The following questions and answers provide more details about Idaho Power's Advanced Meter Reading (AMR) program. Emmett Valley customers might also be interested in the Time-of-Day or Energy Watch programs, or the A/C Cool Credit FAQs.

1. What is AMR?
2. What are the objectives and benefits of installing AMR?
3. What parts of Idaho Power's service area have AMR installed?
4. How does AMR technology work?
5. What are the physical components installed for AMR to work?
6. What does the new AMR meter installation look like?

1. What is AMR?
AMR is the acronym for Advanced Meter Reading, a technology first introduced in the electric utility industry in the 1970s. It gives utilities the ability to obtain meter-reading values remotely without having to physically visit and manually read the customer's electric meter.

2. What are the objectives and benefits of installing AMR?
The primary objective is to enable Idaho Power to evaluate several capabilities inherent in the AMR technology of reading meters remotely, including:

• The potential to increase operational efficiency
• The ability to improve customer service through pricing and demand-side management options
• The ability for customers to manage energy-use through enhanced information
• The ability to gather information that may provide insight to company decision-making

3. What parts of Idaho Power's service area have AMR installed?
AMR has been installed in portions of the company's operating areas in and around Emmett, McCall, Horseshoe Bend, Garden Valley, Lowman, Cascade, Donnelly, New Meadows and Riggins. More specifically, all residential, irrigation, and commercial customers served by the Emmett, Crane Creek, Horseshoe Bend, Cascade, Donnelly, McCall, Boulder, and New Meadows substations have AMR installed. This totals approximately 26,500 customer meter points. Some customers were not able to participate in the AMR program due to the location of their property.

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4. How does AMR technology work?
Idaho Power installed communications technology that allows data to be shipped back and forth between the meter and the company. Meter data travels to a substation on existing electrical distribution lines. At the substation the data then travels to the corporate data center via communication lines, where the meter data is then integrated with Idaho Power's customer information and billing systems and other applications.

5. What are the physical components installed for AMR to work?
The AMR system consists of three main components:

• Meters: Each existing meter was replaced with a new enhanced meter that contains an integrated AMR transponder.


• Substation Equipment: AMR substation communication equipment was installed in seven substations (Emmett, Crane Creek, Horseshoe Bend, Cascade, Donnelly, McCall, and New Meadows).


• Computer System: An AMR data server was installed in the Corporate Data Center in Boise.

6. What does the new AMR meter installation look like?
The meter’s exterior appearance is like a typical electronic meter. The only difference is that an AMR transponder is installed inside the meter by the meter vendor prior to shipment to Idaho Power.

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