GE Improves Grid Reliability with New UL-Certified Smart Meters

GE's Digital Energy business, in collaboration with Underwriters Laboratories (UL), has announced that its commercial and industrial smart meters have achieved a UL voluntary safety certification, making them the first meters of this type in the industry to receive this significant mark. In April 2014, GE announced that its residential smart meters were the first in the industry to achieve the UL safety certification, and today, this certification has been expanded to include GE's commercial and industrial smart meters.

Earlier this year, UL published the Standard for Safety for Electric Utility Meters. This safety standard contains requirements for electric shock, fire, mechanical and radio-frequency emissions aspects of all electric utility meters, including smart meters, and is the foundation for both the UL product safety certification service and the product safety testing service. GE's smart meters meet this rigorous standard.

By meeting the new UL certification for commercial and industrial meters, GE can now provide its customers with an added level of confidence surrounding the quality and functionality of their smart meter installations. Smart meter technology can greatly improve customer service and reliability through features like automatic outage reporting, which speeds restoration of service. These technologies also can empower commercial and industrial consumers by allowing them the opportunity to better manage their energy use.

Keywords: Smart Meters, UL Certification, Electric Utility, Power Grid, ARC Advisory Group.