Meter Readers, Utilities

Many utilities now use smart meters that automatically send usage data to the office, so people no longer have to walk door-to-door reading each meter ^[1]. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports about 119 million “advanced” meters in 2022 (roughly 72% of U.S. electric meters) ^[1]. This means core tasks like recording meter readings and uploading them are done by hardware and software, freeing humans from those chores.

Smart-grid software and AI can even flag unusual usage patterns or potential meter tampering ^[2], helping catch theft or leaks without a person checking every time. However, other tasks listed by O*NET – for example, “inspect meters for unauthorized connections, defects, and damage” and reporting problems ^[3] – still rely on a person’s judgement and on-site work. In short, reading and logging data is largely automated now, while skilled people are still needed to fix broken equipment, deal with obstacles (like a guard dog!), and talk with customers when something unusual comes up.

Smart-meter and AI technology is widely available, so many utilities have adopted it quickly. U.S. regulators and energy plans encourage installing smart meters (as shown by the 72% adoption rate ^[1]). The main slow-down is cost: replacing all meters and building the network takes time and money.

Meter readers earn around $22 per hour on average ^[4], which isn’t very high, so in places with inexpensive labor there’s less urgent pressure to cut those jobs. Also, only about 24,000 meter readers worked in the U.S. in 2021 ^[4], a small workforce easy to reassign or retrain. Economically, smart systems save money over years by avoiding visits, especially in tough-to-reach areas.

Socially and legally, people generally accept smart meters if they improve billing and reliability. In short, utilities adopt these tools as benefits outweigh costs, but jobs aren’t entirely gone: workers shift toward maintenance, customer service, and new tech roles. Human skills like problem-solving, safety checks, and talking with customers remain important even as routine reading tasks move to automated systems ^{[3] [4]}.