Mobile AMR System to Read Meters, Improve Billing
"Providence Water strives to provide services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible," said Richard O. Rafanovic, P.E., general manager and chief engineer for the Providence Water Supply Board. "The deployment of this AMR technology is the latest step in Providence Water's continuing efforts to put our customers first."
The utility currently bills its customers quarterly, however deploying this technology will allow the collection of more frequent and accurate meter reads from its indoor meters. As a result, the utility will be able to provide better customer service; reduce estimated reads and customer complaints; improve cash flow; detect leaks sooner; improve the effectiveness of its tamper detection program; and eliminate the customer inconvenience and potential liabilities associated with on-site meter reading.
The system also will provide Providence Water with an efficient solution for unscheduled beginning- and end-of-service reads, as well as on-demand reads for system engineering purposes, according to Peter J. Pallozzi, director of commercial services at Providence Water.
"The Itron, Inc. Mobile AMR solution is a cost-effective, proven technology that provides us with the tools to achieve these goals and to convert to monthly billing when the time is right," Mr. Pallozzi said. Itron Inc. is a provider to the utility industry of solutions for collecting, communicating, and analyzing electric, gas and water usage data.
Providence Water selected AMR Data Corporation, Itron's business associate located in Burlington, MA, to supply it with the 75,000 Itron Encoder Receiver Transmitter (ERT) meter modules, one DataComm and Mobile unit and one portable DataPac unit, along with related hardware, software and implementation/training support for the AMR system.
Another factor that helped influence the utility's decision was the manufacturer's migration strategy. Providence Water eventually wants to migrate to a fixed network data collection technology. Because the ERT modules installed for the Mobile AMR system also can be read by the Fixed Network AMR data collection technology, Providence Water is able to achieve operational benefits immediately, while building a strategic foundation for low-cost migration to a fixed network in the future.