The era of the meter reader is coming to a swift end in the Treasure Valley.

Idaho Power Co. continues to remove old electricity meters from its 489,000 homes and businesses in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon, replacing them with new "smart meters." That work will be accelerated now, thanks to the $47 million in federal economic stimulus money the utility won this week.

The utility expects to complete installations in Ada County by the end of the year. Canyon County installations should be completed in 2010.

The meters move information about a home's energy use to the company's information and billing systems. The meters give homeowners and businesses online access to usage information, plus ways to lower their bills.

Part of the $47 million also will help Idaho Power modernize electric transmission and distribution networks.

The company will set up outage-management and irrigation load-control programs to reduce peak and overall energy use and improve system reliability, spokeswoman Piper Hyman said.

For example, Idaho Power could determine the source of an outage faster, whether it's a car hitting a power pole or a bird of prey dropping a snake on rural substation lines.

Idaho Power's improvements are part of a nationwide effort to create an electrical "smart grid" to use energy more efficiently.

Eventually, Idaho Power says, smart-meter users will be able to experiment with usage to determine how to lower their bills. The stimulus money will help Idaho Power provide even more detailed information on your home's energy usage.

For example, Idaho Power says you eventually could:

• See how much you can save by turning off lights in empty rooms by checking usage before and after.

• Watch how much usage dips when you cut back on your "phantom load" - the electricity used by computers, coffee makers, televisions and other appliances, even when they are turned off.

• See when electricity is costliest during peak hours - especially on summer afternoons, evenings and weekends - so some usage can be moved from those times.

Idaho Power has online tutorials to teach customers how to use the meters. The stimulus money will help Idaho Power provide even more detailed information on your home's energy usage.

"One day, our nation will be synced up, and we will have appliances tell us when we are using them, (and whether) it's an off-time or an expensive part of the day," Hyman said.

The federal Department of Energy is expected to make the grant official during a meeting and negotiations with Idaho Power during the week of Nov. 16.

Colleen LaMay: 377-6448