Eastside Utility District Takes Cellular AMI Path To A Modernized Network
By Jay Mullin, Eastside Utility District, and Alex Appleton, United Systems & Software

Eastside Utility District (EUD) in Chattanooga, Tenn., is experiencing tremendous growth, adding hundreds of customers a year to its existing 24,000 residential water accounts, in addition to numerous wholesale and industry meters. The utility is in the final phase of updating its system from manual reading to cellular advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), along with a 100% water meter changeout to ultrasonic meters in place of mechanical, positive displacement (PD) meters.
The changeout has already resulted in a 98.5% meter read rate, more accurate leak detection and correction of water losses, and a corresponding 7%-to-10% increase in EUD revenues. This bolstered revenue stream is expected to cover the cost of the changeout within five years. It has also led to more consistent customer billing, helping the utility avoid future rate increases while increasing end user satisfaction and providing more actionable data. So, how was the EUD able to transition to cellular AMI without heavily disrupting customer service, breaking the bank, or falling victim to common transition problems?
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