Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 04, 2015 -- Effective June 1, 2015, Texas-based retail electric provider Discount Power began discontinuing the Advanced Metering System (AMS) surcharge to all residential customers in the CenterPoint service area. This is a direct result of CenterPoint Energy ending this surcharge on that date.
CenterPoint Energy, the electric transmission and distribution service provider (TDSP) for the greater Houston area, originally began billing retail electric providers (REPs) a $3.24 monthly surcharge in 2009 that was decreased to $3.05 in 2011. The surcharge, known as the Advanced Metering System (AMS) fee, was implemented to cover the cost of installing smart meter devices throughout the CenterPoint area. The majority of consumers that live in the CenterPoint service area saw this $3+ surcharge passed through on their monthly electricity bill.
“While no one ever likes to see additional charges applied, we certainly believe that the AMS surcharge resulted in a much stronger and more reliable electric grid in Houston through the installation of smart meters,” said Neville Ravji, Chief Executive Officer at Discount Power. “When CenterPoint began the AMS surcharge, they did so with the mission of creating a ‘smart grid’ that would be a win-win-win situation for CenterPoint, REPs like us and customers. They are off to a wonderful start, as we have seen a more stable grid, better response times to power outages and detailed usage readings with smart meters. We are very happy for our residential customers in the CenterPoint area who will not have to pay this charge any more.”
Smart meters allow CenterPoint to collect usage data electronically instead of through manual meter reads, creating a more efficient and effective process for connection, disconnection and reading of meters. Through a $200 million Smart Grid Investment Grant that was given to CenterPoint Energy by the U.S. Department of Energy, the utility was able to decrease the 12 year timeline for the AMS surcharge to 6 years. With the completion of installing smart meters across the service area, the surcharge now comes to an end after 6 years and $500 million in surcharge funding.
About Discount Power
Discount Power is a retail electric provider based in Houston, Texas. Discount Power is comprised of industry experts with more than 50 years of experience in the energy industry. The team at Discount Power has been involved in all of the business elements of the energy market since the beginning of retail deregulation in Texas and has collectively served hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial customers. Learn more about Discount Power by visiting us online.
###
David Mirza, MedTractions, +1 (713) 306-4703, [email protected]
Share this article