Many meetings of community owners, residents, utility representatives and trade groups resulted in a three-year pilot program to convert ten percent of the state’s 5,000 MHCs to direct metering, 30 of which are in the territory controlled by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
Conversion work began at Heart ‘O the Hills last Sept. and was completed earlier this month.
“This is all about public safety for residents and the community,” said Dave Geier, SDG&E vice president of electric transmission and system engineering. “We’re happy to have you now as our individual customers…our obligation is that if you have any problems, we’ll come out and have it fixed. We have guys on 24/7.”
Owner of Heart ‘O the Hills Jean McCoy said maintenance of the utility lines and paperwork required a lot of time. “You have all these forms that have to be filed regularly, and to keep remembering to have things done, and the problems don’t happen Monday through Friday, 8-5, but usually on Sunday nights from 8 to 10,” she said. Additionally, residents will have smart meters outside their homes so they will have a better idea of how they are using energy.
With 20 other communities slated to undergo conversion by the end of this year, David Buczkowski, SDG&E senior director of major projects, said four other MHCs in the county have had upgrades completed but this is the first to receive both gas and electric line upgrades. Residents are also eligible for cost reduction programs offered by SDG&E.
Noting little publicity has been made public about the costs of this project, Jerry Fisher, a San Diego consultant for the manufactured home industry, estimated it would cost $30,000 per home site to perform the conversion. A spokesperson for the utility said just like all other infrastructure improvement projects, the costs are shared by all customers. ##
(Photo credit: fotosearch–electric meter)
