Is it normal for a contractor to work on my meter without any notice?

That sounds like a standard smart meter upgrade. Most utility companies are in the middle of massive rollouts to replace older analog or first-gen digital meters with AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) units. Because there are thousands of houses to hit, they almost always sub the work out to third-party firms like Corix or Grid One rather than using their own linemen. These guys are basically paid per swap, so they move fast and usually don't bother with much of an explanation beyond 'checking the meter.' If your meter box has a manual bypass lever inside, he likely swapped the unit without even killing the power to your house. That is why your wife didn't see the lights flicker. They typically just pull the old glass, pop the new one in, snap a photo for their records, and move to the next house. The 'contractor' shirt is a dead giveaway that it's a subbed-out job. Utilities are notorious for sending out a generic postcard three months in advance that everyone throws away, then showing up unannounced on a Tuesday.

You should definitely call the customer service line for your utility provider just to be safe. Ask them to check the service notes for your account from that day. If they're doing a neighborhood-wide swap, the agent will see a work order closed out for a **meter exchange** or an AMI upgrade. It's always better to verify, but 99% of the time, this is just a contractor clearing his daily quota. Check the meter yourself and see if it looks brand new or has a different digital display than you remember. If the utility company has no record of the visit, then you have a real security concern, but this behavior is unfortunately the industry standard for these upgrades. Just make sure the **security seal** (that little plastic or metal tag) is acutally intact on the ring before you let it go.

Check the model number on that new unit. If you see an Itron OpenWay Riva or a Landis+Gyr E350, you just got bumped up to full AMI. Those contractors are usually subbed through companies like Aclara and they don't waste time talking. They're just looking for that 200A socket to be clean so they can slam the new glass in. Just make sure he didn't bust the jaws on your bypass handle if you have an older Milbank base; some of those guys get aggressive when they're rushing for their quota.

Seen this a hundred times. Used to be you'd get a knock and a handshake from a guy who'd worked the line for thirty years. Now it's just some kid in a high-vis vest rushing to hit a quota. Back in the day, we'd actualy pull the meter and check the lugs for heat damage, but these contractors just slam 'em in. Just keep an eye on your bill. Sometimes those new digital units read a lot hotter than the old spinning discs we grew up with. If your bill jumps 20% next month, you'll know that 'two minute' job cost you a lot more than time.

Oh wow, this is so cool to read about! I just joined becasue I’m trying to learn more about how our grid actualy works. It's wild that they can just swap those out so fast without even shutting off the lights! Since these new meters use radio frequencies to send data, does anyone know if they can actually detect when I'm running specific high-voltage appliances like a welder or a kiln? I've always wondered if the utility can see exactly what I'm doing in my garage!