NEW ORLEANS — With the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans currently on track to replace roughly half of its nearly 140,000 meters with smart meters by the end of the year, a new two-and-a-half-minute video has been released showing customers what they can expect during installation.
“We are extremely proud of the progress we’ve made on our Smart Metering Program so far,” said SWBNO Executive Director Ghassan Korban, referring to over 4,000 smart meters already installed across the city as of March. “The new smart meters are revolutionizing our customer experience by modernizing our meter reading infrastructure and improving our billing practices.”
Prior to 'smart meter' installation, the utility department said customers will receive a notification of installation in the mailbox of the account holder and service address. The SWBNO also said the contracted meter installer will arrive in a company-marked vehicle with proper identification and wearing a uniform.
The video can be seen on SWBNO's official YouTube page below:
Residential customers are not required to be home during the installation process, during which water service will be interrupted between 15-30 minutes. If the technician observes current water use at the time of installation, an attempt will be made at a later time.
Commercial customers will be contacted upon arrival to coordinate installation in an effort to minimize business interruptions.
Through SWBNO’s Smart Metering Program, customers will be able to monitor their own water usage and accurately track billing using an online portal.
"With access to this new, near real-time water use data, we can finally provide the proactive customer service our community deserves,” said Korban. “And once the enhanced customer portal is available later this year, customers will be even more empowered to manage their water use and control their water bill using this data."
The S&WB said it will offer customers a portal with 24/7 access to their account information.
Conservation tips are already available on SWBNO’s website.
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