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Smart meters coming to Greencastle
Having spent “close to a million dollars” recently to remodel its Greencastle office, Duke Energy is getting ready to upgrade its presence at local homes as well.
“We’re coming into the technology era of ‘smart meters,’” Duke Energy District Manager Rick Burger told about a dozen invited local business representatives during a Friday luncheon at the Inn at DePauw.
So-called smart meters, which can be monitored, read, shut off or activated from the Duke office without sending any personnel to an individual home or business, have already been installed in Terre Haute and Clinton.
“Greencastle is next,” Burger said. “This is great technology, folks.”
About 45,000 to 50,000 such meters were installed in the Terre Haute area, Burger said, at a loss for exactly how many smart meters are destined for the Duke coverage area in and around Greencastle.
Regardless, “an army of people will be coming in,” the district manager said, indicating Greencastle residents can expect to see the arrival of smart meters “probably mid-year 2017.”
Greencastle area customers will be notified when Duke representatives will be coming onto their property to install the smart meters, Burger said, calling it “a courtesy to let people know we’re coming on their property.”
Burger, who calls himself “a farm boy from Jasonville,” explained that Duke has consolidated its Brazil operations, moving line crews to the Greencastle office to create a more centralized location from which to dispatch its crews.
“We’ve probably invested $1 million in that building out there, so it’s here to stay,” Burger said of the 1400 Indianapolis Rd. site at which he began his career 39 years ago.
The project added a few more truck bays to accommodate additional equipment, he said.
The Greencastle facility currently employs some 22 persons, including building supervisor Anita Webb, along with 12 linemen, three vegetation workers, two engineers, two substation personnel, a construction maintenance person and a work management representative.
Meanwhile, Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Kristin Clary praised Duke for its longstanding efforts in assisting Hoosier communities with economic development opportunities.
“Duke has had a great partnership with us,” she said. “Duke has been a great partner in economic development locally.”
Burger noted that while Duke’s economic development staff may be smaller than in the past, “I guarantee our commitment is even greater today.”
Although the analogy would have been ideal coming from a guy named Burger, it was Duke representative Laura Sheets who made the comment that Duke Energy today is a lot like a famous McDonald’s sandwich.
“The Big Mac today is pretty much like it was when I was in high school,”she said, “but the experience (at McDonald’s) is so much different.”
The luncheon program was the 10th of 12 such gatherings Duke is sponsoring in the district as the utility company asks locals how it can be a better energy company for their community.