Electrical service disconnect having external interface

1. An arrangement for use in an electrical utility meter comprising:

a metering unit operably coupled to utility power lines, the utility power lines connected to a load, the metering unit operable to generate metering information representative of an electrical quantity regarding electrical energy delivered to the load;

a service disconnect circuit having a connected state, a disconnected state, and an armed state, said service disconnect circuit in the connected state operably coupling the utility power lines to the load, said service disconnect circuit in the disconnected state and in the armed state operably decoupling the utility power lines from the load; and

a housing assembly disposed over at least a portion of the metering unit and the service disconnect circuit, the housing assembly having at least one electronic indicator visible from outside said housing assembly and operable to provide a visual signal representative of the service disconnect circuit in the armed state, the housing assembly further including an externally accessible actuator operably connected to the service disconnect circuit to change the service disconnect switch from the armed state to the connected state.

2. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the service disconnect circuit comprises:

at least one set of switch contacts having an open state and a closed state, the at least one set of switch contacts coupled between the utility power lines and the load; and

control circuitry operable to

cause the at least one set of switch contacts to be in the open state when the service disconnect circuit is in the disconnected state,

cause the at least one set of switch contacts to be in the open state when the service disconnect circuit is in the armed state, and

cause the at least one set of switch contacts to be in the closed state when the service disconnect circuit is in the connected state.

3. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the service disconnect circuit is operably connected to a processing circuit, the processing circuit operable to provide a first signal to the service disconnect circuit changing the service disconnect circuit from the connected state to the disconnected state.

4. The arrangement of claim 3 wherein the processing circuit is further operable to provide a second signal to the service disconnect circuit changing the service disconnect circuit from the disconnected state to the armed state.

5. The arrangement of claim 4 further comprising a communication circuit operable to receive a disconnect signal from a remote device, the communication circuit operably connected to provide information representative of the disconnect signal to the processor, and wherein the processor is further operable to provide the first signal to the service disconnect circuit responsive to the provided information.

6. The arrangement of claim 5 wherein:

the communication circuit is further operable to receive an arm signal;

the communication circuit is further operably connected to provide second information representative of the arm signal to the processor; and

the processor is further operable to provide the second signal to the service disconnect circuit responsive to the second information.

7. The arrangement of claim 1 further comprising a communication circuit operable to receive a disconnect signal from a remote device, the communication circuit operably connected to provide a first signal representative of the disconnect signal to the service disconnect circuit, the service disconnect circuit operable to change from the connected state to the disconnected state responsive to the first signal.

8. The arrangement of claim 7 wherein:

the communication circuit is further operable to receive an arm signal;

the communication circuit is further operably connected to provide a second signal representative of the arm signal to the processor; and

the service disconnect circuit is further operable to change from the disconnected state to the armed state responsive to the signal.

9. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the at least one electronic indicator is further operable to provide a second visual signal representative of the service disconnect circuit in the disconnected state.

10. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the at least one electronic indicator includes a plurality of indicators.

11. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the at least one electronic indicator includes a first indicator lamp operable to provide a visual signal indicative of the disconnect circuit in the armed state and a second indicator lamp operable to provide a visual signal indicative of the service disconnect circuit in the disconnected state.

12. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the at least one electronic indicator includes an indicator lamp.

13. The arrangement of claim 12 wherein the indicator lamp includes a light emitting diode.

14. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the at least one electronic indicator includes at least one liquid crystal display segment.

15. An arrangement for use in an electrical utility meter comprising at least one indicator lamp affixed to a meter housing, the at least one indicator lamp operable to provide a visual signal, the visual signal corresponding to a service disconnect circuit being in an armed state, the service disconnect circuit having the armed state, a disconnected state, and a connected state, the service disconnect circuit controllably coupled to an electrical power line to controllably disconnect and connect the electrical power line to a load.

16. The arrangement of claim 15 further comprising an externally accessible actuator, the externally accessible actuator operably coupled to cause the service disconnect circuit to change from the armed state to the connected state when actuated.

17. The arrangement of claim 15 wherein the at least one indicator lamp includes a first indicator lamp operable to provide the visual signal.

18. The arrangement of claim 17 wherein the at least one indicator lamp includes a second indicator lamp operable to provide a second visual signal corresponding to the service disconnect circuit being in the disconnected state.

19. The arrangement of claim 15 wherein the at least one indicator lamp includes a light emitting diode.

20. The arrangement of claim 16 wherein the actuator further includes a pushbutton mechanism.

21. A method, comprising:

a) placing a service disconnect circuit in an armed state, the service disconnect circuit operably coupled to an electrical power line to controllably connect and disconnect the electrical power line from a load; and

b) generating a first visual signal on an electronic indicator disposed on a meter housing, the first visual signal corresponding to the placement of the service disconnect circuit in the armed state.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

c) placing the service disconnect circuit in a connected state; and

d) halting generation of the first visual signal.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein step c) further includes placing the service disconnect circuit in a connected state responsive to actuation of an externally accessible actuator disposed on the meter housing.