June 5, 2012 – As part of an ongoing program to renew and prepare the province’s energy delivery system for the future, SaskPower has chosen the Town of Hanley and surrounding area as the first test location for its new advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project for electrical meters.

“AMI is a key part of SaskPower’s plans to renew and upgrade our provincial electrical infrastructure, and will provide a foundation for other ongoing SaskPower projects,” said Robert Watson, SaskPower president and CEO. “Ultimately, this will enhance proactive system maintenance and deliver a higher level of service to customers.”

In August 2010, SaskPower announced it will install about 500,000 advanced electric meters (a.k.a. smart meters) across the province in 2013. These meters will be connected to a wireless communications network that will provide near real-time data on customers’ electrical use.

SaskPower will test about 400 new electric meters during the Hanley field test, allowing the Crown corporation to verify the system configuration and the wireless communications network the meters will use. SaskPower customers will experience a power disruption of no more than 5 minutes, says SaskPower, while their existing meters are replaced with new AMI meters.

Hanley was chosen as the location for the field test based on a number of criteria, says SaskPower, including a variety of customer types, proximity to SaskPower staff and the availability of wireless communications infrastructure. Installation of the new meters is scheduled to begin early this summer.

Additional information can be found at: www.saskpower.com/smartmeters