Watch CBS News

Duquesne Light Installing New Smart Meters Throughout Region

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The old Duquesne Light meters are about to become a thing of the past.

"We're replacing all the electric meters within our service territory with the new advanced electric meter," Brian Novicki of Duquesne Light told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Friday.

Over 600,000 meters will be replaced over the next year or so, says Novicki, with about 100,000 already changed in the greater Pittsburgh area.

Gone will be the old meter with the spinning disk.

'"You can see the disk spinning that measures the consumption," Novicki noted, comparing the two meters.

"The new ones are fully solid state, fully electronic. They don't have a disk spinning. Everything is a solid state device now. There's no electro-mechanical devices to it. and you notice the old style had what we called the clock-style display with dials? The new one is a registered style display, much easier for the customer to read."

With letters and phone calls to customers, Duquesne Light says it's providing customers plenty of notice before switching out your meter.

Making the switch -- all outdoors work -- should be relatively quick -- fifteen minutes -- and the installers will be in Duquesne Light uniforms and trucks, with identification.

"They'll knock on the door, and inform the customer they'll be there, and that way if the customer needs to shut anything off they can. Typically, on most exchanges, the customer will not even have a power interruption, depending on the type of meter socket they have," adds Novicki.

Again, a Duquesne Light representative will not show up at your house without notice to you.

You can expect a letter about 30 days before that agent would show up and then a personal phone call about three to five days before the Duquesne Light representative shows up to replace your meter.

Smart meters have been installed in millions of homes across the county and they have raised some controversy.

First, there are privacy issues.

Some law enforcement officials say they can be used as a surveillance tool, by allowing them to monitor household activities.

Then, there are health issues.

Some say the radio frequencies the meters use to transmit your data can be harmful.

And finally there's the security issues.

Security experts say it's only a matter of time before hackers and thieves learn how to tap into your meter and possibly learn when you're away from home at work or on vacation.

As per Pennsylvania law, all customers will receive the new smart meters by 2019.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.