Smart Meter FAQs

Smart meters are digital devices that collect energy-use data and, unlike traditional meters, transmit and receive data, too. Smart meters record electric energy use at your home every hour, and every 15 minutes at your business.

Natural gas information is available on a daily basis. Smart meters let you monitor your consumption more precisely so you can make more informed energy choices.

The State of California has asked all utilities to change existing electric and natural gas meters with new, digital smart meters as part of its energy action plan. For more information view The Benefits of Smart Meters on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website. 

All SDG&E customers, including both residences and businesses, will receive smart meters. This is a mandatory service upgrade: we’re upgrading all customer meters and meter-reading technology. You’ll be notified by mail a few weeks prior to your smart meter installation.

Your electric smart meter will have an easy-to-read digital display. Gas meters will continue to have dials, as they do today. Learn more.

When your data is collected from a meter and transmitted wirelessly to SDG&E, the data contains specific unique identifiers associated with your meter number and service address.

These fields are validated numerous times to ensure accuracy before the data is used for Billing. This process is similar to the cell phone technology where each cell phone has a unique number that goes with every communication which is used to identify a cell tower and connect your call to the correct location.

Our residential customers now pay a tiered rate for their energy.

Smart meters run on two frequencies. The frequency communicating to the electric meter is 900 MHz (megahertz). If you also have a gas meter, the frequency from the electric meter to the gas meter is 2.4 GHz (gigahertz).

The electric meter frequency is similar to a cell phone and the gas meter frequency is similar to a computer router. Neither device will interfere with any wireless devices in your home.

The Information Technology (IT) security controls we have in place for smart meters reflect energy industry best practices. They are designed to provide a very high level of assurance that our systems cannot be compromised.

Security is one of our top priorities. We take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure the services we provide our customers are not only high quality and easily available, but also extremely secure.

Smart meter technology is tested to ensure adherence to the established meter accuracy guidelines set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Our smart meters are tested at the manufacturer then tested again by SDG&E before they are installed. Accuracy results from these tests have shown that smart meters are more accurate than analog, or spinning dial, meters

No—it’s both illegal and unsafe. Other than some limited exceptions for existing Direct Access customers and their ESP’s, SDG&E owns and maintains the metering equipment. This includes electric and gas meters used for measurement and billing, and other equipment such as transformers on the ground or on a pole.  Removing or tampering with SDG&E property creates a safety issue, which may result in termination of service, and is considered a crime.  If done improperly it can result in serious injury or death. Licensed electricians must contact SDG&E when work requires a meter to be removed, reset, or the power cut or reconnected at a customer premise.

The reset button is used when the meter has been remotely turned on and is ready to be activated. When in this state, the meter display will scroll “Con Ready”.