7 Things To Consider Before A Smart Meter Rollout

By Kristie Anderson, product marketing manager, Badger Meter

More than 45% of installed water meters in North America are equipped with automated meter reading technology, according to a recent IHS Technology 2014 report  (“Water Meters Report – 2014”). Every day utilities across North America and around the world are taking advantage of advanced meter reading communications systems to more efficiently measure, monitor and analyze their water resources.

Trends in the industry have demonstrated that utilities are moving past manual and touch read devices in exchange for smarter technologies including Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and most recently, Advanced Metering Analytics (AMA) for more robust data collection. This transition has allowed utilities to move from capturing a monthly or quarterly meter reading for billing purposes only, to utilizing two-way communications for capturing hourly meter reading data that can be used to improve customer service, increase operational efficiency and provide customers with an understanding of their water consumption.