Georgia Power has finished installing 2.4 million digital meters at homes and businesses across its territory.
The digital or "smart" meters let customers track their energy usage in real time. Customers also can do things such as remotely turn off high-energy appliances in the middle of the day to cut costs.
Georgia Power can read remotely, saving the company time and money from having to send workers out to read them each day. The meters also let out what's known as a "last gasp" during a power outage, letting utilities know the electricty went out out at whatever home or business they were connected to.
Georgia Power started replacing traditional electricity meters with digital ones six years ago. The government offered $4 million in federal stimulus dollars in efforts to encourage utilities nationwide to use the new technology.
