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Frequently Asked Questions
Advanced meter technology is rigorously tested for accuracy and reliability to meet specific standards, and tests have shown that advanced meters are more accurate than analog meters. The advanced meters deployed by Hawaiian Electric also are meticulously tested by the manufacturer and the utility prior to installation. In limited cases where your old (analog) meter may have been running slow due to age, you may see an increase in electricity usage on your bills after the advanced meter is installed due to the accuracy of the new (advanced) meter. However, if you notice a significant change in your electricity usage that is not typical for your household, please contact our Customer Call Center and we can send a field representative to verify the equipment is working properly.
An asterisk (*) in the My Energy Use portal and on your electric bill indicates at least one 15-minute interval reading for that day was estimated, usually due to wireless connectivity issues. It doesn’t mean your usage for the entire day is being estimated. If just one 15-minute interval of data is unavailable, about 1% of the day’s data, you will see an asterisk.
If you notice a significant change in your electricity usage that isn’t typical for your household or business, please contact Customer Service for further assistance.
If your bill is estimated, it’s noted on the actual bill with “(EST)” in the Bill Period section of the bill. The system will automatically check for any unusual changes in daily usage and alert Hawaiian Electric for further review.
An advanced meter should not affect your solar program and/or billing but will offer many benefits including more accurate energy use data and access to the My Energy Use portal. Through the portal, customers with a rooftop solar system also can monitor their generation and see how well the solar system offsets energy consumption. Additionally, you can track energy use, compare energy use data to previous periods, set up notification alerts when use hits a certain threshold and download the data for analysis – such as verifying your home energy savings investments – among other uses.
Hawaiian Electric recommends customers with rooftop solar and/or battery systems check their systems’ main control panel to make sure it is functioning properly once the advanced meter is installed as it may need to be reset. If it’s not working properly, please contact your solar contractor for guidance on how to reset your system.
No, the advanced meter does not have the ability to turn off your water heater without the necessary hardware. While advanced meters will enable Hawaiian Electric to offer customer demand response programs in the future, such programs will require customer or homeowner approval and voluntary participation prior to installation of the required hardware.
Yes, you may request a removal of the advanced meter, which will be replaced by an in-stock, non-communicating digital meter.
No, the advanced meter doesn’t track the activities in a home or the use of appliances or equipment, only the amount of electricity being consumed (and when).
Our AMI or advanced metering infrastructure network utilizes a 902-928 MHz RF frequency range and does not rely on cellular communications, but rather is a secure mesh network.
Each phone carrier – such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc. – uses different frequencies that range from 600 MHz up to 39 GHz for the new high-capacity, ultrafast mmWave (Millimeter Wave) band. The most common frequencies used by the carriers are 600 MHz to 2200 MHz. Wi-Fi also has multiple frequencies, but the most two most common Wi-Fi bands are the unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz range. Ham or amateur radio bands also differ widely in frequency depending on the time of day and type (long or short range) of communications, but generally start at 135 kHz (kilohertz) with the allocated spectrum ending at 1240 MHz.
