Oncor’s Smart Texas rethinking energy consumer education program and tour, which kicked off in Arlington this past May, is coming to Forney on Saturday, October 18th. The tour includes Oncor’s 1,000 square-foot Mobile Experience Center (MEC) which showcases Oncor’s new smart meter technology, which will be deployed throughout Oncor’s service area over the next four years, with Oncor users in Forney receiving their meter upgrades as early as 2009.

The tour will be at the Forney WalMart from 10AM to 2PM on Saturday, October 18th. The MEC uses video, interactive kiosks and hands-on demonstrations to educate consumers on how they can use these new meters to help reduce demand, lower their electric bill and protect the environment.

The Smart Texas tour is showcasing Oncor’s new Advanced Meter System (AMS) smart meters. Oncor CEO Bob Shapard relates some of the impressive capabilities of the AMS meters – “Consumers will be able to see how much electricity they use throughout the day and, using that information, make smarter decisions about how they consume electricity and when, in order to save money on their electric bills and reduce their energy consumption,” he explained. “With AMS technology and monitoring equipment available from REPs, consumers will have the ability to get real-time information about how they are using electricity. It’s essentially an electricity speedometer that puts control in the hands of consumers. More efficient use of electricity will also reduce the need for new generation plants and help keep our air cleaner.”

The smart meters also enable advanced two-way communication between the meter and Oncor, allowing the utility to detect power outages and potential trouble spots as they happen, potentially reducing the number and duration of power outages.

Click the image, below, to watch a video about the Smart Texas tour and learn more about the Mobile Experience Center that is coming to Forney on the 18th!

Welcome to Twenty Peaceful Minutes (20PM) - a community website for Forney, Texas. In addition to this blog, 20PM is home to the Forney discussion forums, which you may reach by clicking the Forney discussion forum link or going to http://20pm.net/forums; also, considering signing up for email or newsreader (RSS feed) notifications of new posts to the 20PM blog!