25G - AGMT METER INFRASTRUCTURE - Laserfiche WebLink

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AMI Feasibility Report I Client Name: City of Santa Ana 2.2 OBJECTIVES As with the general water industry focus, the City has the following two primary goals in evaluating smart water metering solutions: El Provide higher levels of customer service and water usage information to enable water conservation by customers. El Improve the water system operations and efficiency. As a key enabling technology for water utilities, AMI solutions provide significant potential operational efficiencies. There are efficiencies around resource utilization where City can redeploy the current meter reading workforce to higher value roles as AMI displaces the need to manually read water meters. The meter data from the water meters can also be used to improve the understanding and insight into the water distribution system, allowing for the aggregation of the hourly meter data to compare with system production and main flow data. In addition, an AMI solution can be a foundation for the service line leak detection, pressure monitoring, and other smart water solutions, all of which improve overall system efficiency. In addition to the core benefit area related to the reduction of the manual meter reading activities, one of the most important cost factors is to reduce or eliminate truck rolls for as many categories as possible. This, added to improvements in meter accuracy, reduction of billing errors and the associated costs, will drive the business case and form the foundation for enhanced customer service capabilities. The AMI solution meets both goals in a synergistic fashion. Table 2-1 illustrates how an AMI solution supports both operational and customer service areas. Table 1AMI Customer Service and Operational Efficiency Benefit Areas OPERATIONAL Faster, more accurate identification and repair of Easy customer access to billing and usage information system disturbances, including customer side leaks via a portal, leading to fewer customer service calls and rapid increase in flow Lower meter reading costs, including the elimination of ad hoc field visits for off -cycle or special reads Better read accuracy Reduced asset usage intensity, capacity requirements, and system reliability that stem from on -demand data Improved credit and collections Fewer billing errors and faster, easier resolution of billing inquiries Enhanced ability to make billing cycle changes and take advantage of flexible bill dates Better flexibility in the form of rate choices, including pay as you go and prepayment options that can lead to I - increased knowledge of water consumption Usage and price transparency that permits customers to adjust water consumption patterns to meet budgeting, conservation, and comfort goals ` Enhanced exceptions reporting Faster identification of customer premise leaks and associated water conservation 25G-122