Photo by Michelle Gray

New "Smart Meters" will replace old gas meters starting in the summer of 2010 all over Norman.

Officials are looking at Norman as a potential leader in Oklahoma’s effort to minimize energy dependence.

An energy project by OG&E, slated to start in Norman in the summer of 2010, and a push by city officials to use alternative fuels in Norman vehicles, are each expected to reduce the city’s carbon footprint next year.

OG&E announced last month that Norman will be the first Oklahoma metropolitan area where “smart meters” are installed as part of the Positive Energy Community project.

Smart meters are digital meters that look much like traditional meters, said OG&E spokesman Gil Broyals. But the outdoor meters feed information to a wireless device inside the home that lets homeowners know how much energy they’re using.

The device plugs into electrical outlets and displays data on energy use. That data, which shows consumers how much energy they’re using at different times of day, helps make customers aware of when they are wasting energy or could afford to cut back, said Broyals.

The first test run of the Positive Energy Community project was conducted in northwest Oklahoma City last summer. During the test run, homes that had smart meters installed used about 15 percent less energy than they did before the new meters were installed.

OG&E officials hope implementing the program will allow them to avoid building another hydrocarbon plant in the state.

The program is being evaluated by the Oklahoma Corporate Commission. They are expected to decide whether to approve the project in September. If they do, OG&E will immediately start to install the meters for use in June 2010, Broyals said.

He said Norman was chosen as the launch site because its large population will give OG&E the statistical information it needs to evaluate the program before it moves into the rest of the state.

After summer 2010, OG&E will release the energy statistics and move to install smart meters all over its customer area.

Norman City Council members are also working to reduce energy consumption in the city.

They approved a proposal to adopt a more aggressive alternative fuel program for the city’s vehicles at their Tuesday, Feb. 24th meeting. Already, 54 percent of Norman’s vehicles use some form of alternative energy, according to Mike White, superintendent of the Norman Department of Public Works Fleet.

With the new fuel program, which will require Norman to either build its own compressed natural gas station or buy natural gas from OU, the city expects to recoup its loss on compressed natural gas vehicles within six years and hybrid vehicles within 18 years.