Patent ID: 7135850

Claim:
A load management system for an electrical meter monitoring power usage from a service line, the meter having a power supply, a peripheral device and a data acquisition and storage circuit having a controller, the power supply being coupled to the service line and including a storage capacitor having an unregulated voltage present across its terminals, said power supply powering the data acquisition and storage circuit, the load management system comprising: a signal generator generating a control signal having a level dependent upon the voltage across the terminals of the capacitor; an electrically controlled switch having an ON state and an OFF state, the state of said switch being dependent upon the level of the control signal; a conductive branch coupled to the peripheral device and including the electrically controlled switch, and wherein when the switch is in its ON state the peripheral device is electrically coupled to and powered by the power supply and when the switch is in its OFF state the peripheral device is electrically decoupled from the power supply.