Finally! After more than 15 years of study and evaluation, the Snohomish County Public Utility District is finally planning to install new meters for its customers (“PUD program seeks to make energy grid smarter for 380K customers,” The Herald, Sept. 22).

The PUD has been studying and evaluating the new type of meters for more than 10 years. At the start of this study, the PUD received federal grant to help with the program. The grant included funds for the installation of the new meters in a selected community. It has taken a long time to finally get started by the installing one of the first meters in the Mill Creek community.

As pointed out in The Herald article several, utility companies in the surrounding area already have new, automated-reading operational meters. They have had these for years. The PUD is finally catching up.

Now, perhaps rates can be reduced since there will not be a need for staff to read and maintain all of the meters. PUD customers should be excited about a reduction in their monthly bills. It has been a long, long wait.

Ignacio Castro Jr.

Edmonds