Reinvesting in our system helps keep costs down

Posted by Stacie Nielsen on July 22, 2019

In the 21st century, a world-class electric distribution system requires ongoing investments in next-generation technology. These Wright-Hennepin (WH) investments help ensure we continue to bring affordable and reliable energy to you!

AMI installations

WH has installed 12,000 new meters in our Automatic Meter Infrastructure (AMI) system across our service area with another 4,000 to be deployed this year. The new meters allow us to read hourly energy use, which helps us to fine-tune management of our electric grid.

Energy savings and rebates

Energy costs more during peak demand times. To help offset this, WH offers members a variety of Energy-Saving Programs. In addition, WH is conducting a Demand Management Study with the goal to understand the opportunities and costs of controlling energy with demand management devices (those smaller control boxes next to your meter).

Electric Vehicle Study

In late 2018, WH began a study on how members use electric vehicles (EVs). In exchange for a free electric charger, 12 members agreed to share information about when they plug in, for how long and how much energy they use to recharge. This will help WH speed adoption of EVs and help us advise our members how best to save energy and money when using them.