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Client Name: City of Santa Ana I AMI FEASIBILITY REPORT 9 Additional Benefit Areas There are a number of additional benefit areas that are sometimes not directly considered in AMI projects but can still have significant value to the utility and its customers. These include social and environmental benefits and value added services that may require some additional infrastructure to bring out the full benefit of the system. 9.1 SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS In addition to the core operational and customer service benefits of AMI, there are other social and environmental benefits. © Greenhouse gas reductions © Enhanced customer service Reduction in workers compensation (claims) 13 Customer engagement tools ® Better demand analysis (data analytics) 11 More accurate rate design (water rate structure) ED MTU/Battery Disposal Only two of the above items have a defined "savings" component: the greenhouse gas reductions and reduced workers compensation. The manual meter reading process can be physically arduous, and there are some risks to the job (animal bites, etc.) that would be reduced using an automated system. Worker's compensation is reduced from the meter reading activities since meter readers are not required for manual reads. As fewer trucks and call outs are required because an AMI system does not require a manually intensive reading process, the amount of greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere will be reduced. If records are kept on these claims for the meter readers, a cost savings could be calculated. However, these resources will be reassigned to other duties based on their skills and will be provided training to transition into new roles. The other items are generally more "soft" costs and qualitative benefits. Public relations can be improved from improved customer service (more accurate and timely meter reads), and if customers have more real-time understanding of their own use, they have more control over the situation, which usually equates to more satisfied customers. Some of the long-term system projections will also be more accurate, such as demand planning for new developments or upgrades to supply networks, because the data will be more detailed and can show zonal demands at the daily level rather than the overall production for the whole system as the driver for these calculations. This will also make rate designs more accurate by allowing daily cycles and usage to be utilized in those calculations as well. Reduced risk of accidents is often understated as a societal benefit of AMI systems. Meter readers tend to have the highest incidences of accidents and safety incidents of any job classification because of the nature of their jobs. Mobile meter reading systems are developed to reduce risk, but any distraction, such as the use of and viewing of a handheld device or laptop will impair the ability BLACK & VEATCH I Additional Benefit Areas 25G-157 39