Metering.com 17 May 2017
In the US, Dickson Electric Systems said it deployed some 500,000 electric meters provided by Sensus under efforts to improve its billing accuracy.
In a press statement, Darrell Gillespie, general manager at Dickson Electric System, said: “Stratus meters are essential to our metering strategy. The meters enable Dickson Electric System to send to its customers monthly energy bills even during winter in which the utility previously sent 3-month estimated bills.
“They enable us to quickly collect data and give our customers an accurate view of their usage information. And the remote connect/disconnect feature helps us save both time and energy.”
Sensus says its stratus electricity meters help the utility reduce energy theft due to the ability of the meter to remotely switch off when it detects tampering incidents.
In addition, the stratus meters support the utility’s outage management and conservation voltage reduction initiatives through detection of hot sockets and its over-voltage protection design.
The Stratus meters are UL-certified and are being deployed as part of the utility’s ten-year advanced metering infrastructure pilot programme.
Under the pilot, Sensus is deploying its FlexNet wireless communication network to help the utility achieve an automated control of grid assets including capacitor banks, voltage regulators and download re-closers to avoid the duration and occurrences of power outages.
The pilot is being implemented on 5% of Dickson Electric System’s grid network.
Electric system upgrades
In mid-April, Indiana’s Washington Municipal Utility choose Sensus’ advanced metering solution to upgrade its water and electricity infrastructure and improve billing accuracy.
Located in Daviess County, Indiana, Washington is a small city that is poised for growth. An expansion of the heavily travelled I-69 highway has added new connections to the region between Evansville and Indianapolis, improving access to jobs, education and healthcare.
The city is expected to witness commercial and residential growth, which prompted the utility to modernise its ageing utility infrastructure to be able to support the growing number of residents moving into the city.
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