Metering.com March 14, 2018
In the US state of California, the city of Asuza is investing in an advanced metering infrastructure to improve the operations of its utility department.
Azusa Light & Water (ALW) has selected Sensus to upgrade to an advanced metering technology to ensure consumers are accurately billed and improve management of water distribution network.
The utility is deploying the FlexNet AMI system following a recent approval by the Utility Board to do so.
The FlexNet system will include 23,000 IPERL smart water meters, 16,000 electric meters and a communications network to enable two way communication of data between the meters and the utility.
Cary Kalscheuer, ALW’s Assistant Director of Utilities – Customer Care & Solutions, said:“Technology is advancing, and we want to make sure we’re taking advantage of the latest innovations to better serve our customers.
“We will also be able to monitor irrigation meters remotely for drought compliance, which is important because Southern California is experiencing the second driest year since 1905
“In fact, the potential for this project to help reduce water usage was one reason the Bureau of Reclamation awarded ALW a $1 million grant…”
The project is expected to keep consumer water and electric bills affordable through improving consumer water and energy efficiency through access to real time data regarding consumption.
Customer services will improve through quick identification of water leaks/power failures and restoration of services.
The system will help improve revenue collection and reduce operational expenses associated with manual meter readings.
Sensus will operate the system through the company’s Managed Services, a development which will help Asuza to reduce maintenance and operational costs.