Keeping the lights on for our nearly 600,000 customers requires the safe work from many departments, including those who work in Meter Revenue Operations (MRO.) 

The department handles measuring and maintaining customers energy use. This includes maintenance, installing new meters and analyzing data for distinct types of customers like homes, businesses and various customer sites. They also install innovative technology, prevent and detect energy theft and help restore customers after storms. 

Here are ten interesting facts about the MRO department.

1. The department employs 43 employees, including meter electricians, meter specialists, data analysts and revenue protection coordinators along with various management and support positions. Collectively, the 43 employees have more than 660 years of service.
2. MRO employees face several hazards including energized electrical equipment, driving in all conditions and even dogs. Employees wear personal protective equipment (PPE) like line workers including hard hats, safety glasses, steel toe work boots, fire retardant clothing, rubber gloves, volt detectors, bite terminators and insulated tools.
3. When customers contact I&M about an unexpected high bill, one of the first calls goes to the meter department. MRO employees investigate the issue to confirm readings are correct and search for other probable causes. Meter personnel will often troubleshoot onsite with customers to help find the cause behind a spike in usage.
4. MRO employees undertook a big project for our customers – installing smart meters. Nearly 500,000 smart meters are in use across I&M’s service area. The meters use secure wireless technology to provide timely and accurate data, empowering customers to better understand and manage their home's energy use.
5. As I&M continues modernizing the grid and adding automation, Meter Electricians play a vital role of programming and testing smart reclosers, regulators and capacitors. Since 2019, the MRO team has evaluated and deployed 129 automated self-healing circuits, 132 voltage conservation circuits and added more than 870 smart reclosers to the system.
6. Each year a random draw of meters is tested as a regulatory requirement. In 2025, I&M meter professionals will assess nearly 7,000 meters to assure proper function.  Additionally, Meter Electricians will perform inspections on more than 3,500 devices such as regulators, capacitors and reclosers. Meter Specialists will inspect more than 27,000 underground structures in 2025 ensuring they are safely locked, accessible to line crews and in working condition.
7. Within MRO, Revenue Protection employees are tasked with detecting and preventing energy theft. Since 2014, the department has detected and prevented nearly $21 million in theft.
8. Meter personnel are often the first to report dangerous situations. Employees find downed power lines, broken equipment and unsafe electrical setups and report the hazards immediately.
9. It’s all hands-on-deck to restore customers after storms cause widespread damage and power outages. MRO employees take on two roles during restoration. MRO helps with damage assessment, and as restoration progresses, employees are tasked with hanging wires from power poles to individual homes to restore customers.
10. There is an elevated level of training to work in the MRO department. A specialist and a network technician must have a high school diploma/GED, pass a Construction and Skilled Trades Test and needs a valid state driver’s license. Within 24 months of employment, they need to successfully complete the company’s training and qualification program which includes classroom instruction, written examination, job mentoring and job performance demonstrations. A Meter Electrician would also need to pass the company’s training and qualification program and have an associate’s degree in electrical/electronic technology.

Do you have skills in engineering, technical trades, finance, customer care, or in something that doesn't fit neatly under a label? We've got a place for you at AEP, where we work together to build America's electric energy future. To learn more about careers at I&M and AEP, click here.