Donelson Neighborhood News – October 2017

I’ve received some inquiries regarding NES changing out meters. They are gradually switching from analog meters, which are no longer manufactured, to digital meters. NES has used digital Encoder Receiver Transmitter (ERT) meters (often called smart meters) since the late 1990’s. They began installing AMI meters (often also called smart meters) in early 2012. They are currently at 75% deployment after a slow rollout that will hopefully be completed by 2020. AMI technology, supplied by Landis and Gyr, enables the meters to be read remotely, so meter readers do not have to enter a customer’s property every month. This two-way communication with the electric grid improves service and power reliability for customers and helps NES better manage the energy load on our system. All meters used by NES meet applicable safety standards. They have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates radio frequency emissions nationally, and follow American National Standards Institute (ANSI) radio frequency standards. The radio frequencies emitted by AMI meters are much lower than cell phones, cordless phones or baby monitors. In addition, the data received from AMI meters is no different than the information they currently have access to. The only change is that it is remotely reported to NES daily rather than once a month. Meter upgrades are happening over various parts of the service area and customers are notified by mail before the switch out takes place. NES offers a temporary deferral option to allow customers to opt-out of receiving an AMI meter for a monthly fee. Customers can call NES Customer Relations at 615-736-6900 to request an AMI deferral form. Alternatively, NES residential customers may hire an electrician to mount a new meter pedestal and base away from their home in close proximity to the street to install the AMI meter. For additional information, visit their webpage here.

District 15 had a very small portion of the district in Pennington Bend (mainly Abbingon Park) still in GSD, which was moved into the USD late last year. Some have questioned when street lights and trash/recycling services would occur. Public Works provided the Procurement Department with information to put out an RFP for trash collection which should be open for bid. After the bids are evaluated, Public Works will be able to provide more definitive information on who will be providing the service and a projected start date. Public Works will provide the recycling collection service internally and has ordered the necessary equipment. They have received funding to hire the recycling employees in May of 2018 and will begin training them for service to coincide with the new trash service. Public Works has also been coordinating with other Metro departments to evaluate options for the deployment of lighting in the annexed area. They have requested further information from NES related to some of these possibilities, such as cost of doing LED versus traditional lighting. They will have a better idea of the timeline when that information is received from them. All services must be provided to the annexed area by October 1, 2018.

Congrats to Sunset View on their new logo. It looks great. Kudos to Shane Williams for the graphic design and Dnadida Kruse for her leadership of the neighborhood watch group.

Big thanks to neighbors in Pennington Bend for organizing a benefit for hurricane victims in Texas. It will be held on Sunday, November 5th from 2pm to 8pm at the Texas Troubadour Theater. Donations accepted for admission and you can pick Samaritan’s Purse, United Methodist Committee on Relief or Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. Hosts include Gary Jenkins (singer/songwriter/comedian), Rudy Kallis (WMSV), Heather Davis (Nash FM 103.3), Diane Sherrill (legendary Nashville Singer) and Dennis Banka (104.1 The Ranch).