New ATCO meters should mean fewer mistakes on gas bills

CALGARY- Upgrades at ATCO means there should be fewer mistakes on those pesky gas bills.

The company has been replacing manual meter reading with remote transmitters. The way it works is a radio frequency sends a signal from the home’s meter to a receiver, which can be read from the street by a vehicle equipped with a computer.

ATCO says it’s more convenient, safer and accurate than individual meter readers.

“If we don’t get a read that month, we estimate, and if it’s estimated for a number of months in a row you’ve got more of a chance that the read is either lower or higher than what it actually was,” explains Keith Carter, VP of operations for ATCO. “This will allow us to get that read every month.”

The program should also make it easier on homeowners, who won’t have to schedule a time for a meter reader to come by, and can count on more accurate billing.

In B.C. where a similar program has been introduced, there were concerns about the frequencies being transmitted—but officials say there is no cause for concern.

“It operates around the 900 megahertz range, and it’s very similar to your garage door opener or your hand held phone within your house,” Carter says. “It’s lower that what a cell phone would be and would be lower than what the cell towers are pushing out.”

The remote readers will be installed on all gas meters by the end of next year.