No. Effective December 18, 2006, the metering required for Electric Choice service is the same as that required for customers on the equivalent Full Service rate. This means that customers are not required to have meter changes made in order to switch to Electric Choice.

Primary customers do not have a choice of metering. All primary customers (customers taking service at 4,800 volts or higher) are required to have interval meters.

Secondary customers taking Electric Choice service do have a choice of metering. Secondary customers may keep their standard energy or standard energy/demand meters, OR may elect an optional interval-metered service. If you elect this service, you must have an interval meter installed at your location. This optional service has an additional monthly service charge and a one-year minimum term. 

An interval meter is a meter that records your electric usage for each individual hour (or half hour) in a billing period, rather than just accumulating a running total. This allows you or your energy supplier to know exactly how much electricity you used at any point in time, as well as your usage patterns over time.

Standard energy and energy/demands meters measure your accumulated usage during the billing period, and, if demand is measured, the highest demand that occurred in the month.

You must provide a working telephone link to the interval meter so that Detroit Edison can download the metered data electronically. This can be either:

1. A traditional analog land-line (Plain Old Telephone Service or POTS)
   This can be a dedicated line or one that is shared with other telephones or equipment. If you or your AES wish to download the data directly, then a dedicated line would be required. You are responsible for all costs associated with supplying and maintaining the phone line
2. Or, in cases where a land-line is impractical, Detroit Edison will install a digital cellular device to enable electronic reading of the meter
   This is an additional optional service that Detroit Edison will provide for a monthly service charge of $45.00. Detroit Edison will own, install, and maintain the digital cellular device. You are responsible for all cellular provider charges

You must have the telephone line installed and then call Detroit Edison at 888.235.3535.

Detroit Edison will initiate a field visit to your site for our technician to hook the phone line up to the meter and verify that the meter communicates successfully with our data collection system. Once successful communication is confirmed, your change to interval-metered Electric Choice service will be scheduled. Usually this is the next scheduled meter read date.

You must keep the telephone line in place and fully functional.

Digital Interval Meter Service is available for secondary customers who desire Optional Interval Meter Service, but find that it is impractical to run a "land line" to the meter for data collection. For example, Digital Interval Meter Service might be used for a lighted billboard, an "out building" on a customer's premise, etc. Remember, the $45/month charge is for digital equipment, installation and maintenance. The customer must activate and pay for the digital cellular service. The $45.00 charge is in addition to the Optional Interval Meter Service monthly service charge (applicable to secondary voltage customers).

If Detroit Edison cannot read the meter electronically because of a telephone line problem, we will read the meter manually (one time per month), for a charge of $37.00, after the first manual read. If the telephone line is inoperative for three consecutive months, Detroit Edison may terminate your interval-metered Electric Choice service.

• If you are a primary customer, this means you will be returned to Detroit Edison Full Service, subject to the provisions of the Retail Access Service Rider Section 5.3. Term, Commencement and Return to Full Service.
• If you are a secondary customer, this means you will remain on Electric Choice, but you will be switched to standard energy metered service (or energy and demand metered service, if you are on a rate with a demand component). With standard metering, you won't be able to see exactly how you used energy over the hours of the month. Also, if you have not completed the twelve-month minimum term for the optional interval-metered service, you will be subject to the monthly charge for the balance of the 12-month minimum term.

Monthly charges, based on your rate, are:

Customers who do not complete the initial 12-month term on Optional Interval Meter Service-because they return to Full Service, or switch to standard energy metered service-will be assessed the monthly Optional Interval Meter Service charge until the term is completed.