'Smart meters' drive energy questions in Bradenton

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Sara Kennedy | Bradenton Herald

MANATEE — After basking Tuesday in the glow of a presidential visit, Florida Power & Light Co. officials Wednesday were addressing questions about the "smart meters" whose deployment will be accelerated with $200 million in federal stimulus money.

All of FPL's residential customers and many of its business customers will get new smart meters in the next couple of years, officials said. The utility company has 4.5 million customers statewide, including 150,400 in Manatee County and 243,027 in Sarasota County.

The new meters are designed to provide energy usage information so customers can better monitor consumption and make cost-saving choices, said Sarah Marmion, a spokeswoman for FPL.

"It's about seeing how much your family or household is using," she said. "You might decide to modify your habits, it would be a correlation with how much energy you use, and ultimately your bill."

Read the complete story at bradenton.com

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