.
The meter will allow the hydro company to charge different rates for different times. For us with lights, setting the timers to the lower rate hours will be beneficial in the long run on our bills.

THERE IS NO PERSON REVIEWING YOUR HYDRO BILL AND COMPARING IT MONTH OVER MONTH TO YOURS OR ANYONE ELSES!!

THERE IS NO COMPUTER PROGRAM LOOKING FOR SMALL TIME GROWERS.

The company bills for KWhours and loves it when you use more.
If running 10 x 1000w I might be a little paranoid but even up to 3 x 1000w is not much different than a freezer, tv runing, dryer running while vaccumming, planying the radio and having the lights on in 5 rooms.
What I'm saying is they can't distinguish between lights and normal usage.

Thanks Blink Inc, that's a relief. From what I read the meters record usage and make patterns out of it, but I couldn't tell exactly what they used it for, so thanks for clarifying. :thumbsup:

The usage patterns that they would look at would allow them to find the idea time sections to bill higher for.

The hydro company is after one thing and that is profit.