For most, the most visible touchpoint of the electric grid is the meter on the side of their home. For Texas-based El Paso Electric, modernizing that small piece of infrastructure became the starting point for a much broader transformation focused on reliability, transparency and a more engaging customer experience.
That multi‑year, $141-million modernization is largely complete. Nearly all El Paso Electric customers in Texas and New Mexico are served by advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), a smart meter system that replaces manual drive‑by readings with secure, remote and data‑driven capabilities. The large-scale deployment — covering more than 530,000 smart meters across west Texas and southern New Mexico — was guided by Black & Veatch, which served as the utility’s project management office and advisor throughout the effort.
Before AMI, El Paso Electric relied on drive‑by meter reading. Crews by truck traversed neighborhoods each month to log usage and even manage routine customer requests such as starting or stopping service. The process was time-consuming, costly and increasingly misaligned with customer expectations.
Advanced metering infrastructure removes much of that friction. Meter readings now occur automatically and remotely. Service connections and disconnections can be completed over the air. For customers, that translates to faster service, fewer delays and less disruption tied to routine utility operations.
Just as important, smart meters deliver visibility. Instead of a single monthly snapshot, AMI captures energy usage in short intervals, showing how and when electricity is consumed throughout the day. That near–real‑time insight gives customers a clearer understanding of their energy habits and greater control over them.
One of the most immediate customer benefits of advanced metering infrastructure is El Paso Electric’s online customer portal — developed as part of the rollout — that allows ratepayers to track energy usage, view daily and hourly trends and forecast upcoming bills.
Rather than wondering why a bill may be higher than expected, customers can connect energy consumption to real-world behavior such as increased air‑conditioning use during extreme heat or higher demand during peak hours. With such clarity, customers are better equipped to adjust habits, manage costs and avoid surprises.
AMI also positions El Paso Electric to expand future options such as time‑of‑use rates, which enable customers to shift energy use to lower‑cost periods, reducing bills while easing demand on the grid.
Beyond just enhancing billing and energy insight, smart meters play a critical role in reliability by acting as sensors across the grid. When power is lost, the system can alert the utility immediately, often before customers call to report an outage. That early visibility enables faster response, more efficient crew deployment and quicker restoration.
Over time, this grid intelligence helps El Paso Electric identify recurring trouble spots, refine outage response strategies and make targeted investments that strengthen overall reliability. The customer benefits are clear: fewer surprises, better communication and faster recovery when outages happen.
Managing scale without losing customer focus
Behind the scenes, the AMI deployment was a complex, high-stake program. El Paso Electric selected Itron to provide the smart meters and communications network, while Black & Veatch oversaw the overall effort — managing schedules, budgets, performance metrics and coordination across vendors.
The project initially estimated about 528,000 meters, but continued growth in the service territory pushed that number to roughly 533,000. While Itron and its subcontractors handled installation, Black & Veatch acted as the owner’s representative, helping ensure the program remained aligned with regulatory requirements, operational objectives and customer expectations.
Today, approximately 99.9% of meters have been replaced, marking the practical completion of the core AMI deployment.
Grid modernization often raises questions, most commonly around data and privacy. Anticipating that, El Paso Electric paired the technology rollout with a multiphase customer engagement strategy designed to educate, inform and build trust.
Before installation, outreach focused on education: what AMI is, why it matters and how it benefits customers. During deployment, messaging emphasized logistics and reassurance, helping customers understand what to expect in their neighborhoods. After installation, the focus shifted to empowerment, highlighting the customer portal, energy insights and self-service tools now available.
While a small number of customers initially had questions, most became comfortable once they understood how the system worked and experienced the benefits firsthand. What could have been an abstract technology upgrade quickly became a practical, everyday resource.
Compared with some regions, El Paso Electric adopted AMI later, but that timing proved advantageous. By moving directly from older automated meter reading to AMI 2.0, the utility implemented a more mature, flexible platform designed for long-term value.
The project — filed with public utility regulators in Texas and New Mexico — now serves as a foundation for improved customer engagement, smarter grid operations and ongoing digital transformation.
For customers, the benefits are tangible: clearer insight into energy use, faster service response and a more transparent relationship with their utility. For El Paso Electric, AMI is more than a smart meter project but a critical step toward a more responsive, customer‑centric energy future.
