PGE announces recall of 70,000 residential meters

Portland General Electric announced Wednesday that it has begun a recall on 70,000 residential meters after tests showed meters not performing optimally and, in some cases, catching fire.

The meters affected are primarily installed at rental properties and contain a specific technology that allows the meter to be turned on and off remotely. They were installed between 2010 and 2012, the company said.

The other 785,000 meters located at businesses and most other residences are different and do not suffer the same flaws. Customers whose meters are affected have all been mailed letters, PGE officials said. Those letters were sent out Wednesday.

Approximately 1,300 of the affected meters are in the Salem area. Another 1,900 are located in Woodburn.

Bill Nicholson, senior vice president of customer service, transmission and distribution, said the company began internally testing the meters after learning of three small meter fires that had occurred. The results of the testing confirmed that, in rare circumstances, those meters could catch fire.

"Once we saw that, we wanted to take this action out of an abundance of caution to make sure we didn't experience that," Nicholson said. "This risk is extremely low, but it's still unacceptable to us. Our commitment is to our customers and to safety."

PGE hopes to replace all of the impacted meters by the end of October. Customers will see no extra charge.

"We are working with the manufacturer to get replacement meters as soon as possible," Nicholson said. "We have already begun to deploy and are working as fast as we can."

The affected meters aren't concentrated to a specific area, he added. There is a cluster of them in East Multnomah County, as that's where crews were installing the meters as they were coming off the manufacturing line, but they are generally spread throughout all of PGE's service area.

Customers can also check on the status of a meter by going online to PGEMeterExchange.com and using the eight-digit meter number. Customers can also call (877) 835-1435.

Because meters conduct electricity, customers are asked to never tamper with a meter and allow only PGE crews or contractors to repair or remove one.

"Again, I want to stress that the risk (of fire) is very low," Nicholson said. "But it's unacceptable to us and our commitments to our customers. We are working quickly to replace these meters."