Merrillville-based NIPSCO is preparing to install upgraded electric meter technology.

NIPSCO will start installing meters for 3,000 electric residential customers in Highland in March. Over the next three years, residential and business customers in NIPSCO’s service area will receive the new technology.

“Advanced metering infrastructure is a proven technology, designed to improve safety, promote reliability and enable system modernization,” said Ron Talbot, NIPSCO senior vice president, electric operations, in a press release. “It is central to NIPSCO’s efforts to enable modern energy capabilities and improve the customer experience.”

The new meters will improve energy efficiency, speed up outage response times and provide real-time data access. NIPSCO will have the ability to read customer meters remotely, allowing faster action in the event of an emergency.

“We are excited to be joining the ranks of nearly 65 percent of utilities across the United States that have adopted AMI,” Talbot said. “Our goal is to continuously implement new technology that aligns with our mission to deliver safe, reliable energy that drives value to our customers.”

NIPSCO is also evaluating safety features that are becoming available for natural gas AMI meters.

Customers receiving a new meter will be notified by letter 30 days in advance of the new meter installation. The installation process takes less than 15 minutes and is free of charge. More information is available here.

The Northern Indiana Public Service Co. was founded over 100 years ago. It serves about 859,000 natural gas and 493,000 electric customers in 32 counties. NIPSCO is one of NiSource’s local utility companies. NiSource is a national company serving 3.7 million customers.