Metering.com 9 JUNE 2016
US utility Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) is set to deploy an Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project to improve its customer service in East Tennessee.
The electric, gas, water, and wastewater service provider said this week it plans to use the US$54 million project to install 400,000 smart meters from July 2016 to 2020.
The new metering system will allow KUB to efficiently manage its water, gas and electric networks. For instance the smart electric meters will help the utility to quickly attend to power outages through the system’s ability to automatically provide notifications in case of an occurrence.
The AMI project will also improve KUB’s revenue collection through the curbing of non-revenue water, gas and electricity incurred via theft and leakages.
The utility serving 400,000 consumers in Knoxville and its surrounding counties is also allowing its customers to opt out of the programme.
Smart meters connectivity in the US
Meanwhile, global smart infrastructure technologies provider for the utility industry Aclara secured a contract with the Missouri American Water for the rollout of an AMI project.
The solutions company will provide the water utility with a network to allow meter data acquisition and processing. Aclara claims its technology Synergize STAR will help the Missouri American Water to improve its services to some 340,000 customers in St. Louis County in the US state of Missouri.
AMI rollout
The US city of Berea in Ohio also partnered with metering solutions company Badger Meter and metering firm NECO for the rollout of a smart water meters project.
The partnership will allow the city to install some 4,000 Badger water meters with assistance from NECO to reduce non-revenue water through accurate water billing and leak detections. [US city seeks assistance for rollout of smart water projects].
Commenting on the programme, Cyril Kleem, mayor of Berea city said: “Some meters in the city are 50 years old, they need to be replaced.”
The new system will allow the city water department to communicate with its consumers remotely on a daily basis unlike in the existing system whereby the city carried out meter reads on a quarterly basis.
“This will be more efficient for the Water Department,” added the mayor.
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