By Mary Ann Roser and Melissa Segrest

Do you remember the friendly person dressed in a tan shirt who walked up your drive to your house every month? He or she peered at your electric meter, decoding its dials, numbers and circling arrows. The person quickly typed numbers into a curious black device and then left, only to return the next month.

They were Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative’s meter readers, the human point of contact for thousands of co-op members every month. They worked from 1985 until 2007, when the cooperative fully converted to automated electric meters that use power lines to transmit power consumption information directly to Bluebonnet’s system.

After the conversion, many meter readers stayed on with Bluebonnet. Several dozen still work at the co-op, holding various jobs, from line workers to crew supervisors, control room operators to line construction planners.

“That was the cool thing about it,” said Kyle Boer, Bluebonnet’s superintendent of engineering services. “All of our meter readers were exceptionally loyal, and we didn’t want to lay anybody off.”

This year, Bluebonnet is celebrating its 80th anniversary. With auspicious timing, in April the cooperative topped the 100,000 meter mark, which establishes it as one of the largest electric co-ops in the nation. Today’s electric meters are state of the art, and new versions are replacing older meters. In 2018, 4,000 of them were installed, and this year, crews plan to replace another 3,000 older meters.

BACK IN THE DAY
Before meter readers, Bluebonnet members read their own electric meters and wrote down how much electricity they used on cards that were sent to the cooperative.

“It was an honor system,” said James Jordan, who runs the meter distribution shop at the cooperative’s Giddings service center. He has worked at Bluebonnet for 23 years. If a member’s consumption numbers looked a little suspicious, an employee would stop by and check the meter.

In the early 1970s, Bluebonnet had far fewer meters across its 3,800-square-mile service area and almost all of those were residential, said Donnie Graham of Lockhart, a former supervisor of meter readers who retired in 2005. At that time, the co-op staff was so small that after 5 p.m. and on weekends, Graham said he would just transfer calls about power outages  to his home phone.

By the end of the meter-reading era, the cooperative had dozens of meter readers, each trying to read at least 100 meters a day. Although meter readers had radios to communicate with supervisors, they relied on paper maps in large bound volumes, looking for dots that pinpointed meter locations.

Reaching a meter wasn’t just a stroll up a driveway. Sometimes, a meter reader had to drive a mile, go through multiple locked gates and make a long trek on foot just to reach a single meter. They carried heavy rings of 50 or more keys to unlock gates on members’ property to access meters.

Philip Grimm recalled how rain and mud could make roads impassable for their two-wheel drive trucks. Many meter readers carried long lengths of chain for the inevitable stuck-in-a-rut moment. Driving through oil fields and muddy roads with only AM radio and no air conditioning was a challenge. Grimm gets to be pickier about Bluebonnet’s vehicles today: He is the cooperative’s fleet supervisor.

“We were very rough on trucks,” said Carla Bates, a former meter reader still working with Bluebonnet.

Bates first read meters for a contractor, then as a Bluebonnet employee starting in 1999. Today she helps plot the locations of poles, lines, equipment and meters for new homes of new cooperative members. That job is important, but “when we were the meter readers, we were the most important people at Bluebonnet,” she said with a grin.  

THE HUMAN TOUCH
Some Bluebonnet members loved to see the meter readers. Others made it clear they didn’t want them on their property.

“Almost all of our members – 99.9 percent – were, and are, really great people,” said Boer, who has worked more than three decades.

Doug Schlemmer was a Bluebonnet meter reader for years. Today he is a crew supervisor out of the Giddings service center. He remembers receiving holiday cookies from members and having long conversations with members who rarely had visitors. One older man always offered a Dr Pepper. Another man refused to pay his monthly bill until someone came to his house, when he would gladly pay a late fee for the chance to chat.

It was no surprise that many Bluebonnet members, especially the seniors,  were sad to learn meter readers would no
Sometimes meter readers noticed problems: a gate that had been cut, a house that had been broken into, a big water leak. They fixed the occasional flat tire for a member or helped an older couple move furniture.

But the job was not all cookies and compliments. Some ornery members locked out the meter readers or refused to provide gate lock combinations. No one recalls being hurt by an annoyed member, despite the occasional threat and drawn gun.

A few members went to great lengths attempting to tamper with their meters to try and avoid paying bills – which was, and still is, illegal.

LIONS, TIGERS AND DOGS
Animals and insects posed the biggest problems for meter readers. Most agreed their scariest encounters were with dogs. Even with dog treats, distraction tactics, sprays, “bad dog” warnings, requests for help from dog owners and the occasional stick as a defensive weapon, there were a few dog bites but mostly near misses.

Marti Wright, now superintendent of contractor operations, kept a large bag of dog treats in her truck and always had some handy in her pocket. She said that if a dog was chasing her, one of her strategies was to toss a few treats as a distraction to allow her to jump back into the truck.

Bees, wasps and spiders caused problems, too. Bates once reached over a fence and was bitten by a black widow spider. Occasionally, meter readers were chased by surly geese and turkeys, too.

And yes, there really was a lion, a tiger and a panther, according to Schlemmer. They lived on property near Birch Creek. Schlemmer will never forget one big cat that tried to sneak up on him. He heard the unmistakable hiss of a cougar hot on his heels and barely escaped an attack, even though the big cat was chained.

On that day, the promise of high-tech automated meters never seemed so good.

VIEW AN ELECTRIC METER TIMELINE

The McMahan Community Women’s Club will replace windows, siding and an outdated HVAC system at the McMahan Community Center, thanks to a $23,055 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $5,764 in matching funds from the club, will allow the McMahan Community Women’s Club to replace a failing air conditioning and heating system and rotted wood siding at the 1920’s-era event center.

“Jim Chamberlain donated the property in 1926, and McMahan Community Women’s Club constructed the building in 1927, so it’s an old, wood-frame structure,” said Annette Wells, club treasurer. “The HVAC system continues to give us problems. It’s about 26 years old and we can’t even find parts for it.”

The center is the only community event space in the area and serves as the local voting precinct for about 1,300 residents who would otherwise need to drive 12-15 miles into town to cast their ballots.

“Those are the kind of things that we’re focused on trying to do,” Wells said. “Bring some of what’s in Lockhart out here and make it available to people who can’t go into town.”

The club amended its bylaws in 2021, opening membership up to men as well.

Wells said the club is focused on improving the structural integrity of the building and reducing operating costs so the building can continue to operate as a community hub for many years to come.

“This grant is a game changer because we don’t have to worry about that rotting wood, or the air conditioner breaking again, or the heating not working,” Wells said. “Those are things you don’t see, but they’re the things that make it last.”

Volunteers from Meals on Wheels rent the venue each Wednesday as they serve about 65 residents. The group has distributed nearly 32,000 meals out of the center since 2019. The sheriff’s department also puts on free community events such as self-defense classes or Stop the Bleed trainings at the center.

The center can hold up to 100 people and charges $25 an hour for gatherings such as weddings, birthday parties and anniversaries.

“This grant by far is going to have the most impact on the longevity of the building,” Wells said. “I don’t think anything has ever happened before that is going to make such a significant impact. We’re maybe good for another 90 years.”

The community grant is one of four grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available here

Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members recently reported an increase in attempted phone scams by people claiming to represent Bluebonnet. The fraudulent callers have told co-op members that their power will be disconnected within 30 minutes unless they make an immediate payment over the phone. 

“Attempted scams like this increase around the holidays,” said Matt Bentke, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “The key to stopping them is to be aware of them and know your account status. Our members can access their account information through our website or mobile app or by calling our member services number.” 

Bluebonnet makes at least two attempts to remind its members whose payments are late – once by mail and email, and again by a courtesy phone call – within 10 days after the payment due date on the bill. The call comes from the cooperative’s automated phone system. 

If you are a Bluebonnet member who has not received a reminder in the mail or email or a courtesy call about your account and someone calls demanding an immediate payment, do not pay. Do not provide the caller with personal information, information about your Bluebonnet account, or any banking or credit card account information. 

Bluebonnet members can check their account status 24 hours a day, every day, from their computer, smartphone or tablet through the co-op’s website, bluebonnet.coop, via the MyBluebonnet mobile app or by calling 800-842-7708.

Report any potential scam attempts to Bluebonnet and your local law enforcement agencies.

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