Patent ID: 7917251

Claim:
An electrical metering device comprising: an electrical power input; an electrical power output electrically coupled to said input, said output being adapted to operably couple with a vehicle; a meter operably coupled between said input and said output; a controller electrically coupled to said meter; a first communications device electrically coupled to said controller, said first communications device being adapted to transmit data using a first wireless carrier; a second communications device electrically coupled to said controller, said second communications device being adapted to transmit data using a second wireless carrier; a memory device electrically coupled to said meter; a housing sized to fit in a trunk of a vehicle, wherein said meter, said controller, said memory device, said first communications device and said second communications device are mounted within said housing; wherein said controller includes a processor responsive to executable computer instructions for storing data indicative of electrical power consumption by said vehicle in said memory device in response to a first signal from said meter, said processor being further responsive to executable computer instructions to determine when said first wireless carrier and said second wireless carrier is available and selecting one of said first communications device or said second communications device in response to receiving a signal from said meter, and wherein said processor is further responsive to executable computer instructions for determining if said first wireless carrier is available and retrieving an electrical consumption data from said memory device and transmitting a second signal indicating said electrical consumption data in response to said first wireless carrier being available.