Pathway of Power: Distribution System

The service drop is usually made up of two 120 volt lines and a neutral line from which consumers can get 120 or 240 volts of power (see diagram #9).

The device that measures and records electricity usage each month is called a meter.

How to Read Your Electric Meter

The dials of your electric meter should be read from right to left. Each dial is numbered from "0" to "9." If the pointer is between two numbers, read the lower number. If the pointer appears to be right on a number, the only way to be sure it has reached that number is to check whether the dial to the right has completed its revolution, or passed zero. For example:

The pointer of Dial #2 appears to be right on the 5. However, since the pointer of Dial #1 has not reached zero, Dial #2 must be read as a 4. So this meter reads 0749 or 749. Below, the pointer of Dial #1 has reached zero, so Dial #2 becomes a 5. This meter reads 0750 or 750.

To determine the number of kilowatt-hours used in a month, simply subtract last month's reading from this month's reading.

If this was this month's reading:

If this was last month's reading:

43960  This month's reading

-43640  Last month's reading

______

      320 kilowatt-hours used

You will be billed for 320 kilowatt-hours, the difference between last month's reading and this month's reading.

When your meter turns over

Just like the odometer of a car, the register turns over after the last dial on your meter has completed a full revolution (10,000 kilowatt-hours on a five-dial meter). Each time the meter turns over, a "1" must be added in front of the next reading in order to compute the number of kilowatt-hours used. Here's an example:

Previous month's reading was 9045

This month's reading is

(1)0045 This month's reading

    -9045  Last month's reading

_______

      1000 kilowatt-hours used

There are two kinds of electric lines on the distribution system: three-phase or single-phase. Consumers who need large amounts of electricity to run heavy machinery require three-phase service. Residential consumers use single-phase service (see diagram #9).

Electricity is delivered to consumers through either overhead or underground lines. In underground service, distribution transformers are installed at or below ground level. Those mounted in steel boxes are called padmounts while those installed in underground vaults are called underground transformers. Transformers and other equipment in the overhead system are mounted on poles or other supporting structures.

Service Interruptions

Although our reliability of service is almost 100 percent, we do have service interruptions. These are usually caused by tree limbs, animals, lightning, wind and automobile accidents.

Consumers should stay away from fallen power lines and anything the lines may be touching, such as a fence or metal building.

If a consumer calls to report an outage, we ask if they have lost power in part or all of the house or if their house is the only one on the block without power. If power has been lost in part of the house, or it's the only house without power in the neighborhood, the consumer may have tripped a circuit breaker or blown a fuse.

The consumer can correct the situation by replacing the fuse or resetting the circuit breaker. If the fuses and circuits are working properly and there is no power, we advise the consumer that we will send an employee out as soon as possible to check the situation.