Black Hills Energy Nebraska
If you're a Black Hills Energy customer in one of 68 communities in Nebraska, chances are Black Hills is or soon will be reading your natural gas meter with automated meter reading technology. AMR increases efficiency by using wireless technology to securely send each customer's natural gas usage information directly from the meter to a passing company vehicle.
The company brought automated meter reading technology to its customers in the late 1980s. The system has been expanded since then so that now, the natural gas meters of nearly two-thirds of the customers the company serves in Nebraska are read with automated meter reading technology. Nebraska communities served by Black Hills Energy that have automated meter reading are:
| Adams | DeWitt | Hallam | Rising City |
| Arlington | Dorchester | Hampton | Seward |
| Aurora | Eagle | Hickman | Shelby |
| Beatrice | Elsner Estates | Holland | Staplehurst |
| Bee | Exeter | Hooper | Tekamah |
| Bennet | Fairmont | Lincoln | Uehling |
| Blair | Firth | Milford | Ulysses |
| Bradshaw | Fontanelle | Mynard | Walton |
| Cheney | Fremont-West | Nickerson | Waverly |
| Clatonia | Friend | Osceola | Wilber |
| Cortland | Garrison | Palmyra | Woodland Hills |
| Craig | Geneva | Panama | York |
| Crete | Grafton | Plattsmouth | |
| David City | Greenwood | Plymouth |
In 2012, residential and most commercial meters in 14 more Nebraska communities are being upgraded to AMR technology:
| Battle Creek | Madison | Oakland | Tilden | |
| Beemer | Meadow Grove | Pierce | West Point | |
| Humphrey | Newman Grove | Pilger | ||
| Lindsay | Norfolk | Stanton |
Benefits of AMR include:
- Greater Efficiency: Wireless technology allows the company to read meters more rapidly, with a transmitter on the meter and a receiver in a passing company vehicle.
- Customer Convenience: AMR eliminates the need for service personnel to access customers’ property monthly to read meters; indoor meters can also be read remotely.
- Accuracy: AMR eliminates the need to estimate meter reads. If a customer’s meter is inaccessible due to location, a locked gate or a pet, the meter read can still be obtained through AMR to help ensure an accurate bill.
Residential and most commercial customers in the 14 communities being upgraded to AMR in 2012 will be notified of the upgrade by a mailed notification before work in their community begins. Work will begin the week of April 9 in Norfolk, Neb., and then be phased in over the next several months in the remaining 13 North Region communities scheduled for the upgrade this year. Project completion will be in October.
For AMR to work, a small transmitter is added to all meters. Access to the home or building typically is not required for installation of the AMR equipment. The installation only takes 10 to 15 minutes and natural gas service is not interrupted. These customers will receive a postcard from Black Hills Energy notifying them of the upgrade.
An inside meter or a meter that needs to be exchanged will require us to access your home or building to install the automated meter reading equipment and in most cases, a brief interruption in your natural gas service will be necessary while we exchange the meter on your property. Once the work is finished, we will restore gas service to your home or building and relight pilots on your furnace and other natural gas appliances. The entire process typically takes around 30 minutes. These customers will receive a letter from Black Hills Energy notifying them of the upgrade, that we will need access to the home or building, and requesting that the customer call our contractor that is installing the AMR system, KORE Services LLC, toll free at 800-789-6544, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, to schedule an appointment. KORE will also be contacting customers if necessary to arrange an appointment. When KORE is working in the community, its employees will carry Black Hills Energy identification.
Click on the links below for more information about the 2012 expansion in Nebraska.
- General notification postcard
- Notification letter for customers where access to their home or building is required Additional expansion of AMR to other communities Black Hills Energy serves is reviewed annually.
Click on Automated Meter Reading to return to the main AMR page.