Automated Meter Reading

And What It Means To You, Our Customer

Delano Municipal Utilities is implementing an Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system using Energy Technology Group’s, Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) products which will allow all electric and water meters to be read remotely. This system will require that the Delano Municipal Utilities change-out every customers electric meter, replace two conductor water meter wire with four conductor wire and replace all non-programmable water meters.
The following questions and answers provide detailed information on the AMR project and its impact on you as a Delano Municipal Utilities customer.

What is the meter installation schedule?
The installations began in July 2007 and should be completed by late 2008.

Where will the meter installation process begin?
The first exchange will be for those customers who participated in the pilot project between Hwy 12 and Railroad Ave.

Who will be changing out the meters?
The majority of the meter exchanges will be done by Delano Municipal Utilities staff with the assistance of Energy Technology Group personnel.

Do members have a choice to get a AMR meter?
No.  AMR meters will be installed on all Delano Municipal Utilities customer accounts.

How much is this going to cost the customer?
There will be no additional cost to the customer to install the AMR system. Funds have been budgeted for this project using our existing rate and fee structure.

What's the difference between the AMR meter and an old meter?
The new electric meters will operate electronically and the majority of the old meters operated mechanically. The new meters will continue to display the meter reading, but it will be in a digital LCD form. The biggest difference is that the new AMR meters will have an electronic circuit board module installed. The module receives and stores the kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption recorded by the electronics in the meter, and the gallons recorded by the water, and is able to transmit this data to a computer in the Delano Municipal Utilities office continuously .

What day of the month will the meters be read?
All Delano Municipal Utilities meters will be read every 15 minutes to obtain a history of account information. For billing purposes, the customers monthly billing cycle will remain the same.

How will Delano Municipal Utilities read the meters?
The AMR computer will store all accumulated meter readings, our billing software will request one or more meter readings for a specified time. The reading is then transferred to the billing software.

Will someone other than Delano Municipal Utilities be able to read the AMR meters?
No. The computer runs software especially written for our AMR system.

Will Delano Municipal Utilities stop reading meters using meter readers and rely solely on the AMR meters?
Currently, it is planned that our meter readers will continue to read meters for approximately two months after a meter reading route is completely converted to AMR meters. This time frame will allow for system comparisons and insure accurate AMR meter readings.

Will Delano Municipal Utilities continue to do service inspections?
Routine inspections of all meters and services will continue in order to look for safety hazards, theft or
other problems.

Will the AMR system notify Delano Municipal Utilities when the power goes out?
No. Customers will still need to call Delano Municipal Utilities to report a power outage.

Summary of AMR  benefits:
Fully automated, meter readings on all system meters every 15 minutes
Reduced meter reading costs
Reduced intrusions on members
Eliminates estimated billing due to unavailable meter readings
On-request reads, save re-read costs
More efficient outage restoration
Tamper detection and energy theft reduction
Reduced read-to-bill turn-around
Ability to provide member more detailed information
Identify power consumption patterns
Exception Reporting
 

AUTOMATIC METER  READING (AMR)

 Delano Municipal Utility has been an instrumental partner in the final testing of Energy Technology Group’s Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) products.

 First installed in May of 2003 using the mechanical meter version (500 units), now being replaced with the new electronic (solid state) meter product.

 These devices read the water and electric meters every fifteen minutes relaying that information to the utility office. 

 Billing information is only one function for which this system was acquired.  By capturing data and using it to determine current projections of requirements based on history, the Utility can better manage the “buy Energy or make Energy” decisions on a timelier basis. 

It provides the Utility the opportunity to provide creative time of use billing as optional rates in helping educate how consumers can be in charge of when and how they use energy as part of conservation practices.  Time of use is becoming more of an accepted practice in other areas of the country as energy costs continue to rise.

It provides the Utility the opportunity to load shed energy using a time tested practice of offering rate reduction to those who allow electric service to be cycled on and off to air conditioners, water heaters, and even certain commercial equipment.  This allows the Utility to manage energy requirements during periods of very high use.

It provides the Utility a management tool during those rare power outages.

It provides the Utility better utilization of staff to provide the quality of service you have come to expect. 

The insights provided and support given by the Utility staff has been instrumental in developing and testing this state of the art system.  It will allow the Utility to continue to provide the highest quality service and products at the least cost to you, its consumers.

Installation will continue during this summer and fall until complete.