Moving meters requires much coordination

Application needed

before moving

electrical meter

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Tired of being prodded by your friendly Utilities Department meter reader, you decide to have your meters moved outside.

It should be a relief to not have to deal with estimated billings, but don't start celebrating just yet. Relief won't occur overnight.

"I know it can be frustrating for people, but it's the only way we can do it," said Utilities Director Robert Stevenson. "There's a lot of coordination involved and extra trips that have to be made."

The frustration can start early and grow rapidly.

Asking the billing department at City Hall on how to get your meters moved can be frustrating in and of itself. You will be told that you need to hire an electrician to start the process.

What you're not told is that you will first need to fill out an application which you get at the billing office.

"We rely on the electrician that is hired to tell the customer that an application needs to be filled out," said Lisa Fischer, Utilities Department customer service coordinator.

"That's because those receiving an application at the billing office may not follow through in requesting the meter move," Fischer explained.

So, the customer gets to make a second trip to the billing office.

The second frustration may come in hiring an electrician. If this summer and fall is any indication, finding an electrician who has the time to do the work associated with moving an electric meter rivals the odds of winning the Powerball.

An informal survey by The Journal recently indicated there was only one firm in New Ulm and two outside the city that are doing "city work."

Stevenson speculated that the amount of work involved in moving a meter and the possibility of having to return two or three times to the site may discourage some electricians from taking that kind of work.

Why doesn't the electric division do the rewiring?

"First of all, we're prohibited by state law in running wires into the house," Stevenson explained. "We can bring the power up to the house, but we can't enter it. Besides we don't have a master electrician on staff because there's not a need for one."

(The electric meter is the only problem area because city workers can move the gas and water meters without having to call a plumber.)

Stevenson believes there are a number of customers who need or want to upgrade their breaker boxes, and moving a meter is "the perfect opportunity to do so."

The city has initiated a campaign to have all electrical lines leading into homes buried, rather than overhead as is the case with many older homes. The chief deterrent to customers going underground is the cost of having the city trench the line in. It can be sizeable depending upon how long the trench is.

Right now, the city hasn't made trenching mandatory, but in an attempt to "force" customers to go underground, Stevenson said, the utility has instituted a charge for "running" the overhead line in from the pole, even though the existing line remains in place.

It's not as expensive as trenching, Stevenson said, but it can be "substantial."

But, a more economical solution may be in the offing. The first radio-meters were installed this past month on a test basis.

Stevenson says he believes this may be a solution for customers who can't afford to move their inside meters, providing it works out in the initial testing.

"Then, we'll be able to take meter readings without having to enter the house," he said. "I think customers would be willing to pay two bucks a month for the privilege of not having to worry about the meter getting read."