How To Read Your Meter

Getting to Know Your Electric Meter

If you're like most people, sooner or later you'll want to know a little more about the electricity you're using. Like where does it go? And how much are you using? Not only will the following information help with that, but a simple call to your local power company can also turn you on to several ways to use electricity more efficiently.

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Reading your electric meter is a good way to know how much you're spending on electricity. Here in the Tennessee Valley our residential rates are among the lowest in the country. And together with TVA, Murfreesboro Electric Department will continue to keep those rates low, while offering more competitive and more energy efficient ways to use that electricity.

Electricity is measured by kilowatt-hours. As a sort of quick reference, a 100 watt light bulb burning for 10 hours uses one kilowatt-hour. Electric meters keep track of how many kilowatt-hours you've used.

TWACS (Two-Way Automatic Communication System) is a system that communicates over electric power lines, providing low-cost, highly reliable, two-way communication between MED and our customers. TWACS helps us respond quickly and accurately to billing inquiries, special read requests or payment problems. TWACS also provides outage and restoration monitoring and reporting.

TWACS works by sending information to and from our customers' meters. The TWACS computer sends meter identification out to the injection equipment located at the substation by phone line, which then sends the signals through the power line to each meter. The meter hears its name and responds to the substation through the power line and the reading is transmitted back to MED by telephone. This all happens in about 20 seconds!

Advantages to using the TWACS system are listed below:

• Improves your security - eliminates the need to leave gates unlocked or to keep pets inside on your meter reading day.
• Less intrusive - Meter readers will not be required to come into your yard on a monthly basis to read your meter.
• Reads within a few seconds.
• Enables us to monitor outage and voltage issues.
• Helps to diagnose problems at the customer's home or business.
• Tamper detection and energy theft reduction.
• Ability to provide customer more detailed information.

Where Does It Go?

The biggest electricity consumption in your home is from your heating and air conditioning equipment. The average home uses about 55% of its electricity here. Older, less insulated homes use even more electricity. Older appliances are less energy efficient, and cost more to run too.

Water heaters are usually the second largest user of electricity in your home. After that come major appliances like refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers, followed by smaller items like TVs, lights, and stereos.